Creating a park in the heart of downtown Towson.
Changing Pennsylvania Avenue into a two-way street.
Making the roundabout easier to navigate for drivers.
Those are some of the recommendations the Walkable Towson Charette presented to residents Saturday as part of its mission to make downtown more pedestrian-friendly and more lively.
After previously soliciting suggestions from residents, the charette narrowed the ideas to a list of the final contenders.
The recommendations include:
» Changing York Road, from the traffic roundabout to Burke Avenue, to two lanes with parallel parking on both sides to help slow traffic and increase pedestrian safety
» Converting east-west streets that intersect York Road ? Pennsylvania and Allegheny avenues ? from one-way restrictions to two-way to open up traffic flow
» Creating a park at York Road and Pennsylvania Avenue, and changing the Old Courthouse Gardens
» Modifying the traffic roundabout to make it easier for drivers to enter and exit
» Making minor changes to the Towson Bypass routes along the east side of York Road
» Enhancing pedestrian access from Towson University
The charette team rejected several suggestions, determining they would not be feasible or beneficial.
The nixed ideas included replacing traffic lights on York Road with four-way stop signs; changing the roundabout to one lane; creating a pedestrian tunnel under Towsontowne Boulevard; developing an off-street greenway network; and closing Shealy Avenue.
The charette team included consultants from Hall Planning and Engineering, TND Planning Group, and JMT Transportation Planners and Engineers.
“I greatly appreciate the hard work and concentrated efforts so many people have put into crafting these recommendations,” Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith said in a statement. “This plan will serve as the basis for us moving forward on noticeable, tangible improvements ? it won?t sit on the shelf, that?s for sure.”
