A few Tuesdays ago I found myself in Baltimore’s northwestern suburbs. Around 9AM I received a phone call from my grandmother asking me to pick her up off of Greenspring Avenue in Pikesville and take her to a doctor’s appointment also off of Greenspring. It seemed like an easy request. I would need to get on to 795 then 695 and finally the Greenspring exit off of 695. It was after 9AM so rush hour had to be over.
A little before 9:30 I ran into my first problem in the middle of 795. Traffic suddenly slowed to a crawl. On the radio they were talking about problems on 83 and both sides of 695. I quickly figured out that 795 was backed up all the way to 695. Eventually I could see 695, both sides of it were totally backed up! How can people put up with situations like this every day? In the city there always is some sort of escape route in most traffic situation. I was trapped on 695 until Park Heights (where I took a masterful back route using Stevenson road and Old Court). I had a lot of time to think during this frustrating journey. I know there has to be a substantial number of people who commute like this who would give it all up to live in Baltimore if Baltimore had a better reputation and property tax structure. The self-employed lifestyle that I live in Baltimore is far more rewarding and less frustrating than sitting in endless traffic jams. The city of Baltimore needs to do a better job of marketing itself to people who hate the situation I found myself in on that Tuesday. There is no shame in trying to make Baltimore a livable place for the middle class descendants of the people who once lived here. We need their property tax revenue and they need to quit these insane traffic jammed commutes.
The final destination on my journey was a brand new medical complex located at the new quarry development off of Greenspring in Pikesville. A few years ago this area was just a huge hole in the ground, but today it is a sprawling development filed with overpriced condos, houses, doctors, and stores that cater to the over-60 crowd that is stuck in and around the development. There are also plenty of younger people who live in the vicinity and patronize the businesses there. With all the empty houses and lots in Baltimore they still find numerous people and businesses that are willing to invest in gigantic new boring developments based around a hole in the ground in the county. We need leadership in Baltimore that will come up with creative solutions that will get some of these people back into the city. Selling out to corrupt developers that produce inferior products is not a creative solution by the way. Property Taxes and public safety are two huge issues that must be properly addressed before the city can really compete.
Below are two photos I took at the quarry. To be there in person and to have seen what was once there really shows how desperate the situation is for Baltimore City. In the county a hole in the ground becomes a sprawling city while in Baltimore parts of a once sprawling city become a hole.
Adam is the most recognizable face of the recent resurgence in Reservoir Hill. He has appeared on many national and local radio shows, in several news publications, and at numerous events discussing his innovative urban redevelopment ideas and his unique lifestyle. Adam is a successful entrepreneur, community activist, and a local political guru who ran for city council in 2007. He is the founder and director of the TechBalt.com Buy a Block Project and BaltimoreHourly.com. His fearless local political commentary has rocked the local blog scene for most of this decade and he plans to take it to the next level in the next decade here on Charm City Current.
It’s the frickin, filthy trash all over the frickin,filthy, unclean, ungreen, unhealthy city of Baltimore. Mounds of discarded trash align every single street, fill every street island, stack every vacant and neglected lot!!!!!! There are streets, near churches and schools, where people LIVE that look as if the street is the trash dump ALL THE TIME!!!!! There are no trash cans anywhere so where are people supposed to discard trash other than in the street? If the mayor and her head of sanitation, and the do-nothing, soon-to-be-mayor, city council president WANT trash thrown all over streets, alleys, and lots, then they should have an effective, daily, clean-up routine that works.
Really, while walking or driving down most streets on a windy day like today, there is continuous trash flying around assaulting people and their vehicles. If the City Hall Club cannot figure out a basic thing like how to maintain a city that, at least appears clean, certainly, they cannot be trusted to handle anything more complex! The thing is, if they do not fix this, people will not only stop living in the city, they will stop frequenting restaurants, grocery stores, and other establishments, because it is obvious that a city as overtly filthy as Baltimore is infested everywhere with rodents, and every nasty, crawly, creature that lives. certainly, they inhabit all places where food is stored, prepared, or served.
Want people to want to live in Baltimore again? Clean it up! my thinking is you’d probably need to start with clean hands in City Hall!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
E.D.
Adam,
Back in the 70′s I too thought that everyone should live and work in the city. I laughed at folks who moved to Severna Park and Cockeysville. What changed? Day to day living in the city wears a person down. Crime,taxes,thieves in City Hall, and the constant presence of dirt and grime, do not induce a warm happy glow.
Enjoy urban life while you are young and can outrun the muggers. I find life here in Delaware to be far more rewarding.