Johns Hopkins University Provost Robert C. Lieberman and Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration Daniel G. Ennis asked the university community today to be prepared for possible traffic issues or other disruptions to daily operations that may arise tomorrow and on Thursday, Sept. 10. On those days, pre-trial hearings are scheduled in Baltimore in the case of police officers charged in the death last spring of Baltimore resident Freddie Gray. The trial is not scheduled to begin until October, at the earliest.
Lieberman and Ennis said the university is in communication with police, transit officials, and other officials and will relay information to the university community through the Johns Hopkins Emergency Alerts text message system and, where appropriate, follow-up email messages. Emergency-related information is also available on the Alerts page of the university website and on the university emergency phone line at 410-516-7781.
The full text of the email announcement is as follows:
Dear Students, Faculty Members and Staff Members:
With the new academic year already well underway, we are pleased to welcome you back. This year, the opening weeks of the fall semester coincide with scheduled pre-trial hearings in the case of police officers charged in the death last spring of Baltimore resident Freddie Gray. These hearings on pre-trial motions are scheduled in downtown Baltimore on Wednesday, Sept. 2, and Thursday, Sept. 10. Trial is not scheduled to begin until October at the earliest.
Traffic issues possible
The university is aware that, in part because news media vehicles will be concentrated around the courthouse area near the 100 block of North Calvert Street, there is the potential for considerable traffic congestion on important downtown streets. That could affect access to Johns Hopkins facilities downtown, the commutes of students and employees, and the operation of some of our shuttle routes. We want you to know that the university has lines of communication open with police, transit officials and other officials. We will relay to you any information we receive that could assist you in navigating through the city on Wednesday and on Sept. 10.
As of now, no Maryland Transit Administration schedule or route changes are planned, but future announcements, if any, can be found on the MTA website. Views from live traffic cameras are available on Baltimore City's website. For real-time traffic and transportation updates on Twitter, follow @BmoreCityDOT and @mtamaryland. For real-time updates on operations of the university's Homewood-Peabody-JHMI shuttle, go here.
University employees and students located downtown
Employees and students in university facilities in or near downtown should expect to hear from their local leadership if any changes to normal operations are necessary. This includes students and employees at Peabody, Harbor East, the Candler Building and 100 N. Charles St., among others. An important note: As usual, all Johns Hopkins Medicine clinical activities would be expected to operate normally even if changes to normal operations occur in some university locations.
A note about demonstrations
Although some community leaders are discouraging active demonstrations during these purely preliminary motions hearings, we do know that some may occur. Some members of the university community may at some point wish to join them. If so, we hope you will remember that any situation involving large crowds can be unpredictable. Please consider taking basic precautions:
- Let others know of your travel plans, including when you anticipate returning to home or campus;
- Travel with friends if possible;
- Be familiar with your travel route and have an alternate plan;
- As always, be aware of your surroundings, and be prepared to leave any location where you do not feel safe.
Communications from the university
If the university needs to alert you to any urgent breaking developments, in relation to the court proceedings or any other events throughout the year, we will use our Johns Hopkins Emergency Alerts text message system and, where appropriate, follow-up email messages. We also post emergency-related information on the web here and on the university emergency phone line at 410-516-7781.
If you are not already subscribed to Johns Hopkins emergency text message alerts and wish to subscribe now, or want to add additional campuses to your subscription, here are instructions. We urge you to be a subscriber.
Sincerely,
Robert C. Lieberman
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic AffairsDaniel G. Ennis
Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration
