News-Letter

Media Credit: Conor Kevit Retirees and children alike enjoy spending time on the various pathways that Roland park offers its residents. Above, a couple strolls by Roland Lake.

Asking an average Hopkins student about Roland Park neighborhood usually elicits a simple shrug or a wave in the general direction of West University Parkway. However among those Hopkins students who are athletically inclined, Roland Park is a much more frequent destination. ?

A quick walk, jog or bike ride along the quiet, tree-lined sidewalks of this mostly-residential area reveals immediately why Roland Park is a popular exercise route for residents and non-residents alike.

With its stately brick-and-ivy facades, shockingly green lawns, well-manicured gardens and immaculate streets, Roland Park is a refreshing, relaxing retreat from the excitement and activity of downtown Baltimore, a mere 15-minute drive away. In fact, Roland Park exudes an atmosphere more suitable to upper-class suburbia than to Baltimore City neighborhood.

Residents of Roland Park are a self-described "eclectic" mixture of people. One can encounter many retirees, including the occasional "elderly lady sporting a wide-brimmed hat and colorful make-up." However seven-year resident David, out for a Saturday morning stroll with his daughters Maya, four, and Adina, one, said that, "Most of the people I've met are professionals with young families, many affiliated in some way with Johns Hopkins University."

Whatever the residents' personal backgrounds might be, the very active assortment of community organizations in Roland Park never fails to bring neighbors together. The Roland Park Civic League and the smaller neighborhood associations under its umbrella work hard to beautify and maintain streets and public areas, as well as keep residents well-informed and foster a sense of community.

David and his wife are actively involved in a sub-community within Roland Park known as The Orchards, where they deliver newsletters and attend frequent neighborhood get-togethers and picnics. Sherry Carter, an 11-year Roland Park resident, volunteers as a "block-captain" for her street. Her duties, she says, entail, "keeping neighbors informed and making phone calls if there is an intruder in the area or if there is other information [they need to know]."

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