New Bay Bridge Proposals (Frederick, Prince Frederick: how much, closing, maintenance)

[bus man]

Originally Posted by MidValleyDad

But it would be at least 3 new bridges. I'll go out on a limb and say 'Not going to happen'

You are probably right. But any discussion about the costs of the various build and no-build options needs to factor in the economic impact of the cruise lines in Baltimore, and whether or not they will be able to continue operating here.

[Cruzincat]

Originally Posted by bus man

You are probably right. But any discussion about the costs of the various build and no-build options needs to factor in the economic impact of the cruise lines in Baltimore, and whether or not they will be able to continue operating here.

I’ve taken six cruises out of Baltimore, and soon a seventh. I follow a lot of forums that deal with cruising. The only way cruising will stop being popular out of Baltimore would be for the whole industry to take a severe hit.

There are a lot of people who keep taking the same itinerary over and over because they like cruising out of Baltimore rather than flying to another port.

I doubt they even took the cruise industry into consideration for the current study. If they had they would have probably had the option of raising the current height of the bridges. But put a serious proposal on the board for building a terminal south of the Bay Bridge and watch Baltimore start screaming for height adjustments to the current bridges.

If the bridges were raised, then you could start looking at the Delaware canal and how that might be configured to allow larger ships through. Lots of opportunities for cruises out of Philadelphia, NYC and Boston to stop by whatever port is in Maryland on their way to the Caribbean or Bahamas, so people can visit DC, Annapolis, and, if they ever let the police get control of Baltimore, even there.

[MrRational]

Clearly... the solution is to build a cruise ship dock SOUTH of the Bay Bridge(s).
I bet the folks in Annapolis will love it.

[Cruzincat]

Originally Posted by MrRational

Clearly... the solution is to build a cruise ship dock SOUTH of the Bay Bridge(s).
I bet the folks in Annapolis will love it.

Anywhere you build it, you have to allow for ample parking. That should be a parking garage as opposed to a flat impervious surface. The further from the shoreline the easier it would be to get approval, which means a way to move people and luggage would have to be in the mix. The actual pier area should be made to look innocuous when there are no ships in port, in order to try and maintain the nature of the bay as it is now.

It would be tough to get some of the people who think they own the bay to go along with it, no matter how it blends into the way the bay is now. Even if it would triple the amount of revenues the state would get from it. I would guess that it would do more than triple it over time.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by Cruzincat

Anywhere you build it...

In that case the only practical answer is to build smaller cruise ships.

[Cruzincat]

Originally Posted by MrRational

In that case the only practical answer is to build smaller cruise ships.

There’s plenty of them already out there. Unfortunately, they are owned by companies that charge 2x minimum per person to get on them. That’s more than the cruise lines most of us can afford. Probably have a loyal following among those in the 5% or above.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by Cruzincat

There’s plenty of them already out there.

Good then... problem solved.

[Cruzincat]

Originally Posted by MrRational

Good then... problem solved.

Taken out of context, yes. I am happy for you if you think so.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by Cruzincat

Taken out of context, yes. I am happy for you if you think so.

Making life better for the vacation cruising community (owners or customers) is not any sort of reason
for undertaking (with taxpayer funds mind you) the reconstruction of three existing bridges or over-designing a fourth.
Is there some other detail that was missed?

Anecdote:
Rather than leaving a fifteen year old troublemaker home alone... my folks dragged me along on a cruise.
We drove up to New York to get on the ship because there weren't any cruise ships leaving B'more then.
The old MS Rotterdam at 200ft wouldn't have fit under the bridges either.

The girl I met onboard and I had enough Heineken to last a lifetime.
On the whole we got along rather well and had a grand time but never felt inclined to go again.

[Cruzincat]

Originally Posted by MrRational

Making life better for the vacation cruising community (owners or customers) is not any sort of reason
for undertaking (with taxpayer funds mind you) the reconstruction of three existing bridges or over-designing a fourth.
Is there some other detail that was missed?.

Yes, the part about economic activity. Tell it to the Miami people that the cruise port there does nothing for them and they should just shut it down.

So you went on one cruise when you were a kid and you base your familiarity with the market on that? Do you golf? Do think golf courses are a waste of acreage?