Northwest Community Planning Forum

March 2005

What is SNAP?

Neighborhood Profile

Planning Process

Description and History of Neighborhoods

Assets

Overview

Housing

Recommendations

Commercial

Recommendations

Open Space and Recreation

Recommendations

Transportation, Streetscapes, and Gateways

Recommendations

Environment

Recommendations

Education

Recommendations

Public Safety

Recommendations

Commuity Relations and Communication

Recommendations

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Table of Contents

1

What Is SNAP?In 2002 Mayor Martin O’Malley launched the Strategic NeighborhoodAction Plan (SNAP) program to create comprehensive plans forselect clusters of neighborhoods throughout the city. Following hisadministration’s philosophy of putting Neighborhoods First andbuilding on established strengths, SNAP establishes four centralplanning guidelines:

Partnership: Residents work with their neighbors across traditionalboundaries, as well as with City agencies and other stakeholders(including nonprofits, churches, institutions, and businesses). Duringan era of limited resources, a broad stakeholder group has greatercapacity to both create and implement the plan.

Priorities: Plans identify key assets in each cluster and build uponthese strengths within a framework of market demand. Clusterpriorities target implementable agency actions and services formaximum impact.

Participation: The planning process is inclusive. Residents andother stakeholders have opportunities for decision-making and forcarrying out improvement projects with the City’s support.

Perspective: No one issue is the key to a successful plan.Neighborhood revitalization must be comprehensive, addressingmany issues and priorities and establishing a long-term frameworkfor future development and change.

In September 2002, the Planning Commission adopted the pilot planfor the SNAP program, the Operation ReachOut Southwest(OROSW) SNAP for a cluster of neighborhoods in SouthwestBaltimore.

Following the program’s launch, fifteen clusters citywide applied forSNAP designation. In January 2003, six clusters were selectedcitywide:

Brooklyn and Curtis Bay

Midtown/Reservoir Hill/Seton Hill (Midtown)

Northwest Community Planning Forum (NWCPF)

Greater Northwest Community Coalition (GNCC)

Southeast Neighborhoods Development (SEND)

York Road Partnership

What Is SNAP?

2

Planning Process

Neighborhood Profile

In 2001, CHAI organized the Northwest Presidents Forum, made upof the Presidents of the Glen, Fallstaff, Cross Country, Cheswolde,and Mt. Washington community associations, to meet regularly tostrategize about common concerns.

The Northwest Presidents Forum met with Mayor Martin O’Malley todiscuss the need for a comprehensive plan for Northwest Baltimore.In August 2002, Mayor Martin O’Malley announced a newneighborhood planning program, the Strategic Neighborhood ActionPlan program.

The Presidents Forum submitted a SNAP application in November2002. In January 2003, Mayor O’Malley announced that theNorthwest Community Planning Forum (NWCPF) had been awardedone of six SNAP designations within the 1st round of the program.Over the next several months, the Presidents Forum created aplanning steering committee and began to formulate an outline forthe planning process and planning topics.

On September 15, 2003, the NWCPF Steering Committee hosted atown meeting to get broad stakeholder input into the planning topics.A diverse and enthusiastic crowd of more than 250 people attended.

Between October 2003 and March 2004, the NWCPFSubcommittees - Housing/Zoning, Recreation and School Facilities,Major Corridors, Environment, Public Safety, Education, andCommunity Relations/Communication - held dozens of meetings withresidents, community stakeholders, and city agencies to develop theSNAP document.

On May 17, 2004, the NWCPF Steering Committee hosted a secondtown meeting to get broad stakeholder feedback about the planrecommendations and to help prioritize the recommendations.Again, a diverse and enthusiastic crowd was up to the task.

Since the second town meeting, the Steering Committee andsubcomittees have begun to implement portions of the plan andexplore mechanisms for future implementation of other portions ofthe plan.

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HistoryBefore 1950, approximately one quarter of the land in theneighborhoods of Glen, Fallstaff, Cross Country, Cheswolde, and Mt.Washington was developed. By 1970, with a few exceptions, theneighborhoods were developed as they are today. The local buildingboom followed national trends. The 1950s marked the largestgrowth of new housing in United States history. In addition to abooming housing industry, the 1950s ushered in new land usepatterns. The car rose to prominence, land uses became moresegregated, lawns became very popular, and developments spreadout horizontally rather than vertically.

By 1970, three in four households in Northwest Baltimore possessedone car and one in four households possessed two or more cars.Neighborhoods such as Cheswolde and Cross Country were built asexclusively residential neighborhoods and are, for the most part, outof reach to non-residential places except by car.

Post-war builders were capable of leveling vast tracks of land but inNorthwest Baltimore the terrain, particularly hills and stream beds,and the existing development patterns along Park Heights Avenue,Reisterstown Road, Greenspring Avenue, and Cross CountryBoulevard made it difficult to clear vast sites. Consequently, smallertracts attracted smaller builders who invested less capital in landconsuming street designs and more in a variety of home and lotplans modified for smaller developments. The smaller scale ofdevelopment tended to keep a few pedestrian friendly features. TheCity grid was retained, in a modified fashion.

At the same time as the housing market boomed in NorthwestBaltimore, the local Jewish community migrated northward andwestward because housing in this part of town was affordable, andmore importantly, was not restricted. Four of Baltimore’s largestcongregations built synagogues in Northwest Baltimore between1950 and 1961 – Baltimore Hebrew, Har Sinai, Oheb Shalom, andBeth El – all along Park Heights Avenue.

Neighborhood Profile

Description of NeighborhoodNorthwest Community Planning Forum is bounded by NorthernParkway to the south, the Jones Falls Expressway to the east, andBaltimore County to the north and west. The cluster is centeredaround Park Heights Avenue, Reisterstown Road, GreenspringAvenue, and Cross Country Boulevard.

Approximately 30,000 people live in the cluster, which is made up of5 distinct neighborhoods: Glen, Fallstaff, Cross Country, Cheswolde,and Mt. Washington. The neighborhoods of Northwest Baltimore aregenerally thought of as Baltimore’s Jewish neighborhoods. Drive upPark Heights Avenue on a Friday or Saturday evening and it’s easyto see why: the sidewalks arefilled with Orthodox familiesgoing to and fromsynagogue. Park HeightsAvenue is the institutionalmain street for the region’sJewish population. But theneighborhoods are not justJewish neighborhoods; theyare extremely diverse. Thereis a large African Americanpopulation and growingLatino and Asian populationsin the area.

The cluster has a mix of landuses. While most of the land area is residential, there are two majorcommercial areas (Mt. Washington Village and Reisterstown Roadcommercial corridor), two business/industrial parks (Seton BusinessPark and Menlo Industrial Park), and a varierty of institutional uses,ranging from the Jewish Community Center to the Mt. WashingtonPediatric Hospital. The cluster is adjacent to three major regionallandmarks: Pimlico Racetrack, Sinai Hospital, and CylburnArboretum.

The Jewish Community Center is animportant neighborhood anchor.

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Neighborhood ProfileAsset Map

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OverviewExisting ConditionsHOUSING

The Northwest Community Planning Forum is generally a bedroomcommunity featuring diverse housing types, ranging from large,single-family, frame houses to high-rise apartment buildings. Most ofthe area consists of single-family detached and semi-detachedhomes, but there are concentrations of multi-family housing. Highrise multi-family housing can be found along Park Heights Avenueand garden style apartment buildings are clustered throughout theneighborhoods.

