The West Baltimore Station is the city’s fastest link to DC. Why is it so underdeveloped?

It’s a five minute’s drive from Downtown Baltimore, has free parking, and is surrounded by a vibrant (though blighted) neighborhood. But it’s badly maintained and isn’t even ADA compliant. Why is it so badly cared for?

If you’ve ever taken the MARC or an Amtrak from Penn Station to DC, you’ve passed the West Baltimore Station. It’s the only passenger rail station of any kind in Southwest Baltimore, and is located at roughly the halfway point between the city center and the city’s western border. It straddles two one-way roads that serve as one of the main thoroughfares between West and East Baltimore, West Franklin Street and West Mulberry Street.

The location of the West Baltimore Station

The West Baltimore Station’s level of development has been characterized for years by neglect. Although it received some much needed updates and safety enhancements in 2013 and 2014, it has remained largely unchanged in the years since and is in surprising disrepair.

Clearly, Baltimore has other, much greater challenges than a single undeveloped train station: crime, poverty, the drug epidemic, police and government corruption take a great toll on Baltimore’s inhabitants. But any asset that can be utilized to improve the flow of goods and services into and out of Baltimore ought to be utilized to its full potential. The West Baltimore Station ought to be the western gateway to the city.

The Current state of the West Baltimore Station

View of the station in early spring, 2018

The West Baltimore station currently consists of three fenced in parking lots and a bus terminal each about the size of small city blocks. The train platform itself is very short; only two train cars can access it during stops, meaning those disembarking at the station must be in the last two train cars or they won’t be able to depart. There are no complete shelters at the station; passengers wait in small glass bus stop style shelters either at the bus terminal or on the platform, which is raised above street level and susceptible to rain, snow, heat, and wind.

Passengers use a stool to board the train because the platform elevation is too low

The boarding platform is reached by two metal and two wooden staircases; there are no elevators or wheelchair ramps at the boarding platform, making it inaccessible for handicapped persons and unnecessarily difficult for elderly people to reach. The metal staircases are in poor but usable condition. Because the station is not raised to the level of the trains, a MARC employee steps out of the train car and places a step stool to help passengers board. Some simple landscaping was added in recent years but is moderately maintained. Parts of the steep embankment around the station’s ground have eroded significantly and are covered with litter.

The residents in the neighborhoods surrounding the station experience high crime and poverty rates. Blight is high in this neighborhood with many decaying, burned out, and abandoned buildings, including a large brick warehouse just north of the station with collapsing walls and no intact windows.

The station is surrounded by houses and businesses

However, despite the blight, there is definite vibrancy in the community: within a two block radius are two elementary schools, the Bentalou Recreation Center, a used appliance store, several furniture outlets, a few fast food restaurants, and several churches. The Ben Secours Hospital is located about six blocks away, and several small parks dot the surrounding area. Thousands of families and individuals live their lives in the blocks surrounding the area — people who could benefit from the enhanced access to opportunity a well-developed West Baltimore Station could provide.

The station at 7pm in early spring

The concentration of mixed uses facilitate significant levels of pedestrian activity around the station. Commuters fill the area during parts of the workday, school children bring activity a during the school, and the various business attract a variety of customers. However, pedestrian access to the boarding platform is still surprisingly problematic. The station is separated from the surrounding neighborhoods on all sides by three lanes of heavy traffic. Crosswalks are poorly placed, requiring pedestrians from the west side of the station to either jaywalk across major thoroughfares or walk two or three blocks out of their way.

The seemingly chaotic jumble of roads, intersections, parking lots, and various buildings nevertheless serve as an effective transit hub, even in its basic level of development. Easy vehicle access, free parking, and a quick commute to downtown via the Route 40 expressway mean the station already has high utility value. About 850 passengers used the train station each day in 2013 and hundreds more utilized the bus terminal.

Ideas for Enhancements to the West Baltimore Station

The West Baltimore Station would have been a key hub for the canceled Red Line

While the West Baltimore Station would have been an important stop for the canceled Red Line, it’s not enough to blame the line’s cancellation for the station’s current state of disrepair. Despite the unlikelihood of funding for an equivalent light rail line in the future, some relatively minor improvements to the West Baltimore Station could increase its desirability and usability and have a significant impact on the economic state of West Baltimore.

Enhancements to safety, convenience, and comfort should first be implemented via public and private development. The station’s close proximity to city blocks should be utilized to maximum benefit: the boarding platform should be extended to Edmondson Avenue, with pedestrian access interwoven tightly with the surrounding neighborhoods. This would put hundreds of people within a block or two of the station, without having to contend with the crossings at the Franklin and Mulberry thoroughfares. Easier pedestrian access might also reduce the need for car traffic in the area, enhancing walkability and quality of life.

Convenient access for nearby residents should be integrated into the station

Rather than steamrolling the neighborhood with a large scale city funded development, zoning regulations in the area should simply be adapted to empower local residents and the area’s existing business owners to cater to the needs and desires of commuters. This may mean businesses catering to the needs of West Baltimoreans, and not necessarily the upscale developments at stations in wealthier areas. This approach will preserve the property rights, trust, and sense of community for existing residents. The diverse building types in the area, which include hundreds of row houses and several large warehouses, could be reconfigured by private developers into residences, businesses, services, and cultural amenities in the blocks surrounding the station. Increased pedestrian oriented business would provide shelter and eyes on the street, reducing the need to fund shelter and safety enhancements while enhancing the experience of waiting passengers and boosting local employment.

Nearby properties could be auctioned off and redeveloped into tranit-oriented projects

City owned blighted and abandoned properties should be auctioned off to private parties, and any proceeds from sales should go to the development of the station. City seizure should be carefully considered only for properties whose owners have neglected them for a long time. To preserve local interest in the neighborhood, community trust, to combat the effects of gentrification, and to boost native property ownership, local residents in the immediate area who are interested in development should be guaranteed first access to property auctions. This would enable the neighborhood’s current residents to reap the benefits of rising real estate values rather than becoming out-priced and disenfranchised.

In the very long term, the parking lots could be redeveloped into mixed use, pedestrian and family oriented high rises with retail, offices, parking, and residences. This would further enhance the usability and self-sustainability of the station and help to create a safe, pedestrian and family oriented community. Local purchasers of formerly abandoned properties would be able to enjoy the rise in property value, preserving local flavor, capital, and community.

Conclusion

A few simple improvements are all are needed to greatly increase the usability of the West Baltimore Station and its ability to serve the surrounding community. At the very least, steps need to be taken to enhance the station’s safety and accessibility. The cancellation of the Red Line is not an adequate explanation for the station’s current state of neglect.

But simple enhancements should be only the beginning of the station’s redevelopment; it has the potential to serve as a major transit hub and the city’s western transit gateway, and deserves careful attention and community oriented revitalization.

Note: Construction on a new $22 million mixed income housing development is underway within sight of the West Baltimore Station, mostly with private funds but a relatively small amount of tax credits. The project will be specifically marketed as a transit oriented development to working families.