Baltimore awarded $6 million in federal grant to reconnect communities with Druid Hill Park

BALTIMORE - U.S. lawmakers representing Maryland secured $6 million in federal funds to assist in reconnecting west Baltimore communities with Druid Hill Park.

The money awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation will go toward redesign planning for Druid Park Lake Drive, which was expanded from two lanes to four more than 60 years ago to facilitate faster travel to and from city neighborhoods.

However, with limited pedestrian crossings, U.S. lawmakers said some communities were cut off from accessing the nation's third-oldest park.

"The most important thing is that it's very hard to cross the street and it's kind of interesting to see that the rest of the park is cut off from the community," Martin Baesler said.

"The crossing of the street is not easy at all and it's very high-traffic, fast lane," Guillermo Canner said.

The more than two-mile arterial roadway borders neighborhoods such as Auchentoroly Terrace, Reservoir Hill, Penn North and Woodbrook.

"Druid Hill Park is a long-standing center for recreation and open space in Baltimore, but for too long, the historically Black communities living right next door have been cut off from this signature park by an imposing roadway that favors high-speed traffic over local residents," Senator Ben Cardin said. "This federal funding will support the planning needed to restore connectivity and equitable access to Baltimore's community parks, and it is part of the Biden Administration's larger effort to address the disenfranchisement and systemic isolation of Black communities resulting from past infrastructure decisions and projects."

Baltimore City officials said with the infusion of federal funds for the project, the goal is to reconnect surrounding streets with Druid Hill Park through calmer traffic, increased tree canopy and designs that make the road safer for all users, including cyclists, pedestrians, transit passengers and people using mobility devices.

The award is one of six federal grants that total more than $11 million for the state of Maryland to address infrastructure that divided communities in the state, lawmakers said.

"Ever since Druid Park Lake Drive was widened decades ago – against the wishes of local communities – the roadway stood as a barrier between the historic Druid Hill Park and nearby neighborhoods. Through the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, we secured funding to confront and correct harmful infrastructure decisions of the past – like this one. With this federal investment, Baltimore City can begin to right this wrong, improving safety along the road while restoring more local access to the treasured Druid Hill Park," said Senator Chris Van Hollen.