COMMERCIAL

There are two commercial areas within the cluster: ReisterstownRoad/Patterson Avenue and Mt. Washington Village. Mt. WashingtonVillage and the Reisterstown Road commercial corridor arerespectively located at the extreme east and extreme west of thecluster. Mt. Washington Village’s concentration of small shops has avery urban character while Reisterstown Plaza, Baltimore City’slargest shopping mall, has a very suburban character, but both areattractive community amenities.

OPEN SPACE AND RECREATION

Within the cluster there are two parks, but neither park features largeopen space or active recreation opportunities. Luckman Park is asmall, mostly wooded park and the Western Run Stream Bed Park isa linear park that follows the Western Run from Fallstaff Road to theJones Falls. The cluster is in close proximity to regionally acclaimedopen space and wildlife habitat: Cylburn Park and Arboretum.

TRANSPORTATION, STREETSCAPES, GATEWAYS

Park Heights Avenue, Reisterstown Road, Greenspring Avenue, andNorthern Parkway connect the cluster with surrounding City andCounty neighborhoods. The cluster has immediate access to I-695and I-83.

Overview

INDUSTRIAL

The Northwest Corridor Industrial Area and Seton Business Park arelocated along the western edge of NWCPF.

The recently completed Baltimore Industrial Report evaluated theNorthwest Corridor Industrial Area, along the CSX railroad tracksfrom Fulton Avenue to Fords Lane. The study noted that the MenloIndustrial Park was the only portion of the northwest industrialcorridor that has long-term viability. The industrial properties in therest of the corridor lack the access, size and infrastructure requiredto be competitive for industrial use. The Menlo Industrial Park isseparated from residential communities by commercial propertiesalong Reisterstown Road, but within the southern portions of theNorthwest Corridor Industrial Area, many of the businesses areadjacent to residential neighborhoods.

Seton Business Park is industrially zoned, but most of the uses areoffice uses. Although the business park is not yet built out, there isdemand for the remaining spaces, including the relocation of a largechurch.

Plan ContextThe Northwest Community Planning Forum cluster is not an isolatedset of neighborhoods. What happens in the adjacent neighborhoodsis just as important to the long term health of the area as whathappens within the area.

To the south of the plan area, Baltimore City is completing the ParkHeights Master Plan. The Park Heights Master Plan is an agressiveplan to transform the patterns of disinvestment that have plagued thePark Heights neighborhood. The plan includes housing, commercial,industrial, and public realm components; a human servicescomponent is forthcoming.

To the north of the plan area, Baltimore County is completing aPikesville Revitalizatioin Plan. The Pikesville Revitalization Plan isan effort to reinvigorate the commercial corridor along ReisterstownRoad. Baltimore County is also in the process of reviewing plans forseveral major development projects.

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Jon es F

alls

Park Heights

Reisterstow

n

Northern

Glen

Greenspring

Pim

lico

Western Run

Seven

Mile

Fallstaf

f

Clar

ks

Stra

thm

ore

Cr oss C

ountr y

Greenspring

Pi m

li co

Fallstaff

Rogers

Sulgrave

Percent Homeownership

0 - 45%

45 - 65%

65 - 85%

85 - 100%

Parks

Ownership

Northwest Community Planning Forum

Jon es F

alls

Park Heights

Reisterstown

Northern

Glen

Greenspring

Pim

lico

Western Run

Seven

Mile

Fallsta

ff

Clark

s

Stra

thm

ore

Cr oss C

ountr y

Greenspring

Pi m

li co

Fallstaff

Rogers

Sulgrave

Percent Abandoned

0.4 - 1%

1 - 5%

5 - 20%

20 - 100%

Parks

Abandonment

Northwest Community Planning Forum

Jon es Falls

Park Heights

Reisterstown

Northern

Glen

GreenspringP

imlico

Western Run

Seven

Mile

Fallsta

ff

Clark

s

Stra

thm

ore

Cr oss C

ountr y

Greenspring

Pi m

li co

Fallstaff

Rogers

Sulgrave

Assessed Value

$1,000 - $15,000

$15,000 - $55,000

$55,000 - $90,000

$90,000 - $1,200,000

Parks

Median Home Value

Northwest Community Planning Forum

Housing

Housing MarketThe housing market can be summarized by looking at threekey data factors: Abandonment, Homeownership, andAssessed Value. In general, abandonment levels within thecluster are significantly lower than in other portions ofBaltimore City, but there is a small concentration ofabandonment around Winner Avenue. Similarly,homeownership rates are high throughout the cluster, butare somewhat lower along Park Heights Avenue andWestern Run. Interestingly, although homeownership andabandonment rates are fairly even throughout the cluster,there is a marked difference between assessed values inGlen and Fallstaff compared to Cross Country, Cheswolde,and Mt. Washington. This is partially due to differences inhousing stock. Glen and Fallstaff have large quantities ofsemi-detached houses whereas the other neighborhoods donot.

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Citywide Housing Market TypologyThe Baltimore Housing Market Typology uses the three aforementioned data factors to categorizemarket conditions. The categories help identify appropriate strategies to address particularconditions in a neighborhood.

Preservation Areas. Neighborhoods in the “preservation” category represent healthy, attractiveareas with high owner-occupancy rates and high property values. The housing stock is wellmaintained and vacancy and abandonment rates are very low. Cross Country, Cheswolde, and Mt.Washington generally fit the Preservation typology.

Redevelopment Areas. On the other end of the spectrum, “redevelopment” neighborhoods haveseen significant deterioration of their housing stock and ended up with dense concentrations ofabandoned buildings and vacant lots. Traditional market forces are not working in these areas, norare they likely to be re-established soon.

In between these two extremes are the middleneighborhoods - the “stabilization” and“reinvestment” neighborhoods.

Stabilization Neighborhoods. Neighborhoods inthe “stabilization” category are mostly found in theouter ring of the city. These neighborhoods havehomeownership rates nearly as high asPreservation Areas and vacancy rates nearly as low.However, median values in these neighborhoodsare appreciably lower than in Preservation Areas.Glen and Fallstaff generally fit the Stabilizationtypology.

Reinvestment Neighborhoods. Neighborhoods inthe “reinvestment” category find themselves at acrossroads. These neighborhoods have moderatereal estate values, average homeownership rates,and substantial vacancy rates, although not assubstantial as Redevelopment Areas. Withoutintervention these neighborhoods could findthemselves with widespread vacancies.

FALLSTAFF

CROSS COUNTRY CHESWOLDE

MOUNT WASHINGTON

GLEN

Typology

Non Residential

Preservation

Stabilization

Reinvestment

Redevelopment

Typology

Northwest Community Planning Forum

Housing

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In Stabilization neighborhoods, the real estate market is often notquite strong enough to respond to scattered problems. As a result,the image of the neighborhood suffers, exaggerating the initialproblem. Also, unlike Preservation Areas, many of the homes inStabilization areas are not maintained and upgraded to the modernstandards of the housing market. Unlike Preservation areas, wherethe housing market is self-propelling, there is a need for modestintervention in the real estate market in these neighborhoods.

