Towson Development News

[jamie_hunt]

Originally Posted by Maudibjr

I had also heard that they were considering tearing down the administration building on Osler. The slanted faux-modern chunk of parallelogram garbage.

Yowza. Don't hold back: what do you really think of it. ;-) Er, anyway, yeah, it'll be gone as the West Village project gets under way. See the before and after site plans on pages 39 & 40 of the linked Powerpoint doc.

Before it's buried, a bit of (faint) praise: the old admin building was an early stab at environmentally-conscious design—with a Brutalist flair! The south-facing acute angle of the on the building was intended to shade the windows in summer (when the angle of inclination of the sun is high) while letting max sun in during the winter (when the angle is low). Meanwhile, the obtuse angle on the north face let in max light all the time. (And leaked, IIRC.) That the whole thing ended up looking like the squared-off American cousin of a Maginot Line fortification was unintended, yet somehow appropriate, given its function. (I got my diploma in the mail; no love lost between me and TSU administrators.)

[scando]

Originally Posted by jamie_hunt

....Before it's buried, a bit of (faint) praise: the old admin building was an early stab at environmentally-conscious design—with a Brutalist flair! The south-facing acute angle of the on the building was intended to shade the windows in summer (when the angle of inclination of the sun is high) while letting max sun in during the winter (when the angle is low). Meanwhile, the obtuse angle on the north face let in max light all the time. (And leaked, IIRC.) That the whole thing ended up looking like the squared-off American cousin of a Maginot Line fortification was unintended, yet somehow appropriate, given its function. (I got my diploma in the mail; no love lost between me and TSU administrators.)

I don't have much pity for that building. The only thing worse than most brutalist buildings is old brutalist buildings. I always assumed that it was built to resist hurricane winds or something like that..or that the concrete forms sagged. I'll be glad to see it go.

[jamie_hunt]

Originally Posted by scando

I'll be glad to see it go.

Agreed. Towson Run (just to its north) is supposed to be returned to a more "natural" state (i.e., not a concrete culvert, though not trout-hospitable either) as part of the West Village/Admin demo project, which is a bonus.

[Maudibjr]

Originally Posted by jamie_hunt

Yowza. Don't hold back: what do you really think of it. ;-) Er, anyway, yeah, it'll be gone as the West Village project gets under way. See the before and after site plans on pages 39 & 40 of the linked Powerpoint doc.

Before it's buried, a bit of (faint) praise: the old admin building was an early stab at environmentally-conscious design—with a Brutalist flair! The south-facing acute angle of the on the building was intended to shade the windows in summer (when the angle of inclination of the sun is high) while letting max sun in during the winter (when the angle is low). Meanwhile, the obtuse angle on the north face let in max light all the time. (And leaked, IIRC.) That the whole thing ended up looking like the squared-off American cousin of a Maginot Line fortification was unintended, yet somehow appropriate, given its function. (I got my diploma in the mail; no love lost between me and TSU administrators.)

I think my least favorite style of architecture is the brutalist style, if that wasn't already clear . I guess its good to know they were actually trying something semi-useful and a architect wasn't just trying to get fancy.

I never understood how they didn't realize that exposed concrete ages so poorly and just looks bad.

[jamie_hunt]

Originally Posted by Maudibjr

I never understood how they didn't realize that exposed concrete ages so poorly and just looks bad.

Good point. Maybe it'd look better if we could find the Roman's recipe. The dome of the Pantheon's still looking good after all these years. The submarine towers on the Delaware coast are cool, too.

[scando]

Originally Posted by jamie_hunt

Good point. Maybe it'd look better if we could find the Roman's recipe. The dome of the Pantheon's still looking good after all these years. The submarine towers on the Delaware coast are cool, too.

Raw concrete does not look good in our climate. The Pantheon has the benefit of a dry climate and the Delaware towers are in salt spray, both of which inhibit green slimy stuff. Towson, however, was invented to encourage wet, green stuff and unless you power spray it once a year, it starts to get weird. That building not only had slime to contend with but if it were clean, it would still be ugly. TSU doesn't really have a good track record with architecture after their first buildings, what with their blocky brick buildings, uglies like Linthicum. Even the recently redone art building doesn't really look any better than it was prior to rehab. I hope they do better on their next bunch of buildings.

