Jones Falls Valley Visions

The Neighborhood Design Center was pleased to join the Central Baltimore Partnership and more than twelve other partners in planning and implementing the Jones Falls Visioning Workshop last month at the Motor House. At this event, stakeholders and community members came together to discuss existing projects, shared interests, and future visions for the Jones Falls Valley with the ultimate goal of developing a strategic plan with actionable recreational, environmental and transit recommendations for enhancing the corridor.

The Jones Falls runs through Baltimore from where it is impounded to create Lake Roland all the way down to the Inner Harbor. The valley of this stream falls directly below Interstate 83 and shares borders with a variety of neighborhoods. The Jones Falls is a unique asset; with better access it could be used by thousands of city residents.

The workshop was attended by over 75 residents, artists, business owners, and city agencies and consisted of project leaders in seven topic areas giving a brief overview of their vision, then leading small breakout groups with interested participants. The topic areas discussed ranged from arts and performance to environmental projects to the development and/or repurposing of existing assets. All of the above mentioned groups were facilitated by Neighborhood Design Center volunteers and/or board members (listed below)!

An important outcome of the workshop was the establishment of the “Friends of Jones Falls” group and the Central Baltimore Partnership has organized the Friends of Jones Falls kick-off celebration at Union Craft Brewing on March 8th from 6pm-8pm.

If you are interested in receiving the post-workshop report or getting involved with the work along the Jones Falls, please contact Aaron Kaufman, the Central Baltimore Partnership Community Projects Manager, at akaufman@centralbaltimore.org

For reference, the presenters and their topics can be found below:

Arts and Performance Along the Jones Falls

Presented by Richard Best (Section 1)

Facilitated by LaShauna Jones

Development and Land Use Along the Jones Falls

Presented by Al Barry (AB Associates), Andrew Cook (Baltimore City Office of Sustainability/Made in Baltimore), and Reni Lawal (Baltimore City Department of Planning)

Facilitated by Nariman El Said

Creating a “Friends of the Jones Falls” group

Presented by Sandy Sparks (Friends of Stony Run) and Molly Gallant (Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks)

Facilitated by Ryan Patterson

Joint User Group Greenway Visioning

Presented by Jed Weeks (Bikemore)

Facilitated by Ren Southard and Teddy Krolik

New Life for Existing Assets: Roundhouse Alternative Uses

Presented by Doug Bothner (Ziger/Snead Architects)

Facilitated by Gerald Neily

Beautifying Access Points

Presented by Zoe Clarkwest and Amanda Cunningham (Baltimore City Forestry Board)