Home Improvement LoansComprehensive Housing Assistance, Inc. has developed severalprograms aimed at stimulating the housing market in Glen andFallstaff. Over the last 5 years, CHAI has offered an average of 25-30 home buyer and home improvement loans per year. The loansserve several purposes:

• Reduce turnover: The terms of the loan encouragehomeowners to stay at least ten years to reduce the amountof money that they have to pay back. Also, homeowners areless likely to think of the property as a “starter house” oncethey have made major improvements to the house.

• Modernize housing stock: As the neighborhood’shousing stock ages, it is important to make sure the housingstock remains competitive in the regional housing market.

• Encourage neighbors to make similar improvements:Investment is contagious. No one wants to take the risk ofover-improving their property, but if they see their neighbormaking improvements, then they will be less hesitant tomake an investment.

• Improve curb appeal: Property owners are required touse a portion of the funds for exterior improvements.

Neighborhoods in the MiddleHousing Investment TaskforceWith record low interest rates, home equity loans provide propertyowners with an affordable mechanism for making significant homeimprovements. The Northwest Community Planning Forum will hosta taskforce to explore why more people are not taking advantage ofhome equity loans.

• Are people unaware of home equity products?

• Do existing home equity products fail to meet people’sneeds?

• Are people unable to find trustworthy contractors?

• Do people lack confidence in the neighborhood and thushesitate to invest?

• Are people too busy to plan and implement homeimprovements?

Depending on why people aren’t taking advantage of home equityloans, there may be a relatively simple way to encourage higherlevels of investment.

Housing

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Seve

n Mile

Wabash

Reisterstown

Park Heights

Western Run

Northern

Fallstaff

Menlo

Greenspring

Rogers

Jones Falls

Sulgrave

Cross Country

Pimlico

0 1000 2000 FeetN

Percent Senior Head More than 30%20.5% to 30%10% to 20.5%Less than 10%Park or Uninhabited

Universe: All Households

City wide: 20.5%

Northwest Community Planning ForumCommunity Partnership ProgramHome improvement loans stimulate the housing marketby offering property owners incentives for makingimprovements beyond basic improvements that areneeded to meet the housing code. Code enforcementcan be used to make sure all property owners meetminimum code standards. The Community PartnershipProgram allows residents to assist housing inspectorswith code enforcement efforts. Residents are trained toidentify code violations. Community associations sendletters to property owners with code violations askingthe property owner to comply with the code voluntarily.If a property owner does not comply within areasonable amount of time, the community associationrefers the violation to the inspectors and the inspectorsissue a violation notice. The program has beenincredibly successful atincreasing codecompliance.

Fallstaff InitiativeWith support from theBaltimore NeighborhoodCollaborative, CHAIlaunched the FallstaffInitiative, a multi-faceted approach to neighborhoodstabilization with a strong community organizingfoundation. Over the last three years the program hasestablished and expanded ESOL classes, providedbilingual homeownership counseling, assisted with jobplacement, conducted community clean ups,sponsored cross cultural events, facilitated codeenforcement, planted trees, etc.

Housing

SeniorsThe neighborhoods ofNorthwest Baltimore arenationally recognized as anaturally occuring retirementcommunity (NORC). Manyof the apartment buildings,especially along ParkHeights Avenue, have largesenior populations.

Senior Home Repair

CHAI’s Senior Home RepairProgram assists NorthwestBaltimore homeowners whoare ages 62 and older, orhave physical disabilities,and living on fixed incomes. CHAI will pay for qualified emergency repairs andsafety improvements. Homeowners may qualify for assistance with roof, gutter andchimney repairs, plumbing & electrical work, railing installation, grab bars andother bathroom modifications, wheelchair ramps, smoke detectors, handymanchores, and more.

Senior Friendly NeighborhoodsAs a result of a $1 million Federal grant that CHAI received in May 2002, theSenior-Friendly Neighborhoods program was created to allow enhanced programsand services for Senior adults living in Northwest Baltimore. Local apartmentbuildings and community centers host a variety of activities including lectures,discussion groups, social activities and movies. Transportation is provided togrocery stores and cultural institutions. Professionals from Jewish Family Servicesare available to provide counseling and case management services.

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Park Heights Avenue: Urban BoulevardThe section of Park Heights Avenue within the planning cluster is one of the most attractive major corridors in Baltimore City. UnlikeReisterstown Road and most other major corridors, Park Heights Avenue is not a commercial corridor. Instead, it is best described as athriving urban boulevard. To preserve the special character of Park Heights Avenue, we must identify and preserve what sets Park HeightsAvenue apart from other major corridors.

Land Use

Part of the strength of Park Heights Avenue is the diversity of land uses alongthe corridor, including a variety of institutional uses. Historically, majorcorridors were prime locations for fancy estates. Now major corridors are lessdesirable for single family homes. While some grand estates and other singlefamily homes still exist on Park Heights Avenue, the boulevard has remainedsuccessful by becoming the institutional spine of the community. Thecombination of institutions, from places of worship to high density, high-riseapartment buildings contribute to Park Heights Avenue’s vibrancy andgrandness.

The Importance of “The “Front”

Park Heights Avenue’s collective front yard transforms the street from anordinary corridor into a grand, green boulevard. Buildings are set backfrom the street, with green lawns and landscaping between the streetand the buildings. Parking in front of buildings is rare, and where it doesoccur it is screened with landscaping so that it is not visible from thestreet. Buildings are oriented towards Park Heights Avenue, creating a vibrancy along the street.

Serve Transportation Needs of Pedestrians and Drivers

Park Heights Avenue is used extensively by both pedestrians and drivers and needs to accommodate both sets of needs. Compared to mostmajor corridors there are limited curbs cuts - sidewalk interruptions for driveways - on Park Heights Avenue. Parking is accommodated fromthe sides or rear of buildings. By limiting curb cuts, pedestrians, particularly those with baby strollers or wheel chairs, have more continuity, andboth pedestrians and drivers face fewer distractions.

Committee for Park Heights Avenue

In addition to the appropriate land uses and urban design, Park Heights Avenue is as attractive as it is due to the dedication and hard work ofthe Committee for Park Heights Avenue. The Committee takes on a combination of advocacy, beautification, and maintenance roles. TheCommittee advocated for the recent repaving and is responsible for the garden nodes, decorative bus stop signs and benches, and treeplanting and watering. In addition, the Committee hires someone to empty the trash cans six times a week, remove weeds, pick up trash,remove illegal signs, etc.

Housing

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Ensure that all property is well maintained andattractive.

Enforce maintenance standards by partnering with CodeEnforcement.• Educate residents about the Housing Code. See “Community

Relations and Communication - Improve communicationbetween community associations and neighborhoodresidents”

• Encourage and support each neighborhood in participating inthe Community Partnership Program.

• Provide Housing and Community Development CodeEnforcement Division with a list of 5 problem properties fromeach neighborhood each month.

Encourage property owners to invest in their properties beyondminimum standards described in the housing code.• Host a roundtable/taskforce to seek recommendations and

partners.• Community Representatives• CHAI• Community Development “experts”• Financial Institutions• Contractors

• Support CHAI programs that target resources towardsStabilization neighborhoods (see Housing Market Typology).

• Home Improvement Loans – modernization,rehabilitation, curb appeal, etc.

• Intervention Buying• Community Organizing• Block Projects• Senior Home Repair Day, Weatherization Day• Door-to-Door Program• Homebuyer Loans• Homeownership Counselling

Ensure that land uses are appropriateand attractive.

