Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Dozens of Pikesville residents who attended a Baltimore County Department of Planning meeting recently suggested that a community center could be the unifying force to revitalize the ethnically diverse suburb of Baltimore City.
“There’s no real gathering spaces for community,” said Jessica, a Sudbrook resident. “I’ve been here 15 years and I have not seen a Fourth of July Parade go down Main Street.”
Pikesville, the 32nd largest community in Maryland, has a healthy blend of whites, African-Americans, and residents of Russian, German, Polish, African and Irish descent. The Planning Department held its first meeting on April 11 to encourage residents to discuss ways their community can improve in terms of becoming more commercialized and memorable.
Bill Skibinski, the Western Sector Planner, presented a study of the area to an audience of about 30 people. The study focused on how Pikesville compared to other nearby towns in Baltimore with its streetscape, business outreach, zoning, and traffic and parking. Skibinski outlined the issues that were most prevalent in the town.
“We want to repurpose, to benefit the community,” Skibinski said to the audience. “As well as provide commercial revitalization.”
One group pointed to a lack of community togetherness. They said that Pikesville was disconnected with its people who lacked a gathering place to hold events for the community.
“There needs to be a new type of destination,” Jessica continued with many in the audience nodding in agreement. “A community center where everyone, not just people who live here, but people who live outside that travel so far. Again, it’s a pull from outside that we really need.”
One group recalled the thoughts of others when they asked about Pikesville.
“What we found in common with people we talked to is they don’t enjoy coming to Pikesville,” another group representative said. “We gotta change that mental attitude and experience so that people will want to go to Pikesville and enjoy it.”
“We have to focus on marketing and branding,” Goldberg said to the audience. “So that people know where Pikesville is from.”
Pikesville became forgettable in the recent years compared to its neighboring towns, residents explains, adding they do not want it to be just another town where travelers pass through to get to another place.
Residents pointed to the lack of cleanup within the streets, stressing how unattractive it is to see trash everywhere with no one seeming to care.
“Garbage needs to be cleaned up,” Pikesville resident Leslie Berger said. “It’s not attractive looking anymore.”
In addition to the garbage, some residents also pointed to “ugly” power lines.
While many residents focused on the negatives, some did point to the Armory and the Pikes Theater as popular places, attractive enough to be placed on postcards.
The meeting is the first of the series. The Department of Planning will hold additional meetings for feedback from residents in the hopes of finding out what to prioritize in revitalizing the Pikesville Commercial District. Skibinski said he wants to especially talk with young people at the next meeting.
“Skibinski tries to do a good job reaching out,” said Pikesville resident Arnold Potler. “But I think that more community associations should take part in the planning.”
Potler said six community associations are involved when there should be more than 30 in the area.