Baltimore Red Line.. DOA (Columbia, Towson: 2015, living in, light rail)

[Infinite_heights77]

Baltimore will continue to lag behind other East Coast cities.

Originally Posted by tcave360

Interesting comments in this article:

BREAKING: Hogan will build the Purple Line, not the Red Line - Greater Greater Washington

[picardlx]

Originally Posted by Infinite_heights77

Is the cancer already burning his brain cells up??!

C'mon man, that was really bad. I favor expanded transit too, but this is too over the top.

[JMBX]

I do think that if only one had to be built, the Purple Line is the one to choose. That being said, why should only one be built. When will this country get it's head out of its ass about transit? It's not just that the professionals are ahead of the politicians, the general populace now greatly supports transit but politicians still flush money away on useless road projects. Widening 404? Private ramps to the FBI? Are you kidding me?

[Woodlands]

Originally Posted by james777

quote
"SRB again is handed another Loss.. How much more is she gonna take...."



I think the more appropriate question is how much more are the citizens of Maryland going to take from her?

Just out of curiosity, what other losses was she handed?

Did you really think it was going to be approved? Hogan was against it from day one, and said so a number of times. No urban planner in his right mind would have approved the red line.

No.. in fact I am somewhat glad that it wasnt approved ....IF.. we can have a thoughtful discussion on alternatives such as what the Right Rail Coalition has been proposing.. If he nixed it in favor of identifying more cost effective and viable alternatives..then Im all for it. Better connections with Metro Subway and the existing Light Rail System for one.. Two the use of the same gauge trainsets.. though with 21 century not 20 century(the current light rail) technology could be a start...

the right rail coalition - Home

[JMBX]

I'd be all for that too, but we know he didn't kill it in favor of a better alternative

[Woodlands]

Originally Posted by seanlax

I've been saying this from the start. There is a better way to provide public rail transportation east-west. I think planners got a little too full of themselves and didn't open their ideas up to criticism. This is the inevitable result.

Exactly.. the current, now dead, proposal seemed like it was being politically driven for politics sake and not necessarily what is the best thing for the City, Region or the State... The whole TOD argument was/is laughable because even if you built an apartment building and retail at West Baltimore MARC and there is an east to west transit line there.. Its highly unlikely that folks would move there given the fact that it would simply be an island and most people want to be able to walk to other destinations to shop or recreate while feeling safe... instead of having to jump in a car. You have that in Harbor East, Fells Pt, Canton, Fed Hill, and Mt. Vernon. There would be no place to walk to in a West Baltimore TOD. The other stations on the western side of the City would have even LESS development than the West Baltimore TOD which is already flawed. East of downtown you have Canton.. which is already booming with development so the Red Line is less of a factor. Therefore keeping the cost down and improving its connectivity should be the goal.

I like Right Rails idea of using the Howard Street Corridor as the confluence of rail service and Lex Market as a Transit Center.. Much like Market East in Philadelphia along with Reading Terminal. You would bring together commuters, residents, tourists, and shoppers all in the same facility and reduce what we have now with the negative influence overwhelming the positive ones because they are simply outnumbered. Using Howard Street and existing tracks would allow for multiple types of trains much like in Europe.. with trains going to multimple destinations while using the same tracks.. Where its impractical for that, there is an easy transfer to other trains, buses or on to Metro Subway. Hopefully now the Baltimore City Delegation can work with the MTA and Hogan to salvage elements of the Red Line where it makes sense....

[choccity]

Originally Posted by picardlx

My initial thought is that it's shortsighted but, if Gov. Hogan is willing to trade Redline for Maryland Maglev, then I can be happy with his decision. He seem to indicate wanting to bring Maglev to MD on his recent trip to Japan. Sometimes we need to think further out in the future and not just the here and now. Just like when President Obama chose to focus more on Mars than the Moon -- it kinda upset a lot of folks in NASA, but I think we'll be the better for it in the end.

Yeah but once you get off the maglev do you maneuver around the city using the same crappy transit system already there? Why invest in maglev with no infrastructure in place? I think that's the distraction. The maglev will cost way more than $2.6 billion. Hogan is not a transit supporter anyway, he supports roads and bridges. Marc fares went up but tolls went down. Then the unrest. The writing was on the wall. And let's not forget the gas tax went up. In part because I think both the red and purple lines were part of that deal. I mean his tie was purple at the press conference.

[dogpark]

baltimorebrew.com has a good analysis of the Red Line and its rejection by Hogan.

I'm all in favor of quality mass transit, but it seems the Red Line was fraught with politics and ultimately this plan was not good.

I remember when the DC Metro's red line opened - we rode that first Sunday for free, it was awesome.

[choccity]

Originally Posted by dogpark

baltimorebrew.com has a good analysis of the Red Line and its rejection by Hogan.

I'm all in favor of quality mass transit, but it seems the Red Line was fraught with politics and ultimately this plan was not good.

I remember when the DC Metro's red line opened - we rode that first Sunday for free, it was awesome.

Rhode Island Ave to Brookland. I remember it well.

[dogpark]

Originally Posted by choccity

Rhode Island Ave to Brookland. I remember it well.

Takoma onward for me. The Red Line cut Mom's commute to work as a legal secretary in half - before it was 2 buses.