Preserve Park Heights Avenue as an “UrbanBoulevard.”• Maintain front setbacks.• Prohibit parking in front setback.• Limit curb cuts.• Uses should have a “front door” facing Park

Heights Avenue.• Maintain diversity of uses, including

“institutional” uses, such as places ofworship, schools, multi-family housing, andservice providers; prohibit commercial uses.

• Encourage long range “campus” planning,where appropriate.

• Continue the activities of the Committee forPark Heights Avenue

• Promote existing sign standards.

Housing Recommendations

HousingRecommendations

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Ensure that development projects are compatible with theintegrity and stability of the neighborhood.• Design: While diversity of building design is not unwelcome,

the community has the right to expect that developers andbuilders will create high quality structures that areappropriate to the character of the neighborhood.

• Open Space: Open space should be preserved wherepossible, as a visual, environmental, and recreational asset.

• Traffic: Any increases in traffic volume should beaccompanied by appropriate improvements to thetransportation network.

• Community review: Community associations should have theopportunity to review and comment on all developmentproposals.

Promote infill development that complements existingneighborhoods.• Additions to existing homes that are visible from the street

should be reviewed by the community.• Consider scale, style, building materials, etc. of existing

housing stock when planning new development.• Utilize crime prevention through environmental design

(CPTED) techniques when planning new development.• Disturb environment as little as possible.• Preserve specimen trees and other special features.• Do not disturb infrastructure or landscaping adjacent to

construction site.

HousingRecommendations

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In contrast to Park Heights Avenue, which is one of the mostattractive major corridors in Baltimore, most people characterizeReisterstown Road as one of the most unattrative major corridors.The negative images of Reisterstown Road are beginning to changewith new investment at Reisterstown Plaza and surroundingbusinesses. By identifying what makes Reisterstown Roadunattractive, there is an opportunity to further change the image ofthe corridor. Is it the land uses, particularly the autotmotive-relateduses, that make it unattrative? Is it the suburban style of the corridor,particularly the orientation to drivers rather than pedestrians? Is itthe visual clutter of signs, utilitiy poles, driveways, trash, etc.? Is itthe lack of amenitiessuch as landscaping,trash cans, fences,etc? Probably all of theabove mentionedfeatures contribute tothe character ofReisterstown Road.

Streetscape

Reistersterstown Roadlacks any visualcohesion. Astreetscape project, from Northern Parkway to the County Line(between Fallstaff and Glengyle), will provide visual cohesion for thepublic right of way. Due to the variations in the character ofReisterstown Road, the streetscape project should have differentcomponents in the portion from Northern Parkway to PattersonAvenue and from Patterson Avenue to the County Line. Thestreetscape project should also include Patterson Avenue as animportant arm of the Reisterstown Road commercial corrdidor and acritical link to the metro station. In addition to providing visualcohesion, the streetscape project will improve pedestrian amenities.

Commercial

Reisterstown Road

Design Guidelines

The streetscape project will create visual cohesion for the public rightof way. Design guidelines will provide an opportunity to introducevisual cohesion among the signs, storefronts, landscaping, parkingand other elements of the businsesses along Reisterstown Road.

Incentives and Enforcement

A carrot and stick approach is probably the most effective way to getbusinesses to improve the appearance of their properties. TheBaltimore Development Corporation (BDC) and ComprehensiveHousing Assistance, Inc (CHAI) are both able to assist businesses inmaking improvements, but they have limited staff capacity to do thetime-consuming outreach that is required. With assistance from thePlanning Department and community representatives, it should bepossible to do door-to-door outreach. For those businesses thatdon’t make improvements voluntarily, code enforcement isnecessary. Coordinated multi-agency enforcement “sweeps,” suchas those conducted in restaurants a year or two ago, are much moreeffective at addressing violations than efforts by a single agency.

Commercial

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Commercial

Space Needs

Many of the autmotive-related businesses are unattractive, but anautomotive use does not have to be unattractive. One of the biggestreasons that many of the automotive uses are unattractive is that thebusiness does not properply fit on the property. Among the problemswith businesses that are too large for their space are: cars over-flowinto the right of way; cars are jockeyed ontoresidential streets; there is no space forfencing and landscaping, both in the frontalong Reisterstown Road, and in the backand/or side next to residential properties.

Land Uses

Over the long term, to significantly change the character ofReisterstown Road means thinking about land use and design, notjust beautification and code enforcement. Some of the existing landuses along Reisterstown Road have negative implications for thesurrounding residential communities. Changing the land use anddesign guidelines for those portions of Reisterstown Road that areadjacent to residential properties would minimize the spillover ofnuisance behaviors, particularly noises and smells.

Compare the photo on the left where cars are parked adjacent to,and possibly on top of, the sidewalk, with the photo on the rightwhere the parking lot is set back from the street and is partiallyscreened by trees and shrubs.

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Improve appearance, functionality, and uses alongReisterstown Road.

Streetscape Reisterstown Road from Northern Parkway toCounty Line and Patterson Avenue from Reisterstown Roadto Wabash Avenue.

Work with individual businesses to create positive change.• Create team of community and government representatives

to go door-to-door offering businesses assistance andseeking aesthetic and other improvements in return.

• Trees/landscaping• Signage• Facades• Fences• Trash• Truck routes

• Encourage commercial entities to partner with schools,institutions and community associations to foster training andworkforce development, including after-school programs.

Enforce rules and regulations.• Create a team of community and government representatives

to monitor and enforce violations.• Community• Baltimore City Department of Housing and

Community Development – Zoning Code, BuildingCode

• Baltimore City Health Department• Baltimore City Police Department• Maryland Department of the Environment• Baltimore Development Corporation• Baltimore Planning Department

Amend urban renewal plan/zoning laws• Create design guidelines.• Restrict ‘nuisance’ uses adjacent to residential areas. Permit

greater variety of uses in area adjacent to industrial area.• Create site requirements for businesses, especially auto-

related businesses• Screening, especially adjacent to residential

properties• Setbacks, especially adjacent to residential

properties• Minimum site requirements and/or square footage for

proper functioning of uses on site

Institute site plan review for new and used auto lots.

Commercial Recommendations

CommercialRecommendations

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The Northwest cluster of neighborhoods haslimited open space. Luckman Park and theWestern Run Stream Valley are the onlypublic parks within the area. Althoughexisting open space is limited, this planrecommends preserving and enhancingexisting open space rather than creating newopen spaces. With infrastructure andprogramming improvements, the existingopen spaces can serve many of therecreational needs of the community. Also,recreation opportunities exist throughout theneighborhoods in places other than parks,most notably on school grounds.

The State Department of Natural Resourcesrecommends that open space make up 10% of each jurisdiction’sland mass. Baltimore City exceeds this regulation. However, thisportion of Baltimore City falls extremely short - with only 2% openspace. Given the limited quantity of open space in this area, and thefact that this plan does not recommend increasing the amount ofopen space, it is extremely important to provide quality open space.

Open Space and RecreationWestern Run Greenway TrailThe Western Run Greenway is aproposed path system that will link the Mt.Washington, Cheswolde, Cross Country,Glen and Fallstaff communities withimportant neighborhood assets such asNorthwestern High School, LuckmanPark, Mt. Washington Village CommercialDistrict, Mt. Washington ElementarySchool, Mt. Washington Arboretum, Mt.Washington Light Rail, and the PlannedJones Falls Trail system. The WesternRun Greenway will improve an existinglinear park from a visual andenvironmental asset into an importantrecreational system for communities innorthwestern Baltimore. The greenwaywill be a unifying element for the entirecluster that creates an image and identityfor the area and has a favorable impacton the desirability of the area.

