---
title: College Park’s ‘Main Street’ Finishes Safety Upgrade
date: 2024-11-11T05:30:00-05:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/college-parks-main-street-finishes-safety-upgrade"
section: Articles
---
# College Park’s ‘Main Street’ Finishes Safety Upgrade

*November 11, 2024* — by [Allison Eatough ’97](/author/allison-eatough-97)


> Campus and Community Leaders Celebrate New Bike Lanes, Sidewalk Improvements on 1.5-mile Stretch

*Baltimore Ave Ribbon Cutting 11092024 RS 7359v2 1920x1080 — Testudo, Sybil Seabrook (left), and Rosie Seabrook (right) lead attendees of a ribbon-cutting ceremony down Baltimore Avenue on Saturday in celebration of the completion of a $56.9 million project to upgrade the street and boost safety along a 1.5-mile route.*

Chester Harvey’s commute from Washington to the University of Maryland via Metro and a foldable bicycle has always been eco-friendly, if not always convenient. Sometimes he’d have to use the sidewalks and clunk over the concrete seams every second. Or he’d take an indirect route using shoulders and side streets to avoid busy Baltimore Avenue.

But with the addition of new, brightly painted bike lanes on College Park’s main street, his ride just got greener—literally. The 5-foot-wide, lime-hued lanes are among the most visible components of a recently completed $56.9 million state reconstruction project to improve safety and traffic flow downtown.

“Now folks, myself included, are incorporating Baltimore Avenue into their bike network in a way that it wasn’t before,” said Harvey, director of the Transportation Policy Research at UMD’s National Center for Smart Growth. “You feel like you are supposed to be there.”

On Saturday, students, bike commuters like Harvey and leaders from UMD, the city of College Park, the Maryland Department of Transportation and Prince George’s County celebrated completion of the 1.5-mile project at a community event on Fraternity Row Field.


*people and mascot cut a ribbon on a street — From left, Maryland State Highway Administration Administrator William Pines, College Park Mayor Fazlul Kabir, state Sen. Jim Rosapepe (D-College Park), Prince George's County Council Member Eric Olson and UMD President Darryll J. Pines cut a ribbon to ceremonially open the improved stretch of Baltimore Avenue while Testudo looks on.*


*bicyclists bicycles along a bicycle lane that is painted green — Members of Proteus Velo Club ride in a recently created bike lane while other attendees at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Saturday march along Baltimore Avenue.*




**Topics:** [Campus & Community](https://today.umd.edu/tags/campus-community)