Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Baltimore

Baltimore’s Super Quick Fix for a Dangerous Road

Local residents finally have a safe path connecting the neighborhoods of Remington and Reservoir Hill. Photo: Side A Photography

Until last month, walking along Druid Lake Park Drive in Baltimore's Reservoir Hill neighborhood was an extreme sport.

With as many as five car lanes, few signalized crossings, and narrow, inaccessible sidewalks, this road was made for driving. Reservoir Hill is a predominantly black neighborhood where half of households don't own cars. But to walk to jobs or stores in neighboring Remington, people had to hike through grass and squeeze next to speeding motorists on the 28th Street Bridge. Crossing the street to reach Druid Lake Park took courage.

Able-bodied people could walk on Druid Lake Park Drive, "but you were taking your life into your hands," said Jed Weeks of the bike advocacy group Bikemore. "If you were a user of any type of mobility device you were just screwed."

This photo shows the 28th Street Bridge before the intervention. Photo: Bikemore
The 28th Street Bridge before the intervention. Photo: Bikemore
Photo: Bikemore

Now the trip is much safer for people walking, biking, or using a wheelchair. Last month, the city installed large plastic Jersey barriers filled with water for ballast, converting one of the traffic lanes to a path for pedestrians and cyclists.

The barriers won't win any design competitions, but they get the job done.

The path runs one mile along Druid Lake Park Drive and extends a few blocks north along Sisson Street, connecting to the Jones Falls Trail in Druid Hill Park.

In the coming weeks, the city will be working with Bikemore and other local organizations to dress up the plastic barriers with art.

The area highlighted in teal shows the location of the multi-use path. Map: Bikemore
The path marked in teal. Map: Bikemore
The area highlighted in teal shows the location of the multi-use path. Map: Bikemore

The project cost about $500,000, according to Bikemore. It's the main project supported by Baltimore's "Big Jump" grant from PeopleforBikes, which assists the city with projects to boost biking and walking over three years.

Council Member Leon Pinkett, III, who lives in Reservoir Hill, championed the new path.

The path will be in place for at least a year before the city evaluates the impact and decides whether to keep it.

"If it works, it’s going to be there until we come up with a permanent solution," Weeks told Streetsblog.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Wednesday’s Headlines Have a System

The safe systems approach to street design, popular in Europe, could cut U.S. traffic deaths in half.

May 21, 2025

Does Transportation Advocacy Have a Place In the Wake of a Deadly Tornado?

Much of St. Louis is struggling in the wake of a deadly tornado. Amid such disasters, urbanism needs a pause and a rethink.

May 21, 2025

Tuesday’s Headlines Show Elections Have Consequences

"Woke" transit agencies need not apply for federal grants now that father of nine Sean Duffy is in charge.

May 20, 2025

Should We Treat the Local Bus As a Basic Right?

There's a way of framing public transit that makes the bus a useful mobility tool for everyone: as a moving extension of the sidewalk network.

May 20, 2025

Op-Ed: Public Transportation is Key to Social Mobility

"As wealth inequality grows and social mobility becomes more difficult, people without access to mobility will be left behind."

May 19, 2025

Car Harms Monday: Machines Took Over Cities and Left Humans in the Dust

There isn't enough physical space for every single household to store its fleet of personal vehicles in front of the home, nor is there space for everyone to drive at the same time. So let's fix that.

May 19, 2025
See all posts