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Luckman ParkLuckman Park is literally a hidden treasure. Geographically, the park is nestled into thefabric of the neighborhood. On the one hand, this location provides for a serene, safesetting away from the hustle and bustle of commercial corridors. On the other hand,because it is removed from the major corridors, many residents do not encounter the parkon a regular basis and some do not even know of the park’s existence.

Nonetheless, the space is a unique oasis, a one-block square park with remarkablediversity of use and vegetation. With cutbacks in funding from the Department ofRecreation, the need to maintain this Park becomes the responsibility of the neighborswho benefit from it. With increased advertising and programming, the Friends ofLuckman Park expect to educate more residents about the resources that the park has tooffer.

School FacilitiesWith few recreation/open spaces in the Northwest neighborhoods, it is important toutilize all potential opportunities. School buildings and grounds have many of thefacilities – fields, tracks, pools, gymnasiums - that are needed for recreationalactivities, but these facilities are used for only a portion of each day and a portion ofeach year. By partnering with the schools, the community can expand the numberof recreational opportunities. The schools also benefit from the partnershipbecause more people are engaged in the school environment and communityresidents can advocate and fundraise to upgrade facilities.

Open SpacePublic and private open spaces exist throughout the neighborhood. These spaces shouldbe preserved as open space and enhanced to serve as community assets. Some openspaces, such as the median strips at the Glen Avenue Fire Station, could provide anattractive amenity if landscaped. Other open spaces, such as the space at ReisterstownRoad and Fallstaff Road, serve as a community gateway. The University of Baltimoreballfields provide much needed recreation opportunities.

Open Space and Recreation

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PARKS ATTRIBUTES ACCESS CONDITION

Luckman Park Recreation Center Key-Friends of Luckman Park No kitchen, sound system

Poor lighting, HVAC, bathrooms, furniture

Pavillion Available Roof in disrepair

Playground Available Good

Tennis Courts Available Good

Western Run 3 Mile Linear Park

Stream Trash, erosion

Northwestern H.S. Indoor Pool Special Arrangement Ok

Track Available Good

Tennis Courts Available Very poor - not usable

Basketball Courts Available Very poor - not usable

Gym Special Arrangement Ok

Fields Available Poor

Pimlico M.S. Fields Available Poor

Gym Special Arrangement Ok

Track No longer exists

Tennis Courts No longer exists

Cross Country E. S. Playground No longer exists Removed by Health Dept.

Mt. Washington E.S. Playground Available Scheduled to be replaced

Fallstaff E.S. Playground Available New

Open Space and RecreationRecreation Facilities Inventory

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Create Western Run Greenway.

Create greenway trail along Western Run.• Coordinate with community to research and establish

preliminary trail route.• Create typical cross sections and preliminary engineering

with cost estimates.• Identify funding source for construction and create final

engineering drawings.• Construct trail.

Conduct regular stream clean ups.

Improve Luckman Park.

Improve functionality of the park.• Improve security in the park through improved lighting,

signage, and thinning tree branches, brush, and trees.• Improve amenities in the park by adding or improving trash

cans, water fountains, benches, spigot for watering plants,and exercise path.

• Improve maintenance of the park by improving trash pick upand leaf removal, painting railings and benches, and powerwashing walkways.

Improve programming in the park.• Family Fests (2/yr)• Mt. Washington Improvement Assn Annual Picnic• Monthly Clean up (summer)• Monthly coffee hour (summer)• Playgroup• Movie nights• Tennis (6 week program)• Summer camp (run by church group)• Senior Friendly Neighborhoods

Implement long-range physical improvements.• Fix roof of pavilion and improve lighting surrounding pavilion.• Improve Recreation Center by upgrading restrooms,

improving lighting, heating, and cooling, enlarging the facilityto add a kitchen, replacing the existing furniture, and addinga sound system.

• Create an amphitheater with a stage and seating for 100people.

Open Space Recommendations

Open Space and RecreationRecommendations

20

Use school facilities as recreation spaces.

Set up program of activities.• Identify opportunities for recreation at school sites.• Identify demand for recreation at school sites by conducting a

community survey.• Do fundraising to pay for use of schools and supervision of

activities.• Create schedule of activities.• Advertise programs.

Identify joint community-school support to implement andmaintain long-range physical improvements needed atschools.• New tennis courts at Northwestern HS• Upgrade fields, tennis courts, and track at Pimlico MS• Upgrade playground at Mt. Washington ES• Upgrade playground at Cross Country ES and relocate

further away from building• Create playground with tot lots at Fallstaff ES

Preserve and beautify open spaces.

Beautify public spaces.• Median – Glen Avenue Fire Station• Intersection – Greenspring, Cross Country, Pimlico• Pimlico Middle School• Inventory and expand beautification efforts in collaboration

with Dr. Michael Sherlock and other interested communitymembers.

Inventory private open space and preserve and beautify spaces,as appropriate.• University of Baltimore Ballfields• Triangle – Fallstaff and Reisterstown Road

Open Space and RecreationRecommendations

21

Safety FirstThe plan focuses on unsafe traffic patterns along the major corridors,particularly along Cross Country Boulevard and Greenspring Avenue.Both streets encourage drivers to speed, through a combination oflimited traffic lights and wide lanes, and provide no relief forpedestrians. A one-mile stretch of Park Heights Avenue fromNorthern Parkway to Clarks Lane has six traffic lights whereas a one-mile stretch of Cross Country Boulevard from Clarks Lane toGreenspring has only two traffic lights, one at each end. Given thisdisparity, it is no surprise that many drivers choose Cross CountryBoulevard and Greenspring Avenue. Drivers choose these streets toavoid traffic lights, but also because they can pick up speed betweentraffic lights. The result is highway speeds on local streets. The planrecommends slowing traffic as well as offering specific measures toaccommodate pedestrians at locations such as schools andsynagogues where there are high pedestrian volumes.

Cross Country Boulevard

A high incidence of accidents near the intersection of Cross CountryBoulevard and Taney Road at Cross Country Elementary School hasbeen witnessed by residents for many years, though not all incidentsare reported to the Police. Cars trying to exit either side of TaneyRoad are struck by vehicles traveling east/west on Cross CountryBoulevard. Drivers’ sight-line is frequently obscured by traffic activityaround the school, or by curves in Cross Country Boulevard, e.g.,Cross Country Boulevard at Strathmore Road. There are nomechanisms for controlling, the speed of traffic on Cross CountryBoulevard near the school other than speed limit signs, which areroutinely ignored.

The volume and speed of traffic on Cross Country Boulevard createunsafe conditions for both pedestrians and vehicles, especiallyduring morning and evening rush hours. The dual problems of trafficvolume and speed are exacerbated during the parents’ morningdrop-off of children at school. Cars parked in front of homes on thesouth side of Cross Country Boulevard are frequently struck byspeeding vehicles that lose control on the curves (e.g., onehomeowner had two cars totaled in five years).

Cross Country Blvd. from Kelly Avenueto Glen Avenue and the Firehouse hasno sidewalk. People must walk in theroadway from Kelly Avenue toGreenspring Avenue, from GreenspringAvenue westward toward theFirehouse, and then cross CrossCountry Boulevard, where there is nocrosswalk, to get to the sidewalk on theother side of Cross Country Boulevard.Adding a sidewalk would complementthe proposed Western Run GreenwayTrail and greatly improve pedestriansafety.

