Jul 27 2009
Last Chance for Baltimore Red Line
It’s do or die time for the Baltimore Red Line. Sides have been taken and battle lines have been drawn. Rumor has it that a decision will be made soon, perhaps by the end of the summer.
But let’s face the facts. The Red Line proposal that includes both a combination of tunneling and surface rail offers Baltimore best chance of getting state and federal funding for a transportation project in YEARS (see proposed routing map below). If we pass up on this, the likelihood of another public transit project coming this way is perhaps another 20 or 30 years off.
There is currently no reliable public transportation between Canton and downtown, so most people drive. It’s sameful that a city the size of Baltimore doesn’t have a reliable transportation system, so it’s about time we start.
I realize that there is a small, but vocal group of opponents, that don’t want a surface line running along Boston Street or Route 40. But let’s face it, Boston Street and Route 40 are already noisy and congested disasters. The new Red Line, along with some proposed nice streetscaping, will serve to reduce and calm traffic. The tunneling through downtown will keep the train from getting bogged down in traffic lights (one of my chief complaints about the existing north/south light rail).
The Red Line is necessary for the continued growth of Baltimore City, and would increase the property values of those nearby (just try to get a cheap apartment near a DC Metro stop).
If you support the Red Line, make sure your voice is heard. Things you can do to help:
Visit – http://www.gobaltimoreredline.com/
E-mail Senator Mikulski – http://mikulski.senate.gov/Contact/contact.cfm
E-mail Governor O’Malley – http://www.governor.maryland.gov/mail/
E-mail Mayor Dixon – mayor@baltimorecity.gov
E-mail Councilman Kraft – james.kraft@baltimorecity.gov
7 Comments to “Last Chance for Baltimore Red Line”
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I really doubt Alternative 4C will fly with the feds. Too expensive, with low benefits; especially on a national level. I favor Alternative 3A: Bus Rapid Transit on the surface with one-way street pairs. Converting Eastern and Fleet to one-way through Southeast would help drivers and transit riders alike. This alignment serves more neighborhoods and gives Southeast a better east/west corridor. In addition, using top of the line buses and strategic stations, this service could fit into the neighborhood well…on the eastside and the westside.
RED LINE ALTERNATIVE 3A:
http://www.baltimoreredline.com/images/stories/redline_documents/deis/chapter6_maps/Chap6_Alt3a.pdf
-Brian, Highlandtown
I agree that 4C is probably a stretch cost-wise as it is. Hopefully the federal push for public transit along with cost-cutting measures like single tracking the Cooks Lane portion will bring it in-line.
I’m not completely opposed to Bus Rapid Transit…I just think people have stigmas about busses and it wouldn’t get as much ridership.
I also hate to see streets turn to one way because it makes a street feel more like a thoroughfare.
thats just dumb….a rapid bus transit, stick with the rail, its a better feature to the city and i know it would have more ridership than the subway line from hopkins to owings mills…..all out, forget the bus got enough of them already
O’Malley is moving forward with a modified version of plan C (light rail and limited tunnels) and is requesting federal funding.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/commuting/bal-red-line0804,0,4455464.story
I’m for the redline but would rather have it a real subway rather than a light rail unless the definition of light rail has changed since it was first built here in Baltimore in te 90′s. Baltimore totally needs mass transit. Buses just……well……there is a stigma with buses that we can debate another time……
i was just down in Canton on Monday (9/14/09), and saw the signs in opposition to the Surface Red Line. i live in NYC so i’m really far removed from the debate, but regarding the opposition, i still don’t get it.
i’ve been to cities all over the world with tram lines, and i love riding them. the whole idea of Light Rail (or Trams) is VISIBILITY. visibility encourages people to come out and use it, especially on a low density street like Boston Street. in other parts of the country where surface light rail lines have been built, it’s already proven to increase property values in the areas around them. i can’t imagine that it wouldn’t be the same for Canton.
certainly building a subway there would be spending way too much money relative to the number of people living/working there. and why would i want to bury myself underground when i could look out a window riding by an attractive neighborhood???
and, btw, forget about Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). the feel of a bus ride is unsteady at best, and moreover depends on the skill (or lack thereof) of the driver, whereas a train ride can be as solid and smooth as silk, with much more controlled starts and stops.
i’d be happy for Baltimore residents to educate me on the opposition, but, the way i see it from here, we should be clamoring for more surface light rail everywhere, instead of having our streets fill up with even more cars…
I don’t live on Boston Street so I am probably not the one who should be commenting since I won’t be effected. Having said that, I believe there are a few concerns the residences have:
- Your comment about Boston Street not being a low density street isn’t accurate. That street is pretty heavily traveled and taking up some of it with a light rail is going to make it much, much worse.
- The first light rail had a lot of issues when it first arrived. It was kind of slow, it only had single tracks some of the way.
The real question (which is probably not very politically correct) is who is mass transit really for? Is it for the single 19 year old mom who lives near SSA and doesn’t own a car and works at Hopkins Bayview? Or, is it to show companies like IBM that Baltimore can support a 5,000 person office downtown and their executives can get in/out of the city via mass transit quickly. My opinion is that it needs to first be for the latter, then for the former. Large companies in the city limits creates money for the city. The light rail is going to be a loss leader (I doubt they will ever really make a profit on it. Maybe it will be fiscally neutral if we are lucky).
I would rather see a line from Towson/White Marsh into the city going past all the schools (Towson, Loyola, Hopkins) than one east/west. I believe that will provide more bang for the buck. Maybe a spur off of the current line (the way the DC Metro is designed).