The small pedestrian bridge in Wyman Park, over the Stony Run stream, reopened in late August. The bridge is located in the northern part of the park and connects a trail that runs east to west across the park.
The trail begins at the end of Craycombe Avenue in the Hampden neighborhood and ends at San Martin Drive, which marks the western edge of Homewood Campus. Stony Run flows north to south throughout Wyman Park, and bridges that cross the stream are limited. The newly-rebuilt footbridge is the closest crossing of the stream to much of the Homewood campus, with the trail letting out near the Bloomberg Center for Physics and Astronomy. Since Wyman Park is located in between Homewood Campus and the Hampden neighborhood, crossing the park is often the most convenient way to get between the two.
The footbridge and trail closed in May 2025 because of potential safety concerns. Baltimore City councilwoman Odette Ramos, who represents District 14 — including both Hampden and Homewood Campus — announced over Instagram that the bridge would be closing.
“Our engineers are diligently working to resolve the issue with the bridge’s structural integrity. Please stay clear of this area. This is for everyone’s safety,” Ramos announced.
Because of the bridge’s closure, those passing between Homewood Campus and Hampden had to find alternative ways to travel. The trail remained closed while the bridge was being rebuilt by Baltimore City’s Department of Recreation and Parks, until it reopened prior to the start of the academic year.
The reopening of the bridge was announced by the conservation organization Friends of Stony Run. On August 25, the organization announced on their website that the bridge was considered safe to cross and that the trail had reopened as well.
“We are excited to share that the Craycombe Road Stony Run pedestrian bridge is open again,” the organization wrote.
While Ramos did not initially share the issues with the bridge’s structure, Friends of Stony Run offered more context in their announcement, saying that the bridge had only been temporarily repaired. They are continuing to plan how to replace the bridge permanently.
“The failing support structures for the bridge have been reinforced with stacked heavy bags filled with structural grout – allowing the current bridge to be used again temporarily while a permanent replacement is designed. Stay tuned for the next round of improvements and plans for a permanent bridge,” the organization wrote.
Sophomore Fabiana Arcila, majoring in Biomedical Engineering, worked on campus over the summer and lived in Hampden before the bridge reopened. When asked about her commute to Homewood, she said that she tried many different ways to get to campus more efficiently.
“It depended day-to-day, I used kind of a mix. At the beginning, I walked, which was a 30 minute walk from Hampden to AMR II. Then I started taking the Spin scooters,” said Arcila. “I also tried taking the shuttle […] but I missed it all the time.”
When Arcila did walk, she said that she was able to go through Wyman Park, but sometimes had to bypass it entirely.
“It's a very scenic route,” said Arcila. “But usually, when it was raining, I wouldn't go through there because it's going to be muddy. So I would take the long route and just walk up and then walk down.”
When informed of the Stony Run Bridge’s reopening, Arcila thought that the bridge would have made her commute much more convenient.
“If I had a bridge, that would have made it easier for me to walk,” said Arcila.