Northern Parkway

Original construction of Northern Parkway as an intra-city/countyconnector included no provision for “amenities” that make theroadway safe for pedestrians, drivers, and adjacent communities.

The Parkway was built extremely close to adjacent communitieswithout any buffer for houses facing or proximate to the road, leadingto numerous problems: unacceptable noise levels, degradation ofhousing and neighborhoods, unsafe conditions for pedestrians.Sidewalks are too narrow and lie right next to the roadway. Variousforms of protection have never been introduced: e.g., crosswalks atintersections.

Transportation, Streetscapes, and Gateways

Transportation

22

Greenspring Avenue

Most drivers exceed the speed limit on the entire length ofGreenspring Avenue from Willow Glen Drive to Cross CountryBoulevard, frequently traveling at 15 to 20 miles over the speed limit.Many drivers assume that Greenspring Avenue in the City is a four-lane highway, as it is in the County just inside the Beltway, ratherthan a residential street. They travel 50+ mph on the County portionof the road going south, and do not change their “mindset” when theymove into the residential portions of the roadway, in either theCounty or the City. Similarly, they travel 50+ mph on NorthernParkway, another four-lane highway, and do not change their“mindset” when they turn onto Greenspring Avenue going north.

The speed limit from Cross CountryBoulevard to Willow Glen Drive iscurrently 30mph, but typical rushhour speeds appear to be 45 to 50mph. For morning southbound trafficon this portion of GreenspringAvenue, speed begins to accelerateat Cheswolde Avenue, and continuesas cars head southward, reachingtop speeds at Pinebrush and SteeleRoads. For evening northboundtraffic coming uphill from the five-wayintersection with Cross CountryBoulevard and Pimlico Road, carsare already speeding by the timethey reach Steele and PinebrushRoads. Entering GreenspringAvenue from side streets during rushhour is dangerous and can take anextraordinary amount of time and theproblem has worsened in the pastyear. This issue crosses jurisdictionallines and should be addressed incoordination with Baltimore County.

Greenspring Avenue lacks sidewalks, or sufficiently wide sidewalks,in most stretches of the road, e.g., from Willow Glen Drive toCheswolde Road, near Shomrei Emunah, and along the downhillstretch in front of Mount Washington Apartments to the intersectionwith Cross Country Boulevard. Lack of sidewalks makes walkingdangerous or impossible in several areas. Orthodox Jewishresidents who walk to synagogue on Shabat have to push babycarriages in the street.

Road conditions and speed of traffic threaten safety of pedestriansand drivers, especially on Shabat, near Shomrei Emunah atCheswolde Road and Agudath Israel at Pinebrush Road, and duringthe week at Torah Center and Agudath Israel. There are nomechanisms, markings, or signage to protect pedestrians crossingGreenspring to and from synagogues and the new Torah Center atGreenspring and Taney. The curved hill rising from Willow GlenDrive to Cheswolde Road creates hazard for pedestrians whendrivers are speeding and/or not anticipating pedestrians crossingGreenspring. Unfortunately, the pedestrian-controlled stoplight atKelly Avenue and South Road in Mt. Washington Village is not aviable solution for Greenspring Avenue near the synagoguesbecause Orthodox residents cannot push the control button onShabat.

Last, but not least, the projected development of Pimlico Racetrack,Anne Arundel Quarry, and Bonnie View Golf Course will mean anenormous increase in volume of traffic on Greenspring Avenue.Greenspring Avenue was constructed to handle a certain amount oftraffic. That volume was exceeded long ago because of itsconnection with Route 83 via Northern Parkway. Drivers needanother means of accessing Route 83 and getting to the Beltway.

Traffic islands, like those onPimlico Road, could changethe character of GreenspringAvenue and significantlyreduce speeding.

Transportation

23

Reisterstown RoadTraffic Study

Between Fords Lane andFallstaff Road, ReisterstownRoad has severalproblematic traffic patterns,including overall traffic flowand specific intersections.Some of these problematictraffic patterns have beenescalated by the additionaltraffic in the area due to therevitalization of the Plazaand should be addressed bythe Department ofTransportation tocomplement the significantprivate investment at thePlaza.

Improve Road ConditionsWhile many of the streets within the cluster are indesperate need of repaving, it is especially important thatmajor corridors are maintained. Park Heights Avenue wasrecently repaved, but Cross Country Boulevard, GlenAvenue, and portions of Northern Parkway are in completedisrepair. These streets are used extensively to get to andbetween neighborhoods in Northwest Baltimore. All threestreets are bus routes.

Left: Sidewalk in front of Dept of Health and Mental Hygiene isnot wide enough to meet heavy pedestrian volumes fromMetro station to the Plaza and Reisterstown Road.

Right: Pedestrians are notaccommodated at railroad crossing.

Reisterstown Plaza Metro Station

Patterson Avenue is the link between the Reisterstown Plaza MetroStation and the Reisterstown Plaza Shopping Center, ReisterstownRoad, and the Glen and Fallstaff neighborhoods. Patterson Avenuedoes not have the appropriate pedestrian amenities for a street thatserves as a direct link between a transit station and surrounding landuses.

Crossing Patterson Avenue, near the metro station or at ReisterstownRoad, is extremely difficult and dangerous. The photo on the rightillustrates the “safe” path from the Metro Station to the Plaza.However, most pedestrians jaywalk across Patterson Avenue and cutthrough the parking lots (future pad sites). There are opportunities tomake this path shorter (pedestrian bridge), safer (improve crossing ofPatterson Avenue and railroad), and/or more pedestrian friendly(widen sidewalks, add landscaping, etc.).

Transportation

24

Improve safety along major corridors.

Cross Country Blvd• Install a stop light and re-draw pedestrian crosswalks at the

intersection of Cross Country Boulevard and Taney Road.• Create drop off and pick up area for Cross Country

Elementary School.• Construct a sidewalk for pedestrians on the north (Western

Run) side of Cross Country Boulevard from Kelly Avenue tothe Firehouse and introduce white striping to provide jogger /bicycle lanes in both directions on Cross Country Boulevardbetween Kelly Avenue and Greenspring Avenue, andcontinuing up Greenspring Avenue.

• Conduct speed limit enforcement campaign.

Northern Parkway• Provide crosswalks and pedestrian cross-buttons at all

intersections that now have stoplights.• Conduct visibility studies at side street intersections with

Northern Parkway from Greenspring Avenue to ReisterstownRoad.

• Examine condition of planted medians with respect to safetyof cars attempting to enter Northern Parkway from crossstreets where there are no traffic controls.

• Reduce accessibility from Northern Parkway to interior / sidestreets. Study entire area to determine which side streetscould be closed to create cul-de-sacs, or changed to oneway south-bound to limit access from Northern Parkway.

Greenspring Avenue• Reduce speeding along Greensping Avenue.

• Engineer the intersection at Taney and Hanson withan island and stop signs on Greenspring Avenue(see re-engineered Pimlico Road from Cross CountryBlvd to Northern Pkwy for en excellent model).

• Introduce traffic-calming structures (e.g., plantedmedians at widest points of the roadway – SteeleRoad to Cross Country Boulevard) and visualdevices (e.g., striped parking lanes and bicycle lanesto reduce width of roadway), and thus counter theidea that Greenspring Avenue is a freeway.

