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Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz and Mayor Steph- anie Rawlings-Blake cut ceremonial ribbon to reopen Robert E. Lee Park, as Barry F. Williams, county director of recreation and parks, far left, and 2nd District Balto. County Councilwoman Vicki Almond, far right, look on. (VoB Photo/Alan Z. Forman)

‘A PARK  FOR  ALL USERS,
4-LEGGED & 2-LEGGED,’
DECLARES KAMENETZ

‘A  hidden treasure  for
city/county residents,’
says Baltimore Mayor

UPDATE (Sat. Oct. 15th) — Robert E. Lee Park reopened today to the public, with a schedule of activities from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. including introductory tours, boating and biking, hiking and walking tours, various children’s activities, and bird watching.

Every dog — both on and off the leash — can now have its day as Baltimore City and County join forces to reopen a public park that dates back to the era of the Lords Baltimore and which was designated a National Historic District in 1992.

Featuring a 1.5-acre canine compound appropriately named “Paw Point” — a membership-only chained enclosure for unleashed dogs — the city-owned Robert E. Lee Park reopened early today under a long-term lease arrangement with the county.

Located just north of the city/county line, the 415-acre park is the beneficiary of renovations costing the state and county $6.1 million — more than half of which has been spent so far — for a concrete-slab bridge, a 2,000-foot-long paved footpath, 1400-foot boardwalk to the adjacent Light Rail station, and the dog park, which requires an annual membership fee of $35 from anyone who wants to let their dog/s run off-leash.

“It’s a park for all users,” declared County Executive Kevin Kamenetz; “four-
legged and two-legged,” as he officially reopened the facility Friday in concert with Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who described it as “a hidden treasure for city and county residents alike…, a dynamic partnership between the city, county and state.”

RRLRAIA BROUGHT ENTITIES TOGETHER

Kamenetz credited the Ruxton-Riderwood-Lake Roland Area Improvement Association (RRLRAIA) as having assisted in bringing the three government entities together “to revive this local treasure.”

It’s “a jewel that had lost its luster,” said Barry F. Williams, the county’s director of recreation and parks, in reference to the facility’s decline in recent years.

“This jewel once again shines.”

Williams told a crowd of about 150 on hand for the official reopening that park “rangers will issue citations for those who do not have their dog on a leash,” and Baltimore County Police Chief James W. Johnson informed Voice of Baltimore that “dog rules and regulations will be aggressively enforced”; also that “marked cars and officers on bicycles” will maintain a noticeable presence in the park at all times.

MAYOR HAD DOG ‘OFF-LEASH’

“As a child, I came here to camp,” Rawlings-Blake told onlookers, confessing that back in that day, “I was an offender, I had my dog off-leash.”

Thirty years ago most Baltimoreans let their dogs run loose, even on city streets. Rawlings-Blake, at 41, is one of the country’s youngest mayors.

County officials anticipate more than 80,000 visitors a year to the refurbished park, which averaged about 41,000 annual visitors before the $3.7 million worth of improvements so far completed.

Robert E. Lee Park will remain open from dawn to dusk, year-round. The park’s traditional centerpiece, Lake Roland, was formed in the 1850s as a reservoir for Baltimore City.

BARC (the Baltimore Animal Rights Coalition) was instrumental in establishing the dog-walking compound.

— Alan Z. Forman

alforman@voiceofbaltimore.org