Terrapin Row community may worsen traffic and present new pedestrian concerns, but College Park officials expect development to help city's image

         The Terrapin Row community, which is set to open in College Park at the start of the Fall 2016 semester, has city experts and officials expecting a major uptick in traffic congestion on adjacent Knox Road, Hartwick Road, and Guilford Drive.

            The addition of Terrapin Row could lead to an increase in accidents involving pedestrians. The amount of minor car accidents may also become a burgeoning issue.

            But despite the safety risks that come along with the community, University of Maryland and College Park officials alike are confident that the upscale apartments and surrounding shops will greatly elevate the area’s reputation.

Source: Google Images

          With more than 1,500 new residents, expect more congestion on Knox, Hartwick, and Guilford

            According to the project details of the complex, there will be 507 parking spaces available in Terrapin Row. The community will be able to house a maximum of 1,515 residents.

            University of Maryland research scientist Dr. Frederick Ducca, who spent 27 years as a travel forecaster for the Federal Highway Administration, believes that Knox, Hartwick, and Guilford will become heavily congested due to Terrapin Row.

             “You’re going to see Knox Road and the other roads next to Terrapin Row most affected by increased traffic,” Ducca said.

            “Knox Road is already a problem in terms of traffic, especially on the stretch connecting to Baltimore Avenue, and that problem is going to get worse,” Ducca said.

            Terrapin Row is one of multiple new developments that will bring more traffic to College Park, and Ducca considers it as one of the catalysts for a large expected increase in traffic over the next ten years.

            
            According to city statistics, the future daily average traffic in College Park is projected to include over 330,000 people. Currently, the daily average is at 284,244.

            Recently re-elected College Park city councilman Robert Day believes that students will indeed play a big role in the approximate 50,000-person congestion increase.

            “One of the hopes was that as students moved closer to the university they’d use their cars less, but they have lives too,” Day said.

            “They’re not going to just be staying right there next to campus,” Day said

            Ducca cites the narrow and winding roads on Knox, Hartwick, and Guilford as “the perfect storm” for daily heavy traffic backups, especially in the late afternoon and early evening when students are finished with class for the day.  

            Ducca’s predictions are bad news not just for future residents of Terrapin Row who have cars. Drivers leaving from Hartwick Towers, Delta Sigma Phi, and the remaining Knox Boxes will also all be negatively affected by the new development.

            Councilman Day admits that there will be issues for next year’s residents of Terrapin Row’s neighboring houses and buildings.

           

            “The city council has also had discussions about widening Knox Road, Hartwick Road, Guilford Drive to alleviate some of the traffic. But we’re not close to getting that done at this time,” Day said.

            “It’s a project for the future,” Day said.

            Current Hartwick Towers resident Dan Sblendorio is one of many Knox Road residents worried about what the traffic situation will look like next fall, as well as in future years.

            “Trying to drive to Route 1 from Knox is already impossible at night,” Sblendorio said.

            “It’s ridiculous that it can sometimes take five minutes just to get out of the Hartwick parking lot, and then another ten to get past the light at Baltimore Avenue. I feel bad for whoever has to drive on this road next year when it’s even worse,” Sblendorio said.

             Last year, Sblendorio was originally supposed to live in one of the Knox Boxes that was torn down to make way for Terrapin Row. While he admits that Terrapin Row will likely be more aesthetically pleasing for the College Park and Knox Road community, he also foresees a multitude of issues in the beginning of next semester.

            “I don’t think it’s hard to figure out that adding 1,500 people to a neighborhood with some of the worst traffic on this campus translates to big problems,” Sblendorio said.

           College Park officials hope to prevent major uptick in pedestrian incidents, fender-benders

Nighttime view of Terrapin Row on Knox Road
Source: Daniel Weintraub

            Ducca thinks that the influx of new residents in the area makes pedestrian safety a concern. Not only will the residents be living in a community right next to a traffic-heavy Knox Road, but they are also just steps away from Route 1. 