• Conduct speed limit enforcement campaign.• Alert drivers to curves in road. Reposition (elevate) “curve”

signs to make them visible to drivers.• Install sidewalks.• Install appropriate traffic device to allow pedestrians to safely

cross the street near prominent synagogues, ShomreiEmunah (at Cheswolde Road) and Agudath Israel (atPinebrush Road).

• Improve steert lighting on the east side of the street toimprove drivers’ visibility of pedestrians at night.

• Work with Baltimore County officials and the State HighwayAdministration to improve the access to Greenspring/695 toencourage drivers to go north on Greenspring Avenue toaccess Rt. 83 rather than cut through Cheswolde to accessRt. 83 via Northern Parkway.

• Work with Baltimore County officials to create another pointof entrance and egress for Route 83.

Transportation Recommendations

25

Improve road conditions along major corridors.

Repave Cross Country Blvd from Fallstaff Road to GreenspringAvenue.

Repave Glen Avenue from Highgate Drive to the Glen AvenueFire Station.

Repave Northern Parkway from Reisterstown Road to I-83.

Improve traffic patterns along Reisterstown Road fromFords Lane to Fallstaff Road.

Conduct traffic study along Reisterstown Road from Fords Laneto Fallstaff Road.• Study flow of traffic, particularly number and location of traffic

lights.• Study intersection with Fords Lane, particularly left turn

movement from southbound Reisterstown Road ontoeastbound Fords Lane.

• Study intersection with Patterson Avenue/Bancroft Road,particularly pedestrian crossings and through traffic alongPatterson Avenue onto Bancroft Road and vice versa.

• Study intersection with Fallstaff Road, particularly parked carsalong Reisterstown Road.

Improve pedestrian access to Reisterstown Road from MetroStation and vice versa.

TransportationRecommendations

26

Improve Sanitation.

Create an Adopt-a-Storm Drain Program.• Create an Adopt-a-Storm Drain Program.

• Individuals volunteer to pick up trash outside andaround storm drains.

• Community associations coordinate the program.• DPW provides safety tips and tools.• Mayor’s Office and businesses provide incentives

and awards.• Recruit high school students and other volunteers to stencil

“Don’t Dump – Chesapeake Bay Drainage” on local stormdrains.

• Conduct sanitation education campaign as a project of theNW School-Community Partnership.

Create a mechanism for regular street cleaning.

Pursue one or more of the following:• Conduct an education campaign related to storage and

disposal of trash, littering, and dumping.• Raise money to furnish sturdy trash cans to all needy -

whether financial or otherwise challenged - residents.• Expand the adopt-a-drain program to include picking up trash

along the entire curb, not just at the drain.• Encourage students to pick up trash for service hour credits.• Encourage dog walkers to pick up trash while they pick up

after their dog.• Raise money to hire a hokey man.• Schedule mechanical street cleaning.• Educate City garbage collectors to pick up spills they

generate.

Environment

Storm DrainsAt the initial town meeting, problems associated with clogged stormdrains were among the most common complaints. Clogged stormdrains have a major impact on street and basement flooding as wellas the cleanliness of the Inner Harbor and the Chesapeake Bay.Grass cutters, including City crews, routinely blow piles of grass intothe street. When it rains, the grass clogs the drains.

Education is one of the best means for combatting clogged stormdrains. Stenciling “Chesapeake Bay Drainage - Don’t Litter” andsimilar educational messages on storm drains will help educateresidents about the effects of their actions. Engaging students in thestenciling project is important because they are the future of thecommunity. The project is a great way for them to meet their servicehour requirements and learn about the Bay at the same time.

Environment Recommendations

27

Education

Northwest School Community Partnership

In 1997, CHAI, the community development agency of AssociatedJewish Charities, formed the Northwest School-CommunityPartnership to promote greater cooperation between residents andneighborhood public schools. The Partnership soon became avehicle for people in the community—principals, administrators,neighborhood association presidents, police, city council membersand concerned parents—to work together to enhance publiceducation.

The list of Partnershipaccomplishments over the lastseven years includes: raising$50,000 for books for schoollibraries, opening a school-basedHealth Center at NorthwesternHigh School, and variousbeautification projects andmulticultural events. In addition, theNorthwest School CommunityPartnership succeeded in itsadvocacy efforts to have Fallstaffreestablished as an elementaryschool, thereby eliminatingovercrowding at Cross Country andreducing the need for bussing.

School Facilities and Zoning

To relieve the overcrowding at Cross Country Elementary School,Fallstaff Middle School was recently converted to FallstaffElementary School. The students who were attending FallstaffMiddle School are now attending Pimlico Middle School. Even withthe additional students from Fallstaff Middle School, the studentpopulation of Pimlico Middle School falls far short of the state-ratedcapacity for the building. The school has major capital needs, suchas boilers and windows, but the state will not fund theseimprovements as long as the school remains under-utilized. Toimprove the utilization rate, a portion of the school could be used foranother purpose and/or additional students could attend PimlicoMiddle School. As a magnet school, Pimlico Middle School wouldhave a higher enrollment because students would attend the schoolfrom throughout the City and more Northwest parents would chooseto send their kids there if the reputation of the school were improved.Given its prominent location on Northern Parkway, the school makesa great location as a magnet middle school, and would also work asa site for co-locating other facilities.

Creating a Learning Community

School and community stakeholdersaround Pimlico Middle School, thefeeder elementary schools, andNorthwestern High School will beparticipating in a conferencedesigned to elicit ongoingcommitments to create a learning community. Many parents arecomfortable with the academic performance and learningenvironment of the area elementary schools, but are wary aboutsending their children to Pimlico Middle School and NorthwesternHigh School. In order to keep residents in the neighborhood andstudents in the public school system, improvements need to be madeat the middle and high school levels. In addition, efforts are beingmade to convert Cross Country and Fallstaff to K-8 and increase theresources at each school.

Education

28

School Facilities: Maintenance and Modernization

Like most schools in Baltimore City, the schools in NorthwestBaltimore have tremendous maintenance needs. The maintenanceneeds can be divided into four broad categories:

(1) systemics, such as new windows, boilers, roofs,plumbing, etc.,

(2) major repairs, require special expertise or materials

(3) minor repairs, can be performed by handyman

(4) curriculum-related, such as science labs, athleticfacilities, etc.

The school system does not have the financial capacity to make allof the improvements that need to be made. In previous years, mostof the school system’s limited capital budget has been used for majorrenovations of one or two schools. Now, a large portion of thesystem’s capital budget is used for systemic improvementsthroughout the system. But the needs still far surpass the availablefunding. The Northwest School Community Partnership has hired apart time staff person dedicated to creating business and communitypartnersthips with the goal of recruiting additional resources, bothphysical and programmatic.

School speed limit signs are thefirst step towards making it saferfor students to walk to school.

Safe Routes to School

The goal of Safe Routes to Schoolis to increase the number ofchildren who walk or bike to schoolto improve neighborhood quality oflife and public health. For parentsand students to feel comfortablewalking to school, theneighborhood must be safe,attractive, and pedestrian-friendly.These same features improve thequality of life for all residents, notjust the students. By reducing thenumber of children who aredropped off and picked up, there isa significant reduction in trafficcongestion, further improvingquality of life for everyone.Increasing the number of studentswho walk and bike to school also has a tremendous impact on publichealth. Due to a sedentary lifestyle, today’s school children will bethe first generation not to have a longer life expectancy than theirparents. Establishing and maintaining an active lifestyle is the easiestway to exercise regularly. Whereas walking to school has a positiveeffect on public health, conversely, driving to school has adetrimental effect on public health. Schools where most peoplearrive by car have measurably worse air quality than the surroundingarea. Air quality has been measured to have a significant impact onhealth, particularly asthma rates.

