Charrette 3 Report

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Photos: Cheryl Deutsch

Master Plan is a Community Masterwork

April 19, 2010

10pm

It was a meeting of the minds and designs at the April 8 third charrette meeting for the greater Roland Park master plan. About 200 attended, packed into a capacity-filled Roland Park Elementary/Middle School (RPEMS) auditorium.

Roland Park Civic League President Philip J. Spevak led the meeting and a review of the current proposals, which have been in the works since this process started last November. He emphasized, “Community input is critical.”

So, there’s still time to move your ideas from the drawing board of your mind straight into the master plan. The next meeting is scheduled for May 19, 7-9 p.m. at RPEMS (as part of the Roland Park Civic League's annual general meeting). Alternatively, your comments regarding the various master-plan topic issues may be posted at the plan "metablog" page, which is here: http://rolandpark.org/MasterPlanMetaBlog.

The plan's focus is to maintain greater Roland Park's unique residential atmosphere while improving livability. This would turn around some of our community’s traffic headaches, for example. Some of these can be solved with tranquilizing streetscapes and bump outs. But some traffic-pattern changes are needed from the city.

Spevak said the master-plan Committee has met with most of the area's stakeholders; that includes businesses, educational and community organizations, as well as leaders from our different neighborhoods (Roland Park proper, Evergreen, etc.).

The master plan draft is divided into separate sections, or "studies." So far, the studies range from improving the ambiance of Roland Avenue’s median strip (with benches and plantings), to traffic congestion on Cold Spring Lane, and on to the historic old water tower at the intersection of Roland Avenue and University Parkway. The "studies" may be accessed from the master plan main page.

Your ideas could make greater Roland Park an even better place to live. So, to say adieu to your neighborhood snafus, bump your brainchild into an e-mail and hit "send."

— Cheryl Deutsch

April 15, 2010

Scenes from the third master-plan charrette. Note the line waiting to get in and the capacity crowd.