Greenbelt residents discussed concerns about parking, infrastructure and accessibility of green spaces during the Neighborhood Design Center’s (NDC) Greenbelt Station: Community Walk-Through on Saturday, April 23.
Participants walked around Greenbelt Station and the Indian Creek trail in small groups with representatives from NDC, the City of Greenbelt and the Greenbelt Station homeowners association (HOA), offering perspectives on community needs and current uses for green spaces.
Sophie Morley, a program manager at NDC, said that walk-through events are the beginning of a process to update Greenbelt Station by improving existing green spaces with input from residents.
A recurring issue brought up by residents and stakeholders on the walk was the availability of parking spaces in the community, which limits accessibility for people who are not residents.
“People that live outside of Greenbelt Station can’t really use these spaces. I struggled to find one single parking spot today,” Phillip Payette, a Greenbelt
resident, said.
Some roads in the community are owned by the city and have limited street parking spaces, but the rest are HOA-owned and require towing-enforced permits, HOA board member Alex Campbell said.
Central Park in Greenbelt Station, an open field space currently used for community days and pick-up soccer games, was identified as an important place to keep open because of its flexibility.
Campbell said that the city has plans to convert the two-lane roads on either side of Central Park to one-lane roads with parking on either side, making more spots available for visitors.
Another resident suggested NDC plan connecting paths and sidewalks from other recreational areas like Lake Artemesia to make walking and biking into Greenbelt Station easier and safer, alleviating some of the parking demand.
Residents were also concerned with the availability of trash infrastructure around the community and trail, pointing out areas of concentrated litter as places where trash cans need to be provided and maintained.
“Central Park is literally the only place you’re going to find a trash can near here,” Jeffrey Jackelen, a Greenbelt Station resident, said as he picked up litter during the walk.
He also pointed out that a section of land along the end of Indian Creek Trail near Greenbelt Station, where NDC is considering making updates, is rarely used by residents because it is mowed only once per year.
As the walk continued up Indian Creek Trail, Morley noticed a pair of benches with grass growing up through the slats. Campbell said he was not sure who was responsible for maintenance of that seating area, because some sections are owned by the city and some are owned by the HOA.
Other areas around Greenbelt Station have been acquired by WMATA as it prepares to build a connector trail between Indian Creek Trail and the Greenbelt Metro Station, which is expected to increase foot traffic, Campbell said.
“I don’t want to step on the toes of WMATA, they’re much bigger than us,” Campbell said, suggesting NDC avoid the marsh area where part of the proposed path will be built.
Morley said that NDC, an organization that has worked with Prince George’s County for 25 years, is working to have plans in place by the end of summer for short-, medium- and long-term improvements to green spaces.
The city has already allocated some funds for outdoor fitness equipment to be added near Greenbelt Station, Morley said, but NDC expects to collect residents’ priorities to negotiate more funding in the next budget.
Destiny Herbers is a University of Maryland graduate student in journalism reporting for the News Review.