North Gate Park – A new era of collaboration?
October 4th, 2006 | by David Daddio | Published in Northgate Park, On Campus Development, Route 1 | 5 Comments
Last week we reported on the imminent construction of North Gate Park – a project coordinated by the City-University Partnership and whose final design was derived from a 22-student sophomore Landscape Architecture class competition. Add in some grants, several organizations, and some very meaningful stakeholder participation and out comes a project whose benefits can’t be emphasized enough.
The park will provide a bus shelter and much needed pedestrian link to campus while respecting the Paint Branch’s forested stream buffer and incorporates sustainable design and building materials. It will contain a rain garden to reduce runoff, environmental interpretive signs, and an orchard for your gorging pleasure. Since our first post we’ve spoken with Jack Sullivan, the instructor and assistant professor who worked closely on the North Park effort (see more details). He was kind enough to send us this pamphlet with some other great schematics of the project. We hope North Gate Park will be a powerful model and constant reminder of how different members of the community can and do work towards common goals.
With technical and artistic expertise, academic curiosity and scholarship, and unbounded enthusiasm, students have created a beautiful, comfortable and sustainable design.
October 4th, 2006 at 4:44 am (#)
I wholeheartedly support this project, and wish that there were more like it along the length of the Paint Branch, and other urban river systems. However, while I think that the concept is a good one, I can’t help but wonder what good an orchard will do. Fruit trees take a long time to acheive decent “feast-able” yields, and given MD’s climate, take alot of care to produce. Looking at some of the other landscaping here, I wonder if those trees will last, or if they will be replaced by more traditional ash, beech, or other hardwood.
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October 4th, 2006 at 5:41 am (#)
I don’t want junkies trying to eat fruit off trees in the park across the street from my apartment complex. If they contract consequent digestive problems, it’ll create a smell.
It already smells enough.
‘Plain’ trees please!
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October 4th, 2006 at 3:26 pm (#)
Finally we can usufruct more than sour crabapples. I wonder, though, if the fallen fruit will attract rats.
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October 4th, 2006 at 7:39 pm (#)
Hard Cider, anyone? Sounds like a good chemistry project to me.
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May 6th, 2009 at 5:12 pm (#)
Great information and usefull too. I need a grant and I need all the help I can get. I will be back soon as I have bookmarked your blog.
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