Odenton Commuter Rail Station

Client: Maryland Transit Administration

Location: Anne Arundel County, Maryland

Services: Site and landscape planning

The Mass Transit Administration selected KCI to serve as landscape architect on the site design team for a new commuter rail station in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. The facility, located in Odenton, included a rail platform, station house, gardens, sidewalks, and a parking facility for commuters.

The design challenge in the Odenton Commuter Rail Station project involved meeting the reforestation requirements of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) as part of the State of Maryland Forest Conservation Act. Prior to construction, the 12.25-acre suburban site was 57 percent (6.96 acres) forested. KCI and the DNR agreed that 1.29 acres of landscaping would meet reforestation requirements. KCI’s final design allowed for 1.45 acres of forest to remain undisturbed. It provided 802 parking spaces for commuters, while retaining the site’s most important environmental features—the nontidal wetlands and buffer and six of the seven specimen trees over 30 inches in caliper. In creating the 1.45-acre forest retention area, the project team eliminated 39 parking spaces from initial plans. The small, isolated forest stands removed from the site did not provide significant habitat value nor comprise any rare, threatened, or endangered species of trees, shrubs, or plants. The project site also did not feature any historic properties or associated protected trees.

After considering several approaches to reforestation/afforestation in compliance with the Forest Conservation Act, the project team recommended onsite individual tree plantings or landscaping. With the site being a high-use area, the design required plantings compatible with urban conditions and heavy traffic. KCI developed a planting plan, using a combination of native species and hardy ornamentals, providing a parklike setting, adjacent to paved parking areas, sidewalks, a station platform, and a stormwater management facility. As part of the project, the team relocated a 14-inch caliper Holly tree to an onsite conservation zone (see inset). The team also considered a parcel east of the project site as an offsite mitigation area, but rejected the option because the area was too small to meet reforestation requirements.

The Odenton Commuter Rail Station was completed in 1995. In 1999, the Department of Natural Resources awarded the project its Excellence in Forest Conservation and Land Development Award, Ironwood Category, for meeting the spirit of forest conservation.

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