[jamie_hunt]

Originally Posted by scando

TSU doesn't really have a good track record with architecture after their first buildings, what with their blocky brick buildings, uglies like Linthicum. Even the recently redone art building doesn't really look any better than it was prior to rehab. I hope they do better on their next bunch of buildings.

Yes. Smith, Hawkins, Cook, Psych, Burdick ... all bleh low-bidder shoebox affairs. Glen Towers remind me of old Eastern Bloc tenements. Have fond memories of the University Union, though.

[Maudibjr]

Originally Posted by jamie_hunt

Yes. Smith, Hawkins, Cook, Psych, Burdick ... all bleh low-bidder shoebox affairs. Glen Towers remind me of old Eastern Bloc tenements. Have fond memories of the University Union, though.

Yes if there is one word I would associate with TU's dorms, it is Soviet.

I guess it runs paraell to the rest of Towson's awful architecture. The courthouse is classical then downhill from there.

[MasonsInquiries]

Originally Posted by jamie_hunt

Yowza. Don't hold back: what do you really think of it. ;-) Er, anyway, yeah, it'll be gone as the West Village project gets under way. See the before and after site plans on pages 39 & 40 of the linked Powerpoint doc.

Before it's buried, a bit of (faint) praise: the old admin building was an early stab at environmentally-conscious design—with a Brutalist flair! The south-facing acute angle of the on the building was intended to shade the windows in summer (when the angle of inclination of the sun is high) while letting max sun in during the winter (when the angle is low). Meanwhile, the obtuse angle on the north face let in max light all the time. (And leaked, IIRC.) That the whole thing ended up looking like the squared-off American cousin of a Maginot Line fortification was unintended, yet somehow appropriate, given its function. (I got my diploma in the mail; no love lost between me and TSU administrators.)

wow, VERY ambitious plan i must say. good for towson; the town and the university.

[scando]

Originally Posted by Maudibjr

Yes if there is one word I would associate with TU's dorms, it is Soviet.

I guess it runs paraell to the rest of Towson's awful architecture. The courthouse is classical then downhill from there.

A lot of Towson, both the town center and the university, is special. I have rarely ever seen such a collection of weird, bad architecture. Think about buildings like the Investment Building, the high rise condos on Allegany Ave, the circular highrise on East Joppa Road, the Stalinist dorms on Cross Campus Drive, that weird, blocky Marriott hotel off York road, the Mall, the huge hole between Trader Joes and the mall parking garage wall, the public library, etc. Given that there is probably a normal distribution of good and bad buildings in the world, Towson's collection is probably 3 standard deviations below the norm.

[jamie_hunt]

Originally Posted by scando

Given that there is probably a normal distribution of good and bad buildings in the world, Towson's collection is probably 3 standard deviations below the norm.

That is the funniest, most spot-on post I've ever read. Alas, poor Towson, I knew it well ...

[PeterSmith]

Footloose and fancy town
Proposed Towson makeover would push out the cars and bring in the walkers
By Ruma Kumar
Sun Reporter
Originally published June 10, 2007

Landscape architect Roland Oehme's dream is modest: He wants to be able to bike from his home in West Towson to the center of the Baltimore County seat without risking his life. So far, it's easier said than done.

On a recent bike ride into the heart of town, he said, he barely avoided a wreck on Bosley Avenue -- a "treacherous" mix of six lanes of cars whizzing past at 50 mph, impatient drivers and traffic lights that don't allow walkers or bikers enough time to cross.

Over the past week, Oehme's cautionary tale mingled with concerns and suggestions from about 150 residents and business owners, spawning a series of recommendations that would make Towson more pedestrian- and bike-friendly -- and more attractive for shops and outdoor dining.

More than 100 residents, business owners and county government officials gathered at Trinity Episcopal Church yesterday to hear the proposals prepared by a team of engineers, urban planners and architects.

