Welcome to the Aberdeen MARC Station Transit Oriented Development (TOD) web page.  The purpose of this web page is to provide an overview of transit oriented development, the Aberdeen MARC Station, and the process to present an overview of the Master Plan development process as well as a status of the project.

 
Aberdeen TOD Master Plan

Where is the Aberdeen MARC Station?

Aberdeen TOD Concept Master Plan Development

What is the Status of the Aberdeen TOD Project?

The Aberdeen MARC Station is located just south of the intersection of Bel Air Avenue (MD 132) and Philadelphia Boulevard (US 40) in the City of Aberdeen, MD in Harford County.  The station is located on the MARC Penn Line, providing connections to both the Baltimore Penn Station with the Washington DC Union Station.  The station site is owned by Amtrak and leased and operated by MARC.

Existing train service at the Aberdeen station includes MARC service on weekdays with six trains in each direction.  In addition, there are three southbound and two northbound Amtrak trains that stop at Aberdeen which MARC passengers can ride on weekdays at no addtional fare if they have a valid monthly or weekly MARC ticket.  Passengers making single trips on these Amtrak trains (and others also serving Aberdeen) must pay the regular Amtrak one way fare.

In the last few years, the State of Maryland, together with the City of Aberdeen, Harford County, Chesapeake Science and Security Corridor (CSSC), Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), and various other stakeholders, has worked collaboratively towards defining and understanding the Transit-Oriented-Development (TOD) opportunities for the greater Aberdeen area.  This study presents an opportunity to connect these past efforts and develop a comprehensive, actionable TOD master plan for the station area.  The master plan will: 

Synthesize previous efforts and outline key opportunities and issues around the station area; Identify key catalyst TOD sites and present conceptual development options for these sites;   Identify significant public infrastructure investments  necessary to enhance transit access and support potential TOD projects; and;   Identify key policy and regulatory changes necessary to allow TOD densities and development patterns for a healthy mixed use station area.

The Aberdeen station represents an excellent opportunity to build upon the area's tradition of using transit to influence town form.  The station area's context encompasses compact, walkable neighborhoods and downtown districts that evolved as part of the original passenger rail line.  This original fabric can serve as the framework and the inspiration for re-creating a re-energized transit-supportive community.

To accomplish this renaissance and to ensure the long-term success of the Aberdeen station and station area, the concept master plan has been a process guided by the following tenets: 
 

Urban form around stations can greatly influence a station's effectiveness.  The mobility benefits offered by a good transit system are enhanced when riders are provided with an environment in which they can get to their destination comfortably and safely as a pedestrian.   A successfully implemented TOD plan is community-based, created and supported by its constituents.

(Results from the Value Exercise Aberdeen Design Concept Workshop)