Fells Point NIMBYs (Baltimore, Annapolis: jobs, houses, construction)

[barante]

Antero Pietila: Fells Point’s forgetful NIMBYs - Examiner.com

[jonjj]

I still feel a great compromise would be to have that line run up Fayette on the east side of town. That way it could accomodate more people living both north and south of it. If it was to run up Fleet, it would not service the many people without transportation to the north of it. Mr. Holcomb who monitored that session mentioned there will be many hearings in the fall before a final route is determined and I plan on attending. Thank you for posting the article.

[barante]

There is really nothing wrong with Fayette, provided that there is a north-south feeder route from Fells Point/Canton. In fact one of the big mysteries of life is the absence of a shuttle to the Johns Hopkins Metro station along Broadway that could run a loop. Bill Struever has proposed this several times. I guess it has been ignored because it is so simple, a no-brainer.
I, for one, find it difficult to see how light-rail tracks could be crammed through the President Street area, which is nightmarishly congested. But there seems to be quite a bit of opinion that favors some sort of mass transit along the Inner Harbor waterfront.
Water Taxi owner Ed Kane, of blessed memory, often talked about this. For a year or so, he ran the shuttle service on Charles Street. To him, the most important thing about any transport was reliability. If you are standing at a stop, you want to be assured that a vehicle will come in a timely manner.

[barante]

Robert C. Keith: Red Line would exacerbate Fells Point parking nightmare - Examiner.com

[emsgoof]

There is always going to be some group that doesn't want a project to go through. The key is for the government to figure out that the greater good needs to be the driving force, not the "Who is crying the loudest" force.
The city of Baltimore has a vast history of streetcars. The city was even part of the vast interurban line (the Washington, Baltimore & Annapolis, or WB&A) where a person could ride from Richmond, VA to somewhere in New England (sorry, it's been a very long time since I read that book- I don't remember specifically where it ended) just on trolleys.
A 1945 map of the Baltimore Traction Co lines I have shows trolley service that branched off of Eastern Ave into Canton (looks like President St maybe?) So the argument of historical accuracy is in itself inaccurate, as the streetcars WERE present there. People have become so dependent on their automobiles, that they have moved away from where they work, and now think they cannot survive on mass transit alone. The MTA hasn't helped this issue any by providing poor service for many years, so there's plenty of blame for everyone. I've posted my proposition for mass transit before, so I don't think I need to go into it in detail again. I will say that Baltimore needs to expand it's light rail service, replace the current cars with a low-floor design, and improve the service they provide. The people have the responsibility of allowing progress for the greater good of the society as a whole, and not be so self-absorbed that they fight every little bit of change, just because it's change.

[carolott]

Originally Posted by emsgoof

The people have the responsibility of allowing progress for the greater good of the society as a whole, and not be so self-absorbed that they fight every little bit of change, just because it's change.

It would be interesting to know how many of the NIMBYs are new residents.

[ajacksb]

The City will be advocating an underground Red Line alignment for downtown between MLK and Boston St. You'll hear more about this later in the year during the DEIS comment period. Citizen concerns, traffic congestion, and limited ROW has made a downtown/Fells Point tunnel almost a necessity for the project. A Red Line tunnel will also be advocated for Cooks Lane.

Red Line costs are still reasonably within FTA limits. We are expecting construction to start in 2012.

[barante]

You may be right. But I am told that the federal money that might have gone into these kinds of projects has been spent in Iraq.
Another question is this: Will the NIMBYs (or NIMFYs) stop any big dig? When I look at pictures in Sherry Olson's history of Baltimore, I am amazed at the disruption such earlier major infrastructure projects as sewers and streetcar lines caused.
It may not be obvious, but at the time of the Great Baltimore fire of 1904 this was the biggest city in America without a sewer system. The system we now have was substantially built between 1910 and 1917. The construction caused incredible havoc and inconvenience, all of which is now forgotten.

[emsgoof]

Originally Posted by carolott

It would be interesting to know how many of the NIMBYs are new residents.

I'd be willing to bet money it's mainly new residents with their $450,000 rowhouses. I wonder if they are looking far enough ahead to see that close access to reliable mass-transit can do nothing but improve the value of their home. Having a streetcar stopping 1 block from your house is pretty darn convenient. Heck, if you plan it correctly, you wouldn't even need that car they're complaining about not having parking for.
Yes, major public works projects are disruptive, but the construction companies have become very proficient at streetcar track construction. Remember, when the original line was built, light rail was the "new wave", and most construction companies hadn't built streetcar lines before. Major in-street track construction hadn't taken place since the early 1900's at that point. Since then, many cities have built light rail lines and have essentially "relearned" the process.

[jonjj]

Originally Posted by ajacksb

The City will be advocating an underground Red Line alignment for downtown between MLK and Boston St. You'll hear more about this later in the year during the DEIS comment period. Citizen concerns, traffic congestion, and limited ROW has made a downtown/Fells Point tunnel almost a necessity for the project. A Red Line tunnel will also be advocated for Cooks Lane.

Red Line costs are still reasonably within FTA limits. We are expecting construction to start in 2012.

I still don't understand why the city does not choose Fayette for this project. It would not have to be underground and trolleys could run down Central, Broadway, Patterson Park and Linwood to connect. Once at the corner of Fayette and Highland, maybe an underground down Highland to Boston and then out. That way it would even tie in better to the metro at Hopkins and serve both Hopkins, Canton, and perk up that area a bit. It would also better serve the folks living north of Orleans, many of whom are without cars and need transport to jobs.