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Someone mentioned that the James is not a selling point for Richmond. What a joke. What other city has a whitewater river with Class III-IV rapids flowing through it? Not to mention, the river has become the national example for how to do restoration properly -- and there are improvements every year. Meanwhile, Baltimore ignored their consent decree to clean up the harbor for 18 years. Only now, after being sued by the EPA are they attempting to turn things around. Meanwhile the Richmond mayor allocated 21 million dollars over the next few years for more restoration activities around the James River park system. I have lived in Baltimore, the level of dysfunction is unbelievable but it does have potential. As things stand now, Richmond is the better of the two.
$21 million for restoration projects in Richmond you say?
The City of Baltimore has directed well over $1 billion in infrastructure upgrades to the water & wasterwater system since the initial consent decree was entered into back in the early 2000s. The current Headworks Project alone costs over $400 million and is expected to reduce sewage overflows by over 80% when its completed.
In terms of stream restoration, the City of Baltimore approved over $200 million worth of projects back in 2018. Funding for the restoration projects is sourced from the Stormwater Remediation Fee.
Quality of life: Subjective. Bad parts of Bmore are BAD, but the good areas provide an amazing QOL.
Nightlife: Bmore is bigger so it's just a hard comparison here.
Scenery: Bmore's harbor has to win.
Daytime activities/events: Again, Bmore is larger so more stuff to do.
Shopping/entertainment venues: See above
Overall vibe of city and people: Subjective, but I prefer the larger size of Bmore, its geographic location (on the water and in the Bos-Wash corridor), and the dense rowhome neighborhoods which seem to have more going on (again due to Bmore's size difference).
$21 million for restoration projects in Richmond you say?
The City of Baltimore has directed well over $1 billion in infrastructure upgrades to the water & wasterwater system since the initial consent decree was entered into back in the early 2000s. The current Headworks Project alone costs over $400 million and is expected to reduce sewage overflows by over 80% when its completed.
In terms of stream restoration, the City of Baltimore approved over $200 million worth of projects back in 2018. Funding for the restoration projects is sourced from the Stormwater Remediation Fee.
I’m sure Richmond is doing a fine job, but the of scale of these regional infrastructure projects are undoubtedly much greater in Baltimore.
Note how I said "as it is now". You can swim in the James river, you cannot do the same in the Baltimore harbor without ill effects. Baltimore should be spending more on stormwater infrastructure, the city is 3 times the size of Richmond and host to a fetid harbor. Progress is being made but it is extremely slow -- look up the James river restoration for a turnaround of one of the nation's most polluted rivers in the 80s/90s. I say this even though I like Baltimore and believe it has great potential -- just unfortunate that potential will not be realized in my lifetime (and I'm early 30's).
I take issue with the idea that the Baltimore harbor is what makes Baltimore City more attractive than the James is to Richmond. Otherwise, Baltimore is the more interesting city for sure -- but for the waterfront to be the focus, it should be clean (even relatively) to outweigh the James in Richmond. I'll never forget driving through East Baltimore (north of Highlandtown) and seeing some guy dump paint down the sewer -- that is the mentality of a lot of people there.
Last edited by adriftinthebay; 04-01-2019 at 08:53 AM..
I love Baltimore. If I had to leave Richmond, I’d move there.
Richmond made those sewer upgrades 20 years ago. That’s how we got our canals restored.
Richmond is prettier. Baltimore is more interesting. Both are awesome.
I feel like there is a lot of guessing going here and people are giving Baltimore some of its wins based off of not having much experience in both so assuming Baltimore has more just based off of size. For example, assuming Baltimore has the better nightlife just based off of size. I'm not saying that it doesn't but just giving that to Baltimore without any other reasoning is a bit meh IMO. Esp since Baltimore isn't exactly known for its nightlife offerings...
I feel like there is a lot of guessing going here and people are giving Baltimore some of its wins based off of not having much experience in both so assuming Baltimore has more just based off of size. For example, assuming Baltimore has the better nightlife just based off of size. I'm not saying that it doesn't but just giving that to Baltimore without any other reasoning is a bit meh IMO. Esp since Baltimore isn't exactly known for its nightlife offerings...
It's not known for it, but there would be more options, likely more variety, and big name artists would be more likely to tour through Bmore than Richmond due to size alone.
It's not known for it, but there would be more options, likely more variety, and big name artists would be more likely to tour through Bmore than Richmond due to size alone.
I could see that. Richmond is trying to replace its coliseum and the area around it so hopefully, that changes soon.
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