The city of Hyattsville would like to develop a study or report on how best to manage traffic in its rapidly growing community, and would welcome University collaboration on these efforts.
One aspect of reducing vehicular traffic is the increase use of mass transit; Hyattsville is also interested in increasing the efficiency of the many bus routes in the jurisdiction. This primarily includes Metrobus, the County bus and the University of Maryland shuttle. This proposed project also includes ride sharing programs (such as uber and lyft), and how to minimize single-occupancy vehicular traffic. Student exploration of approaches to this goal include the potential for new and supplemental services, and the benefits to Hyattsville businesses in participating in funding such programs.
The traffic study project in Hyattsville Project A1 is comprehensive, and focuses on both east/west and north/south traffic grids. This project focuses on improving on state highway rights of way (such as creating “complete streets,” with bike lanes, sidewalks, medians, water management features and efficient lighting), on north/south commercial and through traffic corridors. Students could explore approaches to maximizing the utility of these corridors in ways that complement adjacent uses.
The City of Hyattsville intends to develop and implement a municipal plan that maps out a strategy for pursuing the goals of sustainability. The plan might include a number of measures that city operations could implement to reduce the jurisdiction’s carbon footprint. Most, if not all, cost money and might benefit from a financing strategy and/or a business process for implementation. A more ambitious plan could develop city goals that include residents and businesses.
The State of Maryland created a Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP) in response to President Obama’s Executive Order and related court orders to restore the Chesapeake Bay’s water quality. Hyattsville is interested in creating a localized version. Students might review a business process for doing so, including the development and implementation of an integrated management of water resources in Hyattsville, including the entrepreneurial opportunities for green roofs, green walls, downspout disconnects, rain barrels, rain harvesting, rain gardens, swales, tree canopy enhancements, other greenscaping and other water-retaining methods with a goal of mimicking a forest hydrology for the city. Students could study co-benefits related to climate change, energy cost-reductions, aesthetic improvements, property value increase, and economic development and job support, and analyze cost reductions through integration with transportation and other infrastructural improvements (e.g., complete streets, buried power lines, local generation of clean energy).
Hyattsville’s environmental committee has goals that can be explored, some of which have been developed in conjunction with efforts as a Sustainable City under the Sustainable Maryland program. Students could research a partial or complete list of these projects and use business approaches to develop the City’s efforts to adopt and/or implement these measures.
The City of Hyattsville conducted a study of its tree canopy nearly a decade ago and would like to evaluate the current use of this study. Students could examine the use of this study, potentially including recommendations and justifications for conducting a new study.
Whether a new study is desired or not, the City of Hyattsville desires some form of an updated evaluation and inventory of its tree canopy. Students could develop approaches towards the use of this study, potentially including recommendations and justifications for conducting a new study.
Magruder Park is a prominent public park in Hyattsville and often the site of greening activities of the City of Hyattsville in past months and years. Associated with the watershed implementation plan (Hyattsville Project B5), Magruder Park and other public green spaces are the easiest to enhance with additional tree planting and other green scaping.
The co-benefit of special focus on this project is for the marketing and property value for park improvement on adjacent properties, and for the municipality as a whole as a place to live or locate. In addition, students could examine how tree-planting might benefit tourism related to Magruder Park and in other strategic public places (such as commercial districts) as a means of attracting outside visitors for local business.
In addition to public places, the City of Hyattsville is interested in exploring other collaboration with the University of Maryland. Students could investigate the appropriate policy to incentivize private property tree planting, conservation, and other forest management. Possible strategies include taxes and fees that discourage tree loss and encourage appropriate tree canopy improvements.