Their ideas for a downtown facelift include:

• Slimming York Road, downtown's main thoroughfare, from four lanes to two, with extra room for parallel parking to entice visitors to linger in front of shops and restaurants.

• Converting two key east-west routes -- Chesapeake and Pennsylvania avenues -- into two-way streets.

• Redesigning the much-debated Towson roundabout to make it easier for drivers to enter and exit the traffic circle.

• Establishing crosswalks and islands, along with open, park-like spaces for festivals and outdoor events.

Rhoda Dorsey, retired president of Goucher College and a longtime Towson resident, said the plans would transform a downtown designed in the 1960s with broad boulevards and narrow sidewalks to accommodate cars but not the walkers, shoppers and diners who want to linger rather than rush through.

"Many of the ideas shared [yesterday] fell on very receptive ears," she said.

Towson's renewal and redevelopment efforts have intensified over the past two years, with major construction projects under way and more in the works.

Yesterday's recommendations capped a year of public meetings and work with two firms studying ways to make downtown Towson more walkable. The county has paid $296,000 for the studies.

The recommendations come as business leaders consider the possibility of a special taxing district, where property owners would pay for extra services such as street cleaning or landscape maintenance that the county doesn't ordinarily provide.

The latest proposals won't become reality soon, though. A final report isn't expected until early fall, said Mary Harvey, director of Baltimore County's Office of Community Conservation.

Once that's done, Harvey said, county departments, including public works, planning and parks will look at their budgets to see what to tackle first. The plan would also require cooperation from the State Highway Administration because York Road is a state highway.

"We're looking at some of these things happening over the next five to 10 years," she said.

West Towson's Oehme says he might not be able to wait that long.

"I want to live in a place where I can walk or bike around to restaurants, to stores," he said. "I feel more alive as a person when I bike. I grew up here, but I won't keep living here if I can't have that kind of lifestyle."


--------------------------

In the paper version of the Sun this morning there was also a rendering of what a transformed Towson might resemble. The rendering was merely conceptual, I think, because it made no attempt to include any of the buildings that already exist. Instead it just included its own Parisian-esque buildings. The rendering looked great, but it didn't resemble Towson one bit.

[scando]

This is all very interesting..I hope something gets going. Some of these have been around before...

"Slimming York Road, downtown's main thoroughfare, from four lanes to two, with extra room for parallel parking to entice visitors to linger in front of shops and restaurants."

I recall that the county was supposedly in talks with SHA to swap part of T'town Blvd for a few blocks of York Rd. If SHA could improve the bypass to be more efficient, it would be great to draw thru traffic off York.

"Converting two key east-west routes -- Chesapeake and Pennsylvania avenues -- into two-way streets."

These streets seem underutilized to me. I don't think the traffic capacity would suffer.

"Establishing crosswalks and islands, along with open, park-like spaces for festivals and outdoor events."

Just where ARE these open spaces? Towson is pretty much filled in except for the parking lots east of York Rd that are spoken for.

"We're looking at some of these things happening over the next five to 10 years," she said"

That's not fast enough. They need to start this Thursday.

I'm especially interested in what they can do to refine the roundabout. I've gotten used to it (close your eyes and hit the gas) but it needs help. Historically this has always been a difficult intersection. At one time the fire department was right in the middle. There have been traffic lights, no traffic lights, stop signs, anything goes (the current situation), fire trucks pulling into traffic and nobody's yet to figure out what to do when 5 streets intersect in a space the size of a large pool. It worked pretty well when it was just horses, but I guess we won't go back to that until gas gets to $6.

[Maudibjr]

Originally Posted by PeterSmith

In the paper version of the Sun this morning there was also a rendering of what a transformed Towson might resemble. The rendering was merely conceptual, I think, because it made no attempt to include any of the buildings that already exist. Instead it just included its own Parisian-esque buildings. The rendering looked great, but it didn't resemble Towson one bit.

You could see the mall in the background, but it seemed utterly fantasy land to me.

I don't really give weight to most of these proposals, I frankly think it was held just so the community could see that they had imput and were not 'blindsided' by something (although they will anyway). Although it cost the county 300k. A lot of the proposals ranged from pure pie in the sky to just goofy.

