Carole Highlands, Maryland
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Carole Highlands, Maryland, USA (zip code 20912) is a residential neighborhood partially overlapping the municipal boundaries of the City of Takoma Park. The neighborhood is located inside the Capital Beltway, about a mile from the District of Columbia (map).
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[edit] Physical geography
Carole Highlands got its name because much of it is literally on "high land." At the very top of the neighborhood is a water tower. Elevation above sea level (topo map here) reaches a maximum of 220 feet at the water tower, and slopes downhill to its minimum of 95 feet on Elson Street along Sligo Creek Park.
A 200-foot-high dendritic ridge runs north and south through the neighborhood just west of 16th Place. The ridgeline divides the Sligo Creek watershed from the Northwest Branch watershed. When the leaves are off the trees, from various points on the ridge there is a clear view of the Shepherd Park and Brightwood neighborhoods of Washington, D.C. (3 miles west); of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception (3 miles south-southwest); and of Carmody Hills, Maryland (8 miles southeast).
[edit] Roads, hiker-biker trails, and political geography
Carole Highlands is bounded by MD-650 (New Hampshire Avenue) to the west; by Sligo Creek Park to the southwest; by MD-410 (East-West Highway) to the south; by MD-212 (Riggs Road) to the east; and by MD-193 (University Boulevard, a.k.a. "Maryland's International Corridor") to the north. The only direct road access into the neighborhood is via Erskine Avenue (from New Hampshire Avenue) or Drexel Avenue (from Riggs Road).
Elson Street and Sligo Parkway East give Carole Highlands two access points to Sligo Creek Trail, which was designated a National Recreation Trail in 2006 (external link here). The paved and shaded hiker-biker trail links directly to the Anacostia Trail System and thus to the American Discovery Trail that crosses the United States from Delaware to California. However, most Carole Highlands residents use Sligo Creek Trail less frequently as an access point for coast-to-coast tours than for bicycle commuting, family outings and jogging.
The neighborhood straddles the border between Montgomery and Prince George's counties. On maps, the neighborhood is right where the county line just north of DC bulges slightly east of its otherwise straight path. The homes in Montgomery County are part of the City of Takoma Park. The homes in Prince George's County are in an unincorporated area of the county.
[edit] Plants and animals
The neighborhood is lined with a canopy of mature trees. For this reason, Carole Highlands appears as a dark green patch on satellite images of the Washington area.
Many of the trees belong to species native to the local ecological region, the Piedmont region of Maryland. Some of the local tree species are oak, maple, birch, beech, elm, wild cherry, weeping cherry, spruce, pine, sassafras and flowering dogwood.
Mammals: Squirrels, raccoons and opossums are commonly seen and badgers and deer are seen occasionally.
Some bird species that have been spotted in local backyards are cardinals, titmice, robins, ospreys, crows, woodpeckers, flickers, mockingbirds, wood thrushes, gray catbirds, cowbirds, chickadees, blue jays, mourning doves, towhees, summer tanagers, goldfinches, house and purple finches and the ubiquitous species starling and sparrow. Kingfishers, herons and hawks are seen near Sligo Creek.
[edit] History
The largest section of the neighborhood was developed as a planned community by Carl M. Freeman Associates, Inc. (now the Carl M. Freeman Companies) in 1947. According to the company's website (here), the development won an award. The houses included traditional two-story models as well as the then-new California Cottage home, designed by Carl Freeman as a "truly livable space" with a naturally-flowing connection with the outdoors. Some of the Freeman houses have since been enlarged with dormers or other extensions, while others are still in their "virgin" state in the current day.
In 1960, the neighborhood Citizen's Association successfully brought a legal case against the Board of County Commissioners of Prince George's County. As a result, it became prohibited to erect a gas station on lot C-2.
Before 1997, the region between New Hampshire Avenue and 14th Avenue was both in Prince George's County and in the municipality of Takoma Park. In 1997, Takoma Park residents voted to be under the sole jurisdiction of Montgomery County. The county line was shifted, changing Prince George's County's boundaries for the first time since 1791.
Home ownership in the neighborhood experienced considerable turnover after the year 2000, as many long-term residents retired and sold their homes to younger newcomers. Today, the typical Carole Highlands resident works in nearby DC or Silver Spring.
