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A New "Plan for the Century"
The concept plan is predictably quite elaborate and complex. That in mind, here are the seven most fundamental (and flashy!) changes to campus proposed by the plan. A return to a walking campus: By removing roads from the core of campus and replacing parking lots with garages, the idyllic setting of the two main quads will be extended throughout the periphery of campus. A new quadrangle: With Garland Hall at the northern head, a new quad will take shape around Garland Field. Two buildings on that quad, Clark Hall and a Hodson Trust-funded classroom building, are already in the early stages of design or construction. An underground parking garage: The cars displaced by the new quad may hide just a story or two below Garland Field in a new underground parking garage. (Two other garages could be located by the Hopkins Club and the Athletic Center.) A pedestrian plaza between the Wolman and McCoy hall dorms: If the university and city pursue the idea, benches and trees would replace the asphalt and cars on the one-block stretch of 34th Street between the dorms. A redesign of North Charles Street: The city of Baltimore is currently studying the redesign, as proposed by both the Charles Village master plan and Homewood concept plan. The goal: to simplify traffic patterns on Charles and make the street safer for pedestrians to cross. A ceremonial front entrance: With a redesigned North Charles Street (possibly with a statue of Johns Hopkins at the intersection of North Charles and 34th streets) the front gate to the university will be more visible. A semicircular path running in front of the library will further enhance the ceremonial effect. A pedestrian bridge: Linking the new student arts center (due for completion in the fall of 2000; not pictured) to a new bookstore at 3301 N. Charles Street, a pedestrian overpass would allow students to cross safely over North Charles.
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