[scando]

Originally Posted by Maudibjr

You could see the mall in the background, but it seemed utterly fantasy land to me.

I don't really give weight to most of these proposals, I frankly think it was held just so the community could see that they had imput and were not 'blindsided' by something (although they will anyway). Although it cost the county 300k. A lot of the proposals ranged from pure pie in the sky to just goofy.

Most of those sort of brainstorming events do produce some loopy ideas, but at least the county government is thinking about it. In spite of being right around the block, they seem to go through 10 year periods where they don't notice what's going on right next to them. All of a sudden, there seems to be a lot of development in Towson. The University, the site on Dulaney Valley road, the mall and the long proposed development east of Towson Circle all seem to be coming to fruition, so the government needs to be part of the action, mainly in regard to streets, pedestrian environment and traffic flow.

I'm sure that whatever is proposed will encounter waves of controversy from the nearby suburban areas, but the influx of population in all these new developments is going to force the issue. Without something, traffic will halt and dead pedestrians will litter the streets around the even more intense roundabout. Much of what is proposed is not likely to happen but if this results in only some walkway improvements, it will be worth the price

[sdeclue]

I like some of the ideas but I don't think you need to cut down the number of travel lanes to make the place pedestrian friendly. There are many parts of Baltimore, Bethesda, Silver Spring etc that have 3 and 4 lanes and are plenty pedestrian friendly.

[mikey001]

Originally Posted by sdeclue

I like some of the ideas but I don't think you need to cut down the number of travel lanes to make the place pedestrian friendly. There are many parts of Baltimore, Bethesda, Silver Spring etc that have 3 and 4 lanes and are plenty pedestrian friendly.

I agree. Being pedestrian friendly doesn't mean you have to be driver "unfriendly". Traffic on York Road is bad enough. I can't imagine what it'll become if they permanently remove one lane in each direction. I agree that Silver Spring and especially Bethesda are excellent examples of places that are great to walk around, without having to cut down on the number of travel lanes. Could you imagine Wisconsin Ave as only a two lane road?

[PeterSmith]

I'm actually excited about the change from four lanes to two in Towson. It is possible to have pedestrian-friendly areas with four lanes streets, but I think two lane streets will always be more accommodating.
Frankly, drivers on York Rd. have demonstrated time and time again that they don't wish to obey or even acknowledge traffic laws. I don't see why we should be perpetuating such inconsideration by giving them more space in which they can break the law.

[scando]

Originally Posted by mikey001

I agree. Being pedestrian friendly doesn't mean you have to be driver "unfriendly". Traffic on York Road is bad enough. I can't imagine what it'll become if they permanently remove one lane in each direction. I agree that Silver Spring and especially Bethesda are excellent examples of places that are great to walk around, without having to cut down on the number of travel lanes. Could you imagine Wisconsin Ave as only a two lane road?

The key to making this work is taking most of the traffic OFF York Rd. They will need to work with the State to build a mini-beltway around the Towson core. Towsontown Blvd does some of this, but they will need to address the eastern side and Fairmount Ave. Currently TTown Blvd runs out of steam after passing the library. Something is needed to complete the loop so that it connects to the wider Fairmount that starts at Joppa Rd. This all seems doable to me, but the county will need to take York from the State and give them TTown in return.

[Maudibjr]

Originally Posted by scando

The key to making this work is taking most of the traffic OFF York Rd. They will need to work with the State to build a mini-beltway around the Towson core. Towsontown Blvd does some of this, but they will need to address the eastern side and Fairmount Ave. Currently TTown Blvd runs out of steam after passing the library. Something is needed to complete the loop so that it connects to the wider Fairmount that starts at Joppa Rd. This all seems doable to me, but the county will need to take York from the State and give them TTown in return.

I think that this is a good idea.

I think expanding Ttown to fairmount would be very easy. However expanding that one block of fairmount could be rife with problems. Baltimore Co. would have to aquire all of the properties on the east side of the road. Additionally this is the historic black east towson all remaing 20+ properties. I can only imagine the fuss that would be raised.