Impressions from a newcomer (Baltimore, Columbia: houses, job, places)

[Be More]

Originally Posted by barante

I, too, went to the Red Line summit. I shuttled between the various breakout sessions. Ended up in historic preservation. It was the liveliest and most troubling. Restaurateur Nancy Longo declared war on the Red Line if any attempt is made to put it on Aliceanna or Fleet. She says maybe Eastern Avenue, or most definitely Monument Street, which isn't even close to Fells Point or Canton.
Is this the east-west expressway debate redux? Lots of planning and ultimately vetoed by residents? After all, Ruxton people successfully vetoed a light-rail station in their community (even though the line runs through it).
Food was excellent. And a nice canvass bag as a souvenir. Not bad for a free event. However, I got a $77 ticket for parking on Pratt Street, west of MLK. It never occurred to me that Saturday might be a sports event day.

So is this thing going to be entirely "above ground"? If so, Eastern Ave. would be the best bet.....but even then..I can see the Fells Point crowd get a little tired of the number of cars coming through with the insurgence of population along the entire waterfront.

For those that want to widen the roads and create more interstate systems...I can't even begin to contemplate what a mistake that would be. I honestly had no idea how "bad of an idea" it would be until I watched the entire 14 hours of Ken Burns "New York" over the last couple of months. Interstate systems darn near brought that city to its knees until it was stopped. Mass transit is the only way to go.

[barante]

Considering the cost of digging, it seems likely that as much of the line will be above ground as possible. Also, the federal share is likely to decrease further if Baltimore waits any longer.

[Ciao9999]

Originally Posted by rudy_d

Do you think roads are built without subsidies? Even with gas taxes, they are heavily subsidized and don't pay for themselves. I agree that improving the bus system should be a priority.

Buses work when they have dedicated lanes. Otherwise buses just sit in the same traffic as every other car.

[barante]

According to a friend who knows more about Fells Point traffic and residents' attitudes than probably anyone else, MTA's insistence on a dedicated lane for the light rail is what has entrepreneurs like Nancy Longo up in arms. That lane would take away parking that Longo's restaurant needs.

[jonjj]

barante, I was also in the historic preservation breakout but left after about an hour because it kept on getting off-topic. I personally don't think it should go down in Fells Point. If it went down Fayette or even Orleans, the east side population would be better serviced having people use it from both north of it and south of it. I wrote suggestions regarding that with trolley service to Fells Point/Canton connecting to the rail line. Also, it could swing in that direction down Highland Avenue. The MTA has not confirmed any permanent route yet and there are many meetings coming up in the fall to discuss that portion of the planning.

[jonjj]

Preakness Parade down Pratt on Saturday---hence your ticket.

[barante]

jonjj -- As a practical matter you are probably right. Perhaps the Red Line ought to be on Fayette. But getting some transit on the shoreline has become such a rallying cry. Monorail, aerial gondolas, anything.
In the meantime, many good ideas have been ignored. Such as a shuttle from the foot of Broadway to the Hopkins medical complex (with its Metro station). This is an easy loop that could serve Fells Point.
You clearly know more about this stuff than I ever will. Life is too short. I told my Fells Point transit friend years ago that if we were to meet regularly for a cup of coffee, I didn't want to hear about transit.
Sic transit.

[baltimore's best]

Originally Posted by barante

jonjj -- As a practical matter you are probably right. Perhaps the Red Line ought to be on Fayette. But getting some transit on the shoreline has become such a rallying cry. Monorail, aerial gondolas, anything.
In the meantime, many good ideas have been ignored. Such as a shuttle from the foot of Broadway to the Hopkins medical complex (with its Metro station). This is an easy loop that could serve Fells Point.
You clearly know more about this stuff than I ever will. Life is too short. I told my Fells Point transit friend years ago that if we were to meet regularly for a cup of coffee, I didn't want to hear about transit.
Sic transit.

I'm excited about the aerial gondolas going out Fayette. I hope I'm here long enough to see that. What a cool idea!

[jonjj]

Originally Posted by baltimore's best

I'm excited about the aerial gondolas going out Fayette. I hope I'm here long enough to see that. What a cool idea!

Hopefully you read the news. Those are in the planning stage for the Inner Harbor; not Fayette.

[jonjj]

By the way, for those of you fascinated with Portland:

OHSU News - Portland Aerial Tram Updates