As reported in the Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. recently released plans to cut a swath up to two miles long through Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park in West Baltimore, one of the largest urban woodland parks in the eastern United States.

BGE spokesman Aaron Koos said nothing’s been decided yet, and the corridor cut through the woods would not have to be that wide in many places. But the gas pipeline now running through the park must be replaced, he said. Installed in 1949, the wrapped steel pipe has had to be repaired 38 times in the past three decades. “At some point you’ve got to stop making repairs and do the replacement,” Koos said.

According to the Sun, City parks officials say they’re consulting with BGE in an attempt to minimize the disruption.

[City Councilwoman Helen] Holton said she wants to minimize disruption to the park as well, but she added that shifting the pipeline to run through residential neighborhoods bordering the park is “non-negotiable.”

For more information see the full story from the Sun  and our previous post on vegetation management practices, Should Maryland Bury Power Lines?.