Section 3: Elements—Natural Environment
MAP ID
MAP LOCATION
Captain John’s Branch: 41
Segment A: Baltimore-Washington Parkway to Browning's Grove Park
Captain John’s Branch: 42
Segment B: Browning's Grove Park to 5811 Riverdale Road
ISSUE This section of the stream receives untreated stormwater from adjoining neighborhoods via a system of pipes and concrete swales and from the BaltimoreWashington Parkway via a 48inch culvert. The stream buffer in this section is unwooded except for sections within the BaltimoreWashington Parkway ROW and Browning's Grove Park. More than half of the unwooded buffer is paved.
Untreated stormwater runoff from parking lots and adjoining neighborhoods enters the stream via a system of pipes and concrete swales. The stream buffer on the south bank is not wooded except for individual landscaping plants.
RECOMMENDATIONS Create bioretention areas between the stream and the edges of the (six) concrete swales along Greenvale Parkway between the Baltimore-Washington Parkway ROW and 61st Place, to provide quality and quantity control for the stormwater passing through the area. Construct a bioretention facility within the stream buffer on the left bank between the Baltimore-Washington Parkway ROW and Longfellow Street. Design this feature to double as a linear park and amenity to the community, with trees, seating areas and lighting, along Greenvale Parkway. Plant large-caliper (4-inch) shade trees along both sides of Greenvale Parkway. Evaluate the potential of reducing the width of Greenvale Parkway to increase the amount of green space adjacent to the stream. Partner with St. Bernard's Church to seek funding to remove impervious surfaces (including several parking spaces) from the parking lot adjacent to the stream to extend the existing green space to the regulated (60-foot) stream buffer width. Construct bioretention areas (totaling approximately 450 feet) adjacent to the stream at that location to treat runoff from the church and the community beyond before it enters the stream. Partner with institutional and nonprofit partners to explore funding to construct a wetlands area or rain garden using native plant species on the southeast portion of the grounds adjacent to parkland for stormwater quality control. Preserve and protect all remaining woodlands within the stream buffer on the north stream bank.
134 | The Approved EAST RIVERDALE-BEACON HEIGHTS Sector Plan