            Multiple fatal accidents involving pedestrians occurred on Route 1 last year. College Park officials have responded by encouraging police to crack down on jaywalkers this year, but Councilman Day is concerned that there are not enough safeguards in place to satisfy the needs of 1,500 new residents.

            “We have to do several things to address safety concerns for pedestrian traffic,” Day said

            “We need to make sure we put new crosswalks in the right places. We need to make sure that they are very well lit, and that we identify them far enough up [Knox] road so that people know what’s going on,” Day said.

           Day believes that the culture of College Park also has to be taken into account before assuming that pedestrian safety will not become a problem. It is well known that many students go out to the local bars or house parties. Potentially intoxicated Terrapin Row residents walking along busy roads is another dangerous situation that has Day believing the city has work to do to ensure safety.

           

            “We do have a culture of heavy student drinking on many nights of the week, and this has the ability to create a new issue with a substantial amount of Terrapin Row residents not being careful on Knox, on Hartwick, so that’s got to be addressed,” Day said.

            Pedestrian safety is not the only potentially hazardous byproduct of the Terrapin Row community – vehicular safety is a concern, as well.

            Ducca believes that such the expected steep increase in traffic on Knox, Hartwick, and Guilford will correlate to a somewhat sizable increase in minor car accidents. Although Ducca does not foresee any high-speed incidents occurring, he believes that fender-benders have the ability to become a headache for the area’s drivers.

            “Fender-benders obviously slow down traffic even more,” Ducca said.

“On any given day, there could be an extra layer, so to speak, of backup since little accidents like fender-benders tend to happen more in areas with condensed and slow-moving traffic.”

           

            Ducca also thinks that there could at least be a minor issue for students who drive to class.

            “I don’t think that there’s going to be an epidemic of sorts with minor accidents, but I do think that there’s a chance that there will be times in which student drivers will be stuck trying to get to class,” Ducca said.

            “I’d probably advise students in the Terrapin Row area and the surrounding residences to just avoid risk altogether and walk to class, because these accidents might happen from time to time,” Ducca said.

            
              Despite traffic and pedestrian concerns, the university and town are excited to see College Park expand

Source: Google Images

               Many high-ranking people in College Park do believe that the positive aspects of Terrapin Row outweigh the safety risks that come with it. They consider the Terrapin Row community as an important stepping-stone in the re-branding of College Park as a chic city, as well as a recruiting tool for the university.

              Terrapin Row is a major part of the housing/development portion of College Park’s Vision 2020, which is a plan designed to make College Park a Top 20 college town by the year 2020.

            Terrapin Row’s upscale apartment styles and shopping center are the main attractions that Councilman Day believes will indeed launch College Park into the upper echelon of college towns.

            “Many of the perceived weaknesses of College Park as a college town are going to be addressed in Terrapin Row,” Day said.

            “The Knox Boxes were the old College Park. Terrapin Row, the Landmark, the Hotel, this is all positive change that’s a long time coming,” Day said.

            University of Maryland president Wallace Loh has been one of many staunch supporters of the new housing development, as it has fit in nicely with his reshaping of the university’s image.

             Ever since taking over as university president in 2010, Loh has been involved with many steps to modernize Maryland and College Park. Such changes include the university’s move to the Big Ten, the announcement of a four-star hotel and conference center being constructed right on Route 1, and the demolition of outdated Knox Boxes to make way for Terrapin Row.

           

            Councilman Day thinks that Loh’s leadership has been, and will continue to be, a crucial aspect of College Park’s rapid overhaul and subsequent improvement.

           

            “President Loh, he’s been a breath of fresh air for this city,” Day said.

           

            “He’s not afraid of change, he embraces it, and it seems like we’re finally getting that much-needed change with Terrapin Row and all the other amenities,” Day said.

           

            Ducca also believes that despite its possible safety hazards, the benefits of Terrapin Row will eventually outweigh its problems.

            “Do I think it’s going to be a perfect system? Of course not. But I do think that the traffic and pedestrian issues will have to be addressed, and once they are, Terrapin Row will have a huge positive effect on this town and this school,” Ducca said.