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Old 12-31-2020, 02:06 PM
 
4,361 posts, read 7,045,216 times
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Out of the nation's 50 largest urban transportation systems, Baltimore is the only one that's both governed and operated by a state agency -- without having a separate board of directors who could make recommendations and even occasionally veto decisions. As a result, decisions on planning or changing transit service, can change drastically based on the whim of each successive Governor.

https://ggwash.org/view/79981/mta-tr...ew-report-says
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Old 12-31-2020, 02:16 PM
 
8,181 posts, read 13,266,005 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by slowlane3 View Post
Out of the nation's 50 largest urban transportation systems, Baltimore is the only one that's both governed and operated by a state agency -- without having a separate board of directors who could make recommendations and even occasionally veto decisions. As a result, decisions on planning or changing transit service, can change drastically based on the whim of each successive Governor.

https://ggwash.org/view/79981/mta-tr...ew-report-says
Wow.. that says alot.. On the one hand.. I wonder if the City has the Midas touch (in reverse) everything it touches goes to crap and thus the State is involved? I had heard from some folks that the suburbs want the State involved that way they can complain to it if they dont like the routes that heavily connect the city with the suburbs or beyond.. I dont know if that is true or not...

On the red line.. I saw in one of the iterations the line following the proposed route down to Howard Street.. then using the Howard Street corridor down to Pratt or Baltimore Street then heading east to Canton all on the surface as opposed to the much more expensive and controversial tunnel.. The argument was if you had it use the Howard Street corridor's existing tracks.. you would save on the expensive tunnel AND you could do say a Woodlawn to BWI route or even a Canton to BWI or even a Canton to Hunt Valley since the Howard Street Corridor would allow for the creation of multiple routes.. I thought that made a lot of sense.....
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Old 01-01-2021, 08:16 PM
 
Location: Howard County, Maryland
16,446 posts, read 10,471,250 times
Reputation: 36290
Quote:
Originally Posted by Woodlands View Post
Wow.. that says alot.. On the one hand.. I wonder if the City has the Midas touch (in reverse) everything it touches goes to crap and thus the State is involved? I had heard from some folks that the suburbs want the State involved that way they can complain to it if they dont like the routes that heavily connect the city with the suburbs or beyond.. I dont know if that is true or not...

On the red line.. I saw in one of the iterations the line following the proposed route down to Howard Street.. then using the Howard Street corridor down to Pratt or Baltimore Street then heading east to Canton all on the surface as opposed to the much more expensive and controversial tunnel.. The argument was if you had it use the Howard Street corridor's existing tracks.. you would save on the expensive tunnel AND you could do say a Woodlawn to BWI route or even a Canton to BWI or even a Canton to Hunt Valley since the Howard Street Corridor would allow for the creation of multiple routes.. I thought that made a lot of sense.....
I'm sure you've heard the expression, "you get what you pay for." It was undoubtedly cheaper to lay the tracks on the surface of Howard Street instead of digging a tunnel, but what you got was a painfully slow ride. If you're going from Pratt Street to Baltimore Street, it's actually faster to walk than to take the train. Light Rail has the drawbacks of a bus route (i.e. it's slooooooooooow) without the advantages (flexibility in operation and relative ease of realigning the route if needed).

As for the governance of the MTA, what is often overlooked is that it is responsible for much more than operating the Baltimore-centric bus system. It also oversees (but does not directly operate) the MARC train, the commuter buses to DC and Baltimore, and the local systems all around the state. For those functions, a state-level agency makes plenty of sense.

And finally, there's this rhetorical question: would a system operated by Baltimore City be better than one operated by the state? (Measure "better" in whatever way you like: ridership, level of service, punctuality, farebox recovery ratio, customer satisfaction, coverage, and so on.)
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Old 01-02-2021, 06:44 AM
 
2,333 posts, read 1,945,273 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bus man View Post
I'm sure you've heard the expression, "you get what you pay for." It was undoubtedly cheaper to lay the tracks on the surface of Howard Street instead of digging a tunnel, but what you got was a painfully slow ride. If you're going from Pratt Street to Baltimore Street, it's actually faster to walk than to take the train. Light Rail has the drawbacks of a bus route (i.e. it's slooooooooooow) without the advantages (flexibility in operation and relative ease of realigning the route if needed).

As for the governance of the MTA, what is often overlooked is that it is responsible for much more than operating the Baltimore-centric bus system. It also oversees (but does not directly operate) the MARC train, the commuter buses to DC and Baltimore, and the local systems all around the state. For those functions, a state-level agency makes plenty of sense.

And finally, there's this rhetorical question: would a system operated by Baltimore City be better than one operated by the state? (Measure "better" in whatever way you like: ridership, level of service, punctuality, farebox recovery ratio, customer satisfaction, coverage, and so on.)
Uh, yeah.......
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Old 02-12-2021, 07:38 AM
 
8,181 posts, read 13,266,005 times
Reputation: 2534
Default North Ave is Messed Up

I don't know if anyone has driven down North Ave recently. But I had to run up to the NE and had to take it from Downtown up to Bel Air Rd.. They have added a "bus only" lane resurfaced major portions of it and have yet to re stripe the lanes.


As most of you know.. Baltimore probably has some of he worst drivers. I don't know if it is by choice or by ignorance... Seeing cars driving or attempting to drive down dedicated/segregated bike lanes is an all to common occurrence for me.. But back to North Ave, at least the east side of it...Cars flying into on coming traffic (because there is no double yellow line so it must be OK) and using the right hand bus lane to pass.. because now it pretty much is a single lane in each direction with an occasional dedicated left turn lane.

North Ave is also a truck route so there is not shortage of slow moving smoke belching construction vehicles or delivery trucks which encourages drivers to wig out and do some of the aggressive driving that I mentioned above.. Then you have a variety of folks that walk ride electric wheelchairs in the "bus lane" swerving to keep from getting hit by the drivers diving into it to pass truck or to get ahead of the traffic..

Red lights become yield lights as people jockey to get ahead of slow moving vehicles again using the bus lane... and top it off.. after slogging through all of this for about 15 minutes.. what did I never encounter??? A FRIGGIN BUS! If you have a dedicated bus lane there should be buses lined up as far as the eye can see on various corners down the Ave because the purpose of the lane is to provide faster more frequent buses.....


I place all of that here because if the buses are controlled by the State via the MTA but the Streets are controlled by the City.. they clearly are not working together... Pratt Street seems to be working OK by Baltimore Standards.. but that is the only other one that I am aware of... I haven't even begun to go down West North Ave.. I see around Station North there is a bike lane that has been taken over by squeegee kids and the homeless.. so that lets me know how that adventure will likely be in terms of traffic management.. Westward... HOOOOOOO
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