The University updated the Hopkins community on the progress of the Charles Street reconstruction project this past Friday via email. The developments include the removal of several large blockades that will allow for easier pedestrian access to the Homewood campus, the continuation of roadwork and detours that will affect those living in Charles Village.
The $28 million renovation, supported by federal and local funds as well as significant contributions from the University, was first discussed in 1999 with explorations into its feasibility by the City of Baltimore. The project ran into several issues and was stalled for years until planning resumed in Jan. 2010. Construction began in the spring of 2012 with the installation of a new gas line beneath Charles Street.
Senior Project Manager in Design and Construction for Johns Hopkins Facilities and Real Estate (JHFRE) Michael Sullivan said that the work has proceeded almost as planned.
“Construction has stayed on schedule for the most part with time extensions agreed upon due to the impact of unknown communication lines and delays due to weather,” he said.
The reconstruction has affected many Baltimore residents due to the high traffic Charles Street receives each day. The Baltimore City Department of Transportation notified city residents that more changes will take effect on Thursday, saying that vehicular traffic will be diverted in the northbound direction on Charles Street as cars are detoured from Greenway.
Hopkins also noted that the crosswalk leading to Art Museum Drive has just been relocated to the south side of its intersection with Charles Street. This change will create a safer route for pedestrians, who had previously been forced to cross both lanes of traffic on Charles Street.
The University’s email noted that the paving of the ellipse in front of the Beach has been installed, and that the sidewalk running from 33rd Street to University Parkway on the campus side of Charles Street will be opened to pedestrian foot traffic.
Junior Harriet Green expressed her relief that it is now easier to reach campus.
“The fact that the fences have opened up around the Beach allows me to now commute more directly and get to class in less time,” she said.
Junior Nicole Babaknia agreed.
“I think opening up that central part of campus right outside of the Beach changed the whole entrance there,” Babaknia said. “It’s convenient for us as students and it looks fantastic.”
Leaders of the reconstruction project have maintained that though it may beautify the area, increasing safety was the primary motivation for the project.
“The redesign includes ‘traffic calming measures’ to reduce the speed of the vehicles due to the changes in road surface from pavers to blacktop and the separation of travelling lanes like a boulevard; marked bike lanes were added; a larger pedestrian crossing at Charles & 34th Street, i.e. the Beach, etc.,” Sullivan wrote in an email to The News-Letter.
Babaknia said she was curious about how easy it will be to cross the intersection once the street is once again opened to vehicular traffic.
“I’m really interested to see [what] the situation with the traffic is going to be like with cars and parking,” she said.
Sullivan, the Hopkins project liaison for the Charles Street Reconstruction Project, also talked about the aesthetic changes that will result from the overhaul.
“The enhanced landscaping, art area at 33rd Street, use of pavers, etc. all add to increasingly welcome pedestrians to frequent the businesses throughout Charles Village,” he wrote.
Sullivan said that the reconstruction project will not only improve Charles Street but it also will help the city and the University in their efforts to bolster the business community of Charles Village.
“The development of the Olmsted Lot will benefit from the pedestrian-friendly boulevard at Charles as well and continue the link via 33rd Street to St. Paul Street and Charles Village,” he said.
This past winter, construction was paused, frustrating many students hoping that construction would be completed sooner. Sullivan said the project is nevertheless on track.
“Construction for the most part was halted in mid-December due to weather constraints [with] an uncharacteristic number of rain days [and] numerous snow events from December through March with Baltimore receiving over 40 inches of snowfall,” he wrote. “The contractor has at times advanced work in one area to compensate for a delay in another area.”
Junior Tiffany Lin expressed her hope that the project will be fully completed in the near future.
“I hope we can enjoy it for senior year but I know its been hard with weather delays,” Lin said. “Regardless, it’s coming together very nicely.”
Despite numerous delays and unforeseen weather-related slowdowns, the project’s leaders expect it to be completed this fall, with the last signs to be installed in October and the official grand opening to take place in November.
Sullivan said that the city is working with Hopkins on plans to improve road safety on the other side of campus.
“JHFRE continues to evaluate San Martin Drive in order to make the road a safer and more pedestrian-friendly (and jogger-friendly) roadway,” he wrote.
“Traffic calming measures were added last year to slow vehicular traffic via longer ‘speed bumps’ and other devices [and] a sidewalk is now being planned as well.”
