The Baltimore City Department of Transportation (BCDOT) will undergo a $50 million project to update and transform Druid Lake and Druid Hill Park. Currently in the design phase, construction is anticipated to begin in 2028.
As part of the project, the city will reinvent the Druid Lake Reservoir into an interconnected recreational lake for swimming, events, sports and other communal activities. The Vision Plan has been in development since 2021, undergoing several changes as the city incorporated public feedback into the park’s transformation.
Features included in the vision include the introduction of new shorelines, accessible paths to the water and an approximately 130,000 square foot protected swimming cove. Major additions to the lake will include installing new trails, paths and loops around the shoreline, a boathouse, a restaurant and cafe, an outdoor education center and a covered amphitheater.
On top of the new amenities, the city could build a fishing pier, launch pads for kayaks and a bridge across the water. Additional work will center around implementing innovative stormwater management practices by connecting stormwater and springs into the basin. The site will have ample available space to host arts and performance pieces.
Community feedback earlier this year indicated that residents are interested in expanding the greenspace and foliage in the nearby area to support ecological restoration and shade canopies. These include prioritizing planting, additional trees and emphasizing water activities. The city is also focusing on making it safer and easier to access the shoreline.
The scope of the project is largely dependent on the completion of the nearly finished water tank project adjacent to the lake. Once that project is concluded, the city will be able to proactively move on the Druid Lake Project. The project may reuse fill materials from the water tank project and lakeshore grading to construct lake islands.
Photo by Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
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