Jones Falls Trail Walk Report
With the weather cooperating for once, this evening marked the most recent Jones Falls Trail walk-through. Fortunately, neither snow nor rain kept the group from traversing the entire Mt. Washington portion of the proposed trail, known as Phase V. Once completed, the Jones Falls Trail will be an ADA-compliant walking/hiking/biking path, extending for ten miles through Baltimore City along the Jones Falls river valley, connecting twenty neighborhoods with the Inner Harbor, Mt. Vernon, and Lake Roland. In Mt. Washington, the trail will run from Cylburn to the Village, covering a distance of two miles.
Convening with Gennady Schwartz
Once again, the walk/hike was led by the intrepid Gennady Schwartz, Chief of Engineering Services for the Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks.
After convening in the parking lot of Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital, the group spritzed its collective self with bug repellent and headed off towards Rogers Avenue to discuss the portion of the trail that will run along the road. The current plan is to replace the current sidewalk with a landscaped strip of grass and trees and build a six-foot wide paved trail along Rogers. Today there are some obstacles in the sidewalk in this stretch, including a large poplar tree and a number of utility poles. These obstacles make the current pedestrian walkway difficult to travel, and Mr. Schwartz indicated that this will be resolved by removing the tree, which the City has determined to be sick, and replacing the utility poles with an underground conduit. This should make the path easier to travel and more aesthetically appealing to walkers, hikers, and bikers.
We then entered the woods. Whereas on the last walk, there were major impediments to progressing through the hike (namely snow, slush, and cold), this evening’s walk-through was only slowed by the rough terrain along the proposed path. And while it did not deter any of the hikers, there was enough poison ivy in those woods to cause the entire Belgian town of Kelmis to squirm (fun fact: calamine lotion gets it name from the French translation of Kelmis).
Mr. Schwartz let the group along the proposed trail route. In the woods, each tree over twelve inches in diameter has now been surveyed, and it appears as if the trail will not require the destruction of any healthy trees. In addition, as a part of the project, the City Department of Recreation and Parks will be planting 400 new trees. The paved trail will change to a boardwalk at some point in the woods for minimal environmental impact. Schwartz was quick to quell fears that the City would build the trail without taking environmental factors into account: “We don’t build a trail. We build a trail in the beautiful woods and the trail just blends in.”
A Particularly Steep Section of Trail
Because of the ADA limitation of a 5% maximum grade, the trail will wind its way down to the stream using switchbacks to navigate the steep landscape. The trail will then cross the stream using a bridge and run along Roxbury Place for a short stretch. The trail will then cross back over the stream to the Pediatric Hospital side and work its way up a steep embankment. The trail will follow the South side of the stream until it hits the Light Rail line and the JFX.
While hiking, there was some discussion of neighbors who continue to oppose the trail’s construction. Schwartz was sympathetic but explained that in his experience, people’s worry about a negative impact from trails ends up being largely unfounded. “Lots of people worry about the negative. The negative comes in cars, not on a trail.”
Emerging By the JFX
Once we emerged from the woods next to the highway, we followed a gravel path towards Newbury Street in the Village. According to Schwartz, the City will work with the MTA to beautify this area and would add a buffer of trees to make an effort to shield the trail users from the JFX.
Once in the Village, we walked back to the Pediatric Hospital to discuss any lingering questions with Mr. Schwartz. One of the issues that was evident from our hike was that erosion is a major problem in these woods. Schwartz simply said that the Pediatric Hospital would need to become a partner in dealing with this issue, as much of the erosion is caused by runoff from their parking lot.
Sketch of Boardwalk on Unlevel Ground
One more point of interest was given by Mr. Schwartz before the conclusion of the meeting. By law, the City must spend 1% of its capital budget on art. To comply, the City is considering commissioning an artist to beautify the planned footbridge over Northern Parkway, which would connect Cylburn with Mt. Washington.
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