As Greenbelt Station (GS) has begun to reach fruition in terms of development and population, several issues have come into sharper relief. Some of these were discussed at a city council worksession on December 11 at the Springhill Lake Recreation Center.
Insufficient parking was the evening’s major item for discussion. City Planner Terri Hruby gave an update on city staff’s feasibility study of making North and South Center Drive a one-way street, a change that would provide spaces on both sides of the street. This plan would create 34 more parking spaces. So far, parallel parking is the goal, but Hruby said that staff is still open to other options.
While a number of GS homes are equipped with garages, some are being used more for storage than parking. This means more use of street parking, which exacerbates the problem. As garages are private property, it is impossible to determine the full extent of this situation.
GS has a combination of four city-managed streets, inner streets and alleyways, which are supervised by the GS Homeowner’s Association (HOA). Response to illegal parking is divided between the city and HOA. The possibility of implementing a parking permit system was made by both council and residents. Hruby remarked on the high cost and resources required for such an approach by the city. She said that greater use of reverse angle parking is favored as a means of increasing spaces throughout GS.
Council broached the idea of offering GS residents the chance of renting parking spaces at the Verde Apartments garage, as the garage now is under-utilized. Hruby responded that their HOA was “not interested in exploring” this possibility at this time.
Mayor Colin Byrd was encouraged that there was not a huge concern about public safety from the GS residents. Greenbelt Police Captain Mark Sagan was on hand to answer questions. The major problems discussed included more effective enforcement of dog waste management and leash laws and thefts, especially of packages, cars and equipment from construction sites. Council made suggestions about safer package delivery options to places like Safeway and FedEx. Byrd said these were practical ideas, but no substitute for actually solving the problems.
He reminded the audience that council had recently passed a MOU concerning the residents’ ability to provide police with safety camera footage in order to better solve crimes.
Byrd said that council is now working with the office of U.S. Senator Ben Cardin to address the hurdles hindering effective postal deliveries throughout the city.
Acting Recreation Director Greg Varda laid out the newest developments in recreation. A survey was sent out to all GS residents to ascertain their primary goals. The results included a community building, an exercise amenity and a continuation of the outdoor events presented last fall, like the movie and concerts. Varda is focused on providing better outreach and service to GS and has been working closely with GS HOA Activities Committee member Kristen Weaver. He indicated that the Recreation Department’s resources would be available for acceptable programs that GS would like to pursue. Although GS has access to all Greenbelt amenities, residents were keen on having programs and facilities of their own.
Hruby ended the meeting with an update on the trail that would connect GS with the Greenbelt Metro station, a key feature in the development of GS. Hruby said there has been “six months of behind-the-scenes planning and permitting.” She expects ground breaking to begin in winter 2020 and last 18 months.