College Park: Where to Get Your News

In earlier posts, I have helped you figure out where to eat on Baltimore Avenue, how to get around on public transit, and where to shop for clothes if you are a college-aged female (unfortunately, gentlemen, you will have to stick to Downtown Washington for your shopping needs). This may not be at the top of your list of things to figure out as a new resident, but where will you get your news? Of course, you could turn on your TV and watch broadcasts of the local ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC affiliates, but what about print and online news? Well, have no fear. I have saved you the trouble of searching for those outlets.

College Park: How to Get Around the City

In the far right, students attempt to cross a traffic-packed Baltimore Avenue/Route 1 at Lakeland Road at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 10. Traffic patterns are not much different at any other time of the day. Photo by Pamela Seaton.

If you are like me, you are one of the few residents in College Park who does not own a car, which is a reasonable thing to consider. According to the U.S. Census Bureau‘s 2010 estimates, College Park has a land area of 5.64 square miles with 5,396 people per square mile and 30,413 residents. To put that into perspective, and also according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city of Chehalis, Wash., has a land area of 5.53 square miles with 1,132 people per square mile and 7,299 residents. However, the number of College Park residents indicated by the Census survey may be off. The University of Maryland (UMD), of which the city was built around in the late 1800s, registered 26,826 undergraduate students in fall 2011. In addition to that, the city has 17 neighborhoods outside of the university that are filled with people, far outnumbering the remaining 3,587 residents that should be left given the number of registered students (give and take a few residents and students due to the one year’s difference of data between the U.S. Census Bureau and the university). Therefore, these notions suggest that not all of the residents or students who live in College Park participated in the Census survey and that far more people live in the city’s boundaries than the survey indicates, which is not surprising given the constantly hectic schedules that students and workers often have. (It, of course, must be noted that not all University of Maryland students live in the city, but is a requirement that freshmen and sophomores either live on campus or relatively close by in order to better acclimate to their studies.)

With UMD as the city’s flagship university, business and attraction, more and more businesses and real estate projects are being built to accommodate its large student population. With the number of people they attract, these projects and the university, in turn, are causing problems–including an overcrowding population and a swell of daily traffic on Baltimore Avenue/Route 1–that are growing and worsening by the day.

College Park: Live on Baltimore Avenue? Here’s what you need to know.

A row of shops, including The Frame Mender, Roti Mediterranean Grill and YoLove Frozen Yogurt, is located on Baltimore Avenue beneath The Varsity student apartment complex. Photo by Pamela Seaton.

Live on Baltimore Avenue? If you do, chances are high that you are a student at University of Maryland, which is also on the avenue, and/or are new to the area. If so, chances are also high that you live in one of three student apartment complexes on the avenue: The Varsity, University View and The Enclave. If I have guessed right so far, congratulations! You, like me, live on one of the main streets in College Park, which is filled with plenty of things to do and places to eat. Getting to know them and their specialties will be of no trouble and easy to recognize after reading this post.

Located directly beneath The Varsity and University View are a number of restaurants and small shops, making it easier for students and residents to stay close to home while having within their grasps everything they need to maintain their apartments (and stomachs). Here is a list of places you should visit if you are new to the avenue like me: