If Baltimore had New York City's Transit System??! (Columbia, Bethesda: credit, home)

[tcave360]

Originally Posted by kharing

That's a long list....but I can add to it. PORTLAND has a great system. Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

Los Angeles too.

[Infinite_heights77]

I'm not defecating on Baltimore's transit system, just having a little fun over here! I'm only familiar with NYC, Philly, Houston, Chicago, and DC's transit system. Baltimore may have better than average as opposed to other cities, and that is fine. But, personally, I don't like and enjoy Baltimore's (Maryland in general) transit system. So many problems getting where I need to go, especially places that are not on a central line.

Originally Posted by gwillyfromphilly

No city in America has a transit system like NYC. Baltimore may not have a better transit system like New York City but it's still is one best cities in the US when it comes to transit. Outside of NYC, Chicago, Philly, DC, Boston, and San Francisco I can't think any other cites in the entire country that has better mass transit than Baltimore. There is only a handful of cites that have commuter rail, light rail, inter-city rail, and a subway system. Baltimore is on that short list.

[Infinite_heights77]

Philadelphia SEPTA's and NJ Transit system is better than Baltimore. I can get to the butt-country ass labyrinths of southern New Jersey neighborhoods, Philly suburbs and other places where my family and friends live on this system.

[Clyde Pharmer]

The Red Line will help things out for connecting the current rail lines. Hopefully it'll be finished by 2021 as planned.

http://baltimoretransit.blogspot.com

[Woodlands]

Minneapolis.. Has a good light rail, bus, and commuter rail system.... You could probably add Miami-Dade/Ft Lauderdale as well....LA is also getting better... after the fact....

[Infinite_heights77]

2021 Bro??!!! That might as well be somewhere in a galaxy...far far away!!

Originally Posted by Clyde Pharmer

The Red Line will help things out for connecting the current rail lines. Hopefully it'll be finished by 2021 as planned.

Baltimore's Mass Transit Movements

[Infinite_heights77]

A friend of a friend said something about Minneapolis's transit system and how pretty good it was.

Originally Posted by Woodlands

Minneapolis.. Has a good light rail, bus, and commuter rail system.... You could probably add Miami-Dade/Ft Lauderdale as well....LA is also getting better... after the fact....

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by P47P47

Well, I can tell you how it WOULDN'T look.


It wouldn't look like that stupid little fishhook of a Subway and straight-line Light Rail with totally incompatible rolling stock that we have now. Had the Subway been built to the original plan, we'd have had something useful that could be expanded as necessary. Instead, we're stuck with the kluge that we have now.

But, such a system would attract new business, residents, and money that could very well turn Baltimore into a self-sufficient city, why would anyone want that?

Originally Posted by Miss Crabcakes

Ooooooh! I love this!!

But I would change the Elkridge stop to Columbia and add another line that goes into DC. Not Union Station but maybe Dupont Circle or something. And maybe that same line could connect to a line that goes up to Rockville and Bethesda

As someone who lives in Columbia, a subway line, lite rail line, or more frequent commuter busses would be awesome. Even better would be a connection from Columbia to BWI other than the Silver bus. But hey, local residents love to speak of "the vision of Rouse" and that vision is one of car culture.

Originally Posted by MidValleyDad

It always irritated me that the Baltimore and DC metros were PURPOSELY built to different electrical and rail standards so they cannot interconnect! could you imagine a system that went from Baltimore to Columbia and on to DC!

Baltimore aside, there definitely needs to be a rail line between Columbia and DC.

Originally Posted by gwillyfromphilly

No city in America has a transit system like NYC. Baltimore may not have a better transit system like New York City but it's still is one best cities in the US when it comes to transit. Outside of NYC, Chicago, Philly, DC, Boston, and San Francisco I can't think any other cites in the entire country that has better mass transit than Baltimore. There is only a handful of cites that have commuter rail, light rail, inter-city rail, and a subway system. Baltimore is on that short list.

One of the best? You got to be kidding.

Originally Posted by gwillyfromphilly

I would still give the edge to Baltimore. The only thing that Portland does better than Baltimore when it comes to transportation in light rail. Baltimore is superior in commuter rail, inter-city rail, and subway service(which is something Portland doesn't have).

What most people know of Portland today is relatively new. It was not that long ago (20 years?) when Portland was seriously beginning to resemble a stereotypical Rust Belt town. The city had to hire a group to come in and turn Portland into what most now know it to be. If I remember correctly, Sacramento hired the same group to revitalize downtown Sacramento.

But seriously, how is Baltimore superior in commuter rail? Or inter-city rail? Or with the one-line Metro?

[Miss Crabcakes]

Originally Posted by K-Luv

As someone who lives in Columbia, a subway line, lite rail line, or more frequent commuter busses would be awesome. Even better would be a connection from Columbia to BWI other than the Silver bus. But hey, local residents love to speak of "the vision of Rouse" and that vision is one of car culture.

As someone who works and commutes to Columbia daily, its a b*tch to get in and out of daily. My only main access is 95 or 70 to 29. Ugh!!

One of the best? You got to be kidding.

But seriously, how is Baltimore superior in commuter rail? Or inter-city rail? Or with the one-line Metro?

I always thought B-more's public transit was lacking. We have ONE metro line that runs on ONE side of town. To connect from metro to Light Rail, I used to have to get off at Lexington Market and walk the block and a half outdoors to then get on the Light Rail stop. I used to wonder how do people on the east side get downtown?

And I honestly think if you don't have a car, you ain't getting far. One thing I do admire about DC, NYC and Boston is that one could actually have the option of not driving and still get most places in an efficient time. If you don't have a car in B-more, there are a bunch of places you won't get to.

For giggles, I've sometimes looked up directions on Google Maps using only public transit. Average travel time was 1.5 - 2 hours.

[gwillyfromphilly]

Originally Posted by K-Luv

One of the best? You got to be kidding.

I'm not joking. Baltimore is a top 10 city when it comes to mass transit.

What most people know of Portland today is relatively new. It was not that long ago (20 years?) when Portland was seriously beginning to resemble a stereotypical Rust Belt town. The city had to hire a group to come in and turn Portland into what most now know it to be. If I remember correctly, Sacramento hired the same group to revitalize downtown Sacramento.

But seriously, how is Baltimore superior in commuter rail? Or inter-city rail? Or with the one-line Metro?

I'm been on the transit systems of both cities. Baltimore transit overall is clearly better. It not only offers more transit options but better service as well. MARC train > West Side Service, Amtrak NEC > Amtrak Coast Starlight, Baltimore Metro > Portland's lack of a subway system.

Portland Rail Map

http://trimet.org/images/max/header-simplemap.gif

Baltimore Rail Map


http://www.perryvillemd.org/pics/marc-train-map.gif

I will asked you again, "which city do you think has the better mass transit?"