Environment

Heavy rains flood Route 1 communities

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A deluge drenched the Washington, D.C., region Sept. 10, 2020, transforming trickling creeks into raging rivers and flooding low-lying roadways and neighborhoods. Along the inner-Beltway Route 1 corridor in Prince George’s County, officials in College Park, Hyattsville, Riverdale Park, Brentwood, North Brentwood and Mount Rainier told Route 1 Reporter of major flooding events in their respective cities. According to the Capitol Weather Gang, cities in this area received the highest total rainfall across the entire region during the day. Mount Rainier and College Park rainfall was estimated to be between three and four inches of rain as of 3:40 p.m.

In North Brentwood, an historically African American community founded by Black Civil War veterans and whose flood-prone location is chained to the legacy of Jim Crow racial segregation, floodwaters persisted on city streets hours after rains left the area.

Environment

Hyattsville endorses energy proposal in Annapolis

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Hyattsville City Council threw its weight behind a proposed state law that, if passed, would allow local governments to negotiate with power companies to provide electricity for its residents. The measure, introduced by Councilor Danny Schaible, is unusual because Hyattsville doesn’t often weigh in on statewide proposals from the dais. 

The law is called the Community Choice Aggregation Act. It was introduced in Maryland’s legislature in 2019 by District 20 Delegate Lorig Charkoudian, but did not make it out of committee. A similar bill is expected to be introduced during the 2020 legislative session. 

“This would really send a letter to our delegation that represents us in Annapolis letting them know that we support this measure and encouraging them to pass it,” said Schaible during Hyattsville’s Dec. 17, 2019 City Council meeting.

College Park

Analysis: In UMD golf course debate, open space matters. So what is open space?

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In the contentious debate over a proposal to build athletic field facilities on the University of Maryland Golf Course, defenders of the links have settled around two rhetorical framing devices. One is concerned with maintaining the golf course in its present operational state: 18 holes and a driving range with easy access to and from the clubhouse. But another, broader argument is concerned with preserving the golf course as a source of “open space.” This argument is frequently employed by nearby non-golfing residents who oppose redevelopment of the course. This argument is a tool, one that indicates to others why they should value the presence of a golf course in their neighborhood, despite perhaps not golfing themselves.

Government
A photo, taken from the center lane of the Baltimore Avenue-slash-Route 1 corridor looking directly south from the intersection of Oglethorpe Street and Baltimore Avenue, shows an urban vista. The green hills of Bladensburg are in the far distance, set against a cloudy evening sky and above a ribbon of roadway. Nearer to the photographer, an urban streetscape reveals row-houses and mid-rise commercial buildings south of Madison Street set against tree-lined sidewalks. Light traffic is seen on the roadway.

Route 1 is congested sometimes: So what?

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I’m done caring about the woes of the middle-class and able-bodied who commute alone by car along Route 1. I’m done hearing complaints about car congestion on Route 1 as if it should be the primary driver of public policy and planning decisions in the Route 1 corridor. So here are a few hard truths: The Route 1 corridor, as it is laid out, is congested during rush hour. Horribly so. As it has been, and as it ever shall be.

Mount Rainier

Cottage City, Mount Rainier, Laurel recognized for ‘green’ initiatives

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For the first time since the program began, Cottage City has been certified as a Sustainable Maryland town. It joins more than 35 cities across Maryland recognized for environmental stewardship policy leadership by the Environmental Finance Center at the University of Maryland. Additionally, Mount Rainier and Laurel’s environmental policy efforts saw those Prince George’s County municipalities re-certified as Sustainable Maryland communities. To achieve certification, municipalities must form a Green Team comprised of local residents, community leaders, municipal staff and officials and complete a variety sustainability-related projects. Points are given depending on the type of the project undertaken Cities must earn at least 150 such points and submit the appropriate documentation as evidence that the Sustainable Maryland Certified requirements have been satisfied.

College Park

College Park Mayor: Keep UMD golf course ‘undeveloped’

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College Park’s Mayor Patrick Wojahn wants the University of Maryland’s golf course to remain “undeveloped.” His remarks come as officials at the school are proposing to build athletic fields and a track and field facility on the campus’ 18-hole golf course on University Boulevard. The proposal has been controversial among some local residents and golfers (however, University of Maryland’s Student Government Association president is in favor of the plan). Opponents of the plan fear it could harm the long-term viability of the course, which was called “the best 18-hole golf course inside the Beltway in Maryland or Virginia” by GolfNow.com in 2017. Opponents of the plan also raise environmental objections, noting that the golf course is the site of a monarch butterfly garden and a stopover point for migratory birds. Wojahn, in a weekly message to constituents posted on Nextdoor, echoed many of those concerns.