By Ryan Coleman
Has anyone noticed? Liberty Road, a main corridor of Baltimore County, is dying. The main problem: a lack of investment and vision– and dollar stores.
Since W.E.B. Du Bois published “The Philadelphia Negro” in 1899, scholars have explored the role of organizations in shaping the social and economic landscape of historically Black neighborhoods. Local governments prompt and manage community development in their own jurisdictions all the time; it’s a part of their responsibilities to ensure a level of quality for residents. For those in the Baltimore county area, the fact that now is the time to act on those responsibilities couldn’t be more clear.
Liberty Road is at a breaking point and what will follow is the Black middle class flight.
Recently, the Walgreens on Milford Mill and Liberty Road shuttered its location, making it harder for residents to get prescriptions and other items. At our meeting, residents asked Baltimore County Councilman Julian E. Jones (D-4) why this flight of stores has continued.
“We don’t need trash cans and lights– we need grocery stores, book stores and sit down restaurants,” said one attendee.
“Liberty Road is at a breaking point and what will follow is the Black middle class flight.”
The frustration is mounting as we watch development in Towson, Middle River and White Marsh, with no development on Liberty Road. In fact, there has been no major development on Liberty Road since the building of the Walmart, Sonic, Home Depot and Ruby Tuesday under the former County Executive Ruppersberger and Councilman Kenneth N. Oliver in the 2000s. Baltimore County is effectively ‘improving’ itself by destroying Liberty Road and creating in other White areas– establishing patterns of uneven development. It is appropriate to request Councilman Jones and the Baltimore County County Council make economic development on Liberty Road the top priority in 2024.
County government plays a pivotal role in helping community developers to revitalize Liberty Road. County government sets local development priorities and allocates public funds to community development initiatives. They oversee the disbursement of land, housing and other county-owned resources. Rare is the developer that can move forward in neighborhood development without active county government participation.
Liberty Road has become a food desert and this must be addressed. Uneven food systems across neighborhoods of varying racial compositions reveal ways that American society signals the value it places on the people in those communities. The decisions food retailers make have obvious direct impacts on residents, such as the length of a trip to their preferred store. But their indirect impacts can be even more important. The presence of premium retail in a community can drive the decisions of other retailers to locate in or avoid the community, thus strengthening or weakening the tax base. Furthermore, the presence of premium amenities in a community makes it more appealing to wealthier residents, which raises home values and potentially contributes to firms’ decisions on where to locate offices.
Research has shown an over saturation of dollar stores weakens the community by driving out taxpayers and wealthier residents. Vanessa Hall-Harper, District 1 City Councilor for Tulsa, Oklahoma, paved the way for other cities when she passed the first ordinance curbing dollar stores in 2018. The Baltimore County Council must be proactive and put forth legislation to curb dollar stores, gas stations, storage facilities and other over-saturated stores.
The Baltimore County Council and policymakers must prioritize Liberty Road before there is nothing left. The following must be done:
● Randallstown, Woodmoor, Lochearn and the entire Liberty Road Corridor must be included in the 2030 Master Plan. This Masterplan is the first step towards setting up a long-term vision for realizing the true social, economic and environmental potential of Liberty Road.
● Baltimore County government must put out a Request for Proposal for a consulting firm to create a development plan, advisory study or redevelopment framework for Liberty Road. This vision will be a clear and concise outline for how development can and should happen on Liberty Road. This development plan will guide future growth and revitalization impacting the Liberty Road Corridor.
● Legislation and policies to curb dollar stores and promote legislation must be developed to propel government and private investment.
Disparities in access were always just a symptom of a deeper and more fundamental problem of devaluation and divestment that needs to be directly addressed. Residents must ask their elected officials and policy makers how they are addressing and implementing solutions to drive investment in the Liberty Road area. Their answers and actions should lead you to vote for individuals that are addressing your concerns.