Broadneck Patch's 2012 Year In Review (Part 2)

Part two of the Broadneck Patch's year in review for 2012 saw some of the lighter news of this year's top stories.

Did you miss Part 1 of the year in review?

Broadneck Playground Fundraiser Successful

Persistence paid off for one Broadneck mom, who started a fundraising campaign to help rebuild Broadneck Park's playground.

In July, it was confirmed that Anne Arundel County would fund $35,000 in restoration efforts at the playground. It was a huge step forward for the Friends of Broadneck Park.

In total, the Friends of Broadneck Park raised $50,000 this year for new playground equipment, not only to ensure it was safe, but also to expand the available equipment to younger children.  

, headed the effort under the umbrella of Broadneck Area Youth Sports (BAYS), hosting a series of fundraisers this year—including the Broadneck Kite Festival in April. She said she was excited to see this finally coming together, but parents should know that changes are in store.

See also:

• All stories on the Friends of Broadneck Park

Broadneck Walking Trail Breaks Ground

In August, county officials broke ground on the Broadneck Peninsula Trail, which will ultimately run along College Parkway from Cape St. Claire all the way to the Baltimore and Annapolis Trail.

Phase 1 of the project involves $944,000 worth of work paving a 1.67-mile walking trail from Green Holly Drive to Old Cape St. Claire Road. Work began in August at a groundbreaking ceremony across from Broadneck Park. Phase 1 also includes an entrance to the trail from the parking lot of the Broadneck Library.

The work is scheduled to be completed in early 2013, and will span the peninsula from west to east, linking Sandy Point State Park to the Baltimore and Annapolis Trail in Arnold. Phase 1 of the project includes the construction of a trail along College Parkway from Green Holly Drive to Cape St. Claire Road and the Walnut Ridge community.

Further down the line, the completed trail could connect with the East Coast Greenway, a network of trails from surrounding states that connect to form a continuous path through scenic areas along the East Coast of the United States, from Maine to Florida.

See also:

• All stories on the Broadneck Peninsula Trail

AACC's Modernizes Truxal Library

A major renovation of Anne Arundel Community College's central library was completed over the summer, and opened just in time for the fall classes. 

Take one step into the building and you are immediately treated to two-story tall windows that bathe the whole building in sunlight. New technology in the facility measures that light and adjusts the level of the artificial lighting accordingly, as a way to save on energy costs.

The renovated library offers additional space, group study rooms, new computers in an open-air computer lab, and features a second-story garden on the roof.

 The new renovation cost $19 million, and increased its space by 40 percent—adding 31,000 square feet. The building also doubles as the student support offices.

See also:

• Photo gallery of the renovated Truxal Library

Local Historian Finalizing Broadneck's Story

A history book capturing the story of the various communities of the Broadneck peninsula is set to be published in February.

The book is written by Arnold historian Alberta Stornetta, who has spent the past seven years gathering pieces of history together order to create the first definitive book on the area.

Some excerpts from the book have been published online, including a section telling the story of how Arnold got its name.

Stornetta's work began with focusing only on Arnold, but after hearing the stories of other communities, she broadened the scope of her work to the entire Broadneck peninsula, including Cape St. Claire.

See also:

• Read more about the book's author