Making College Park Greener

Some of College Park's greatest assets are our green spaces, including excellent MNCPPC  parks such as Lake Artemesia, Calvert Road Park, and Calvert Neighborhood Park; as well as city owned parks such as the Calvert Road School and the Calvert Hills and Old Town playgrounds, and the beautiful grounds of the University of Maryland.  In addition to supporting our green spaces, the City has made a commendable commitment to our environment, including becoming a certified Maryland Sustainable Community, and has been working to reduce the City's carbon footprint through tree planting and purchasing hybrid city vehicles.

Though these efforts are laudable, the City of College Park can and should do more.

• Stormwater management is a major environmental and quality of life concern in College Park.  My street is at the bottom of a hill and is often inundated by stormwater during heavy rains, so I have experienced firsthand the impact of sub-optimal stormwater management on our community.  If elected, I will work closely with the University and Prince Georges County on a comprehensive stormwater management plan.  Although this should include larger overall capacity for the stormwater drainage throughout Old Town and Calvert Hills, it should also include greater use of rain gardens, permeable pavements, rain barrels, and cisterns.
• Development in College Park should be focused on our several transit hubs, including the new Purple Line, and the City should work with private and governmental partners to promote greater use of transit.  With greater proximity to transit, and incentives to use it, residents and workers in College Park could reduce traffic and greenhouse gas emission while enjoying our city's and our region's amenities by using public transportation.
• College Park should have a greater commitment to recycling and composting.  If elected, I will encourage the City to place two-container refuse receptacles on City thoroughfares downtown.  These containers, which are used widely in other parts of the metropolitan area, allow users to throw away trash as well as recycle.  Additionally, I would like to explore the possibility of a citywide composting program for food waste, a local example of which is the City of Takoma Park.  
• City Hall should be LEED certified.  As the city proceeds in the development and construction of our new City Hall downtown, the building should be designed to conform to LEED building standards, ideally certified as gold or platinum.