What was the rush this morning that compelled the operator of bus No. 9917 to run a red light on Charles Street at Saratoga Street this morning at about 8:50 a.m.? This wasn't a close-call yellow. It was red as blood when the bus crossed into the intersection (with a reporter right behind). Good thing nobody on Saratoga was making a jackrabbit start.
The Montgomery County Council, led by Chairman Phil Andrews, might just have opened a door they would have preferred to keep closed.
Ben Ross of the Action Committee for Transit points out that the solution Andrews suggested and the Council endorsed for relieving congestion in the Interstate 270 corridor -- the addition of two reversible express lanes between Shady Grove and Frederick -- is not one of the alternatives included in the State Highway Administration's I-270 Corridor Study.
To move in the direction the Council suggests would require a new study of the plan's costs and feasibilty, Ross notes. So if transportation officials decide to reopen the study to examine one plan, Ross asks, why not open it up to other alternatives -- including ACT's suggestion of an all-transit option for relieving the corridor's stress?
It seems to me that Ross has a point. A lot has happened since transit was last looked at, including massive cost increases for some of the alternatives that have been studied. I'd also like to have them take a glance, at least, at my suggestion of a single reversible lane for buses and high-occupancy vans only at peak times. (Let trucks use it off-peak to separate them from cars.)
Some proponents of widening I-270 to the max have dismissed the notion of any further study -- insisting it will only delay the project. But all you have to do is look at the finances of the Maryland Transportation Authority and you'll see it may be a long time before any project of the magnitude of an I-270 widening can be financed.
So let's study away: the Andrews plan, the Ross plan, the off-the-wall-Baltimore-Guy plan, whatever.
Guest post from my colleague Tim Wheeler, who writes about the environment and green living over at the B'More Green blog.
Your eyes aren’t deceiving you – yes, that’s the Charm City Circulator Bus. It made a cameo appearance today in Harbor East, where workers and residents got a chance to kick the tires and board it during a lunchtime rally at the Katyn Memorial to promote alternatives to driving in the bustling, at-times gridlocked neighborhood.
But no, the long-promised downtown shuttle still is not ready for prime time. City officials say that the global recession and problems getting parts have delayed the delivery of the 21 hybrid electric buses the city is acquiring. City officials had said a month ago they still hoped to get it running by the end of summer – which was Monday – but now talk about "fall/winter."
"We’ve got to get it right and get the right product," says Laurie Schwartz, director of the Waterfront Partnership, a coalition of businesses, residents and city officials. Still, Schwartz acknowledged, "It’s taken way longer than anyone ever expected and hoped."
Undeterred, officials launched a new campaign today aimed at getting folks who work, shop or live in Harbor East to try walking, biking, taking a water taxi or riding another bus – anything to cut down on the traffic that often clogs the streets.
Whole Foods, whose supermarket there is a huge draw, was on hand to give out healthy snacks and water. Others stood by with bikes, free advice and information about urban bike safety and the other transportation modes officials hope will ease the area’s traffic woes.
The new campaign, "A Smarter Way to Get There," is aimed at the thousands of workers in the new offices and stores there, or their bosses. A survey of major employers found something like 60 percent of the workers reported they drive alone to and from their jobs, while only 14 percent take transit and 4 percent walk or bike, Schwartz said.
The Partnership, one of the sponsors of the initiative, along with the city and area businesses, has unveiled a Web site meant to give workers and residents an easy guide to all the travel options they have.
Photo courtesy of Mark Dennis
Martin Johnson of Baltimore notes an everyday option for getting to and from Washington without a car that might not be familiar to most readers.
Bolt Bus offers seven buses a day from Penn Station to the Greenbelt Metro Station each day at a cost of $15 on weekdays and $16 on weekends. Once you're in Greenbelt, you can reach almost anywhere you'd want to go in the Washington area via subway and Metrobus.
Whether this is a good deal depends on how you value your time and how easy it is to catch the bus. The Bolt Bus ride takes 45 minutes. Greyhound takes 55 minutes to deliver you to downtown D.C. at a prevailing cost of $13.50 nonrefundable, $17.50 refundable. It has many more trips but a poorly located station in an industrial area south of the stadiums.
The most economical 7-day-a-week option is still the combination of the light rail ($1.60) to BWI and the B-30 bus ($3) to Greenbelt Metro. That trip (measured from Mount Royal station to Greenbelt) can take anywhere from an hour and a quarter (roughly) to an hour and three-quarters depending on whether you catch the train that's synchronized with the B30. Checking the schedules is well worth the time.