[edit] Education
[edit] Primary and secondary schools
[edit] Public schools
The part of Carole Highlands in Takoma Park and Montgomery County is assigned to the Montgomery County Public Schools.
The section is zoned to:
- Sligo Creek Elementary School
- Silver Spring International Middle School
- Montgomery Blair High School
The unincorporated section in Prince George's County is assigned to Prince George's County Public Schools.
The section is zoned to:
[edit] Public libraries
The closest public library to Carole Highlands is the Takoma Park Library. This library is at Philadelphia and Maple Avenues, about one and a half miles west of Carole Highlands via bicycle paths and residential streets. The Takoma Park Library is a department of the City of Takoma Park, and is the only independent (not county-run) municipal library in the state of Maryland. It has a children's book room, an adults' book room and a periodicals reading area. Residents of the City of Takoma Park automatically have borrowing privileges, and Prince George's County residents may obtain full borrowing privileges for an annual fee of $10.
The second closest public library to Carole Highlands is the Hyattsville Library. This library is on Adelphi Road to the east of the Prince George's Plaza shopping mall, about two miles east of Carole Highlands via MD-212 and MD-410. It has a children's book room, an adults' book room, a computer area and a periodicals reading area. The Hyattsville Library is also the site of the Maryland Room, decorated in the style of a parlor in a Colonial manor house of the 18th century and housing a historical and genealogical collection that focuses on Maryland.
[edit] Current issues of interest to residents
[edit] Purple Line and associated development
One issue of interest to Carole Highlands residents is the status of the Purple Line transit project.
Purple Line stations are planned at MD-650/MD-193 (Takoma-Langley station) and at MD-212/MD-193 (Riggs Road station). These two intersections delimit Carole Highland's two north corners. To see the locations, click here for a map of the proposed Purple Line route, published by the Washington Post, May 31, 2007, and here for a street map with a pointer to Carole Highlands. To see the official planning maps, click on CFG-06-03 (Riggs Road Station) or CFG-06-02 (Takoma/Langley Station) at the Maryland Transit Authority website.
Any transit-oriented development associated with Purple Line construction would change, and possibly enrich, Langley Park's commercial zone. The transit line itself would provide more commuting options to residents. One disadvantage to residents might be increased traffic along University Boulevard. However, because there is no direct access into Carole Highlands from University Boulevard, it is unlikely that the transit line would alter the quiet character of the neighborhood.
In March 2007, the administration of recently-inaugurated Maryland Governor O'Malley announced that the previous administration had underestimated likely ridership on this and two other potential new transit lines (e.g. this March 7, 2007 article from Gazette.Net). Accurate ridership estimates are important to secure federal funding for new transit projects.
[edit] Sligo Master Plan
Another issue of interest to Carole Highlands residents is the potential development of some commercial land at the intersection of Sligo Creek Parkway and New Hampshire Avenue. According to the "Sligo Master Plan" article in the May 2007 issue of the Takoma Park Newsletter, nearby residents "enthusiastically" expressed desires for such businesses on the lots as a small neighborhood pub, a cafe, a bicycle shop and rental business and a hardware store.
[edit] Statistics and elected officials
- Latitude: 38.98139 N
- Longitude: 76.98361 W
- County Council:
- For current Montgomery County councilmembers, check MC District 5 externally.
- For current Prince George's County councilmembers, check PG District 2 externally.
- District 20 (Montgomery County)
- District 47 (Prince George's County)
- For current Maryland state delegates, check district on this list or externally.
- District 20 (Montgomery County)
- District 47 (Prince George's County)
- For current Maryland state senators, check district on this list or externally.
- Maryland District 8 (both counties)
- Chris Van Hollen, current U.S. representative.
- Barbara A. Mikulski and Ben Cardin, current U.S. senators.
[edit] External links
- Location in the DC Metro area
- Map of proposed Purple Line route, published by the Washington Post, May 31, 2007
- Topo map with streets, elevation contours and landmarks
- Map of the Carole Highlands Elementary School District
- Gazette.net article 01/11/2007 "At Carole Highlands [Elementary School], small groups spell success on MSA"
- The original builders, Carl M. Freeman Associates
- Sligo Creek Trail
- Friends of Sligo Creek
- the nearby International Corridor/Gateway Arts District