The Safe Routes to School program utilizes a multi-faceted strategythat combines engineering, enforcement, education, andencouragement to increase the number of students who walk or biketo school.

At the new FallstaffElementary School, thecommunity successfully

advocated for a newplayground. However,

the pavement surroundingthe playground is in

disrepair, making it unsafefor kids to use the new

playground.

Education

29

Improve the standards of excellence at Mt.Washington, Cross Country, Fallstaff, Pimlico, andNorthwestern.

Strengthen the NW School Community Partnership as a coalitionof government, school, community, non-profit and businessassociations to advocate for improving neighborhoodschools.• Transform Pimlico Middle School into a math-science magnet

school.• Provide the necessary support to ensure the continued

success and growth of the new Fallstaff Elementary School.• Implement Safe Routes to School and Environmental

Learning programs at Cross Country Elementary School.• Provide additional support services to help students at

Northwestern High School succeed academically.• Develop an ADOPT-A-SCHOOL Program in conjunction with

the private sector.

Improve the access to and the quality of public libraries.• Hire librarians at public schools.• Form partnerships with private sector to supply books to

schools.• Explore the feasibility of a North West Enoch Pratt regional

library at Pimlico Middle School.

Education Recommendations

EducationRecommendations

30

Increase awareness and organize residents to addresscrime prevention.

Create a public education campaign to promote safety solutions• Identify methods for protecting residences and personal

property.• Participate in auto theft prevention training from the Police

Department.• Organize neighborhood-level House Protection Workshops

with the Police Department.• Include merchants along major corridors in crime prevention

activities.

Support the existing neighborhood-based community policinginitiatives and explore the creation of other initiatives.• Northwest Citizens on Patrol• Mount Washington Citizens on Patrol• Organize daytime block watchers• Creation of Safe Houses - place where people can go if they

need assistance• Post Block Watch Signs

Public Safety

The Northern and the Northwest Police departments report thatcrimes against property and larceny are the most common crimes.These crimes need to be abated so that residents will continue towant to live in the community. Most of the community-based policingtakes place during the evening and at night; however, police reportthat a significant number of crimes in the area occur during the daywhen it is assumed that most people are away from their homes. Aconsiderable number of crimes in Northwest are perpetrated byyouth and occur during school hours.

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design techniques can beused to idenitfy and address elements in the physical environmentthat contribute to the occurrence of illegal activities or feelings ofinsecurity by users of the space. By employing careful design andproper maintenance, certain types of crimes may be reduced.

Public Safety Recommendations

31

Improve the safety of all the neighborhoods in thecluster.

Based on Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design(CPTED), reduce features in the physical environment thatmay lead to crime.• Through community associations, identify crime “hot spots.”• Examine the physical environment of identified “hot spots.”• Make recommendations to property owners about how to

reduce the incidences of illegal activities and/or feeling ofinsecurity.

• Compare police data with neighborhood-identified “hot spots”in order to determine patterns of crime.

• Identify public streets that are dark and may need additionallighting.

• Notify residents with overgrown bushes and trees whichprovide cover for criminals.

Reduce Juvenile delinquency.

Improve communication between the community groups, schooladministrators and police.• Encourage citizens to report delinquent youths to appropriate

authorities.• Inform the public about school truancy laws and policies.

Provide more organized recreational activities for youths.• See “recreation and school facilities” section.• Organize adult mentoring programs.

Public SafetyRecommendations

32

Community AssociationsThe community associations are a natural mechanism for promotingcommunication and intergroup relations. Strong communityassociations are the backbone of a healthy neighborhood.Associations provide a vehicle for dialogue and mutual action amongdiverse neighborhood groups.

To improve capacity and strengthen the community association, eachassociation will:

• Adopt bylaws that assure greater participation and ademocratic rotation of officers.

• Develop a strong board and committee structure toaddress the specific needs of the community.

• Have sector representation on the board to ensure thatall members don’t come from one area of the neighborhood.

• Create a strong block captain program to ensure sectorleadership.

• Assign block captains and the board responsibility forconducting positive programs for the betterment of theresidents such as block watch, neighborhood cleanups andother volunteer events, sanitation and housing initiatives, anddissemination of important information.

• Communicate with residents to inform them of meetingsand important community issues through a combination ofnewsletters, emails, and flyers.

In addition to the power of the individual community association, thepresidents of the five northwest communities (Cross Country, Glen,Mt. Washington, Cheswolde, and Fallstaff) meet in a NorthwestPresidents Forum once a month. The Forum allows the associationsto share information, advice, and resources for the betterment of theentire area. The Strategic Neighborhood Action Plan was initiated bythe Northwest Presidents Forum and is a testament to theimportance of the Forum.

Community Relations and Communication

33

Northwest Community Planning Forum

Seve

n Mile

Wabash

Reisterstown

Park Heights

Western Run

Northe

rn

Fallstaff

Menlo

Greenspring

Rogers

Jones Falls

Sulgrave

Cross Country

Pim

lic o

0 1000 2000 FeetN

Diversity IndexDiverseSomewhat DiverseSlightly DiverseNon DiversePark or Uninhabited

DiversityNorthwest Baltimore is one of the most diverse areas in the Baltimore region.The diversity index (right) indicates the likelihood of someone from one raceliving next to someone from a different race. Within the Northwest CommunityPlanning Forum, the likelihood is quite high, especially in the corridor betweenPark Heights Avenue and Reisterstown Road. Unfortunately, although the levelof diversity is very high, the level of interaction is not as high.

With the exception of the Charles Street corridor, NorthwestBaltimore has the highest percentage of foreign born persons inBaltimore. Historically, the foreign-born populationin NorthwestBaltimore was European Jewish immigrants, but now the area is

Community Relations

34

Improve inter-group and cross-cultural relations.

Institute a program of community-organized activities.• Each community association will establish an events planning

committee.• Committee members will plan neighborhood events and join

the other SNAP neighborhoods in planning an annualcommunity-wide event.

• Events will be culturally appropriate for all residents, thusincreasing communication and appreciation among groups.

• Support Luckman Park as central activity location.

Improve communication between communityassociations and neighborhood residents.

Use technology to improve communication.• Community associations to publish and distribute a

newsletter.• Community associations to create and maintain a website.• Create email list-serve for community alerts, notices,

invitations, and information.

Community Relations Recommendations

35

Strengthen capacity development of communityassociations.

• With staff support from CHAI, a capacity developmentinitiative will be launched using one of the associations asthe model.

• Create equal representation throughout the neighborhood byblock or sector.

• Make an effort to reach all residents so as to reflect theneighborhood’s racial and diverse nature.

• Mandate and create a realistic system for the rotation ofofficers.

• Help to educate and inform residents as to the importance ofvolunteerism and commitment to the neighborhood.

• Help establish a network in each community that residentscan easily receive information and be involved that includes;establishing and updating websites, newsletters & flyers, andpublic meetings.

Community RelationsRecommendations