Of course, the MARC train remains the best way to get between the two cities on weekdays -- except during periodic service meltdowns. It's a wise MARC rider who prints out the Bolt Bus, Greyhound, light rail and B30 schedules and keeps copies in a purse or briefcase. You never know.
Dave Murphy has an insightful article on the Greater Greatter Washington blog criticizing the Central Maryland Transportation Alliance's call to jump the Towson-Columbia Yellow Line ahead of a northeastern extension of the existing Metro subway (Green Line).
Briefly, Murphy questions the usefulness of the southern part of the proposed Yellow Line between Columbia and BWI. As much as I like the idea of rail transit serving my neighborhood -- not that I'd still be mobile by the time it's built -- he might have a point there. Columbia could probably be served faster and more economically with the creation of an express bus route between the BWI Business District light rail station and Columbia Town Center. That would be about a 30-minute run on Route 100. If the light rail and bus schedules were properly synchronized, that could be a robust transit alternative that wouldn't have to wait decades to become a reality.
Howard Transit's Silver Line already makes the BWI-Columbia run but its many stops make for a long, long trip. An express version of that route would increase the usefulness of the entire system.
The Central Maryland Transportation Alliance, a group that brings together the movers and shakers in the Baltimore region, has endorsed what could be a critical change in the metropolitan area's long-term plans by urging that the proposed Yellow Line from Lutherville to Columbia be made the top transit priority after connstruction of the proposed Red Line.
The alliance's recommendation, which represents a consensus view of Baltimore business and ciivic leaders, would jump that project ahead of the proposed extension of the current Metro subway beyond Johns Hopkins Hospital toward Morgan State and eventually White Marsh. It came as part of a report relleased Wednesday on Baltimore's prospects for transit-oriented development.
Both projects lie far in the future, but the effect of such a change of priorities could be profound for today's young workers and future generations. If adopted by government leaders, the new priority could accelerate job growth and transit service in such places as Towson and Columbia in the 2020s while delaying an expansion of transit in the Harford Road and Bel Air Road corridors until later decades.
Otis Rolley, president of the transportation alliance, said the Yellow Line -- part of a 2002 comprehensive regional transit plan -- offers better prospects for connecting major residential and employment centers than the Green Line plan.
The Maryland Transit Administration is still seeking about 250 volunteers to help test its new MTA CharmCard, what it calls a “smart” fare card that it hopes will expedite the fare collection process. The MTA plans to introduce the cards in a movfe that would finally match a technology that has been familiar on the Washington Metro system for years.
The folks the MTA is looking for are full-fare cash customers who ride Metro Subway more than other MTA services and who will agree to purchase your fares during the test period from a ticket vending machine at a Metro Subway station Ticket Vending Machine. Riders on senior or disability fares and Commuter Choice Maryland voucher recipients are not eligible to participate in the initial field test. MTA spokeswoman Jawauna Greene said about 250 of the 500 volunteers originally sought have signed up.
Would-be participants can sign up electronically by clicking this link.
The test will run 60 days (Oct. 1 – Nov. 30). At the end of the test period, participants must return their cards to the MTA Transit Store at 6 St. Paul St. Volunteers will receive a free January 2010 monthly pass as a bonus.
UPDATE: In response to a reader's question, no, the CharmCard will not be interoperable with Washington Metro trains and buses during the beta test. But the two systems' cards are expected to be compatible once CharmCard (hate that name) is in full operation.
By the way, this test does mean the MTA is pushing back full introduction of the card its earlier goal of October to the beginning of the year, Greene acknowledged. Better they get it right, I suppose.
The Maryland Transit Administration will add a new express bus route between the downtown University of Maryland Transit Center and Towson as part of a series of changes it will make in its fall schedule.
The new No. 48 Quickbus will provide limited-stop service along the current route of the No. 8 bus line, one of the system's busiest. The new route, which will replace the express runs of the No. 8 line, is modeled on the crosstown No. 40 Quickbus service begun several years ago.
Weekday service on the 48 will run every 15 minutes between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. on the Greenmount Avenue-York Road corridor. On Saturdays, service will begin at 7 a.m. and continue until 7 p.m. The line will not operate on Sundays, when the route will be served by the No. 8.
Other changes in the fall schedule, which will go into effect Aug. 30, include new schedules of Routes No. 3, 4, 16, 20, 21, 27, 29, 36, 48, 51 and 150. The current M1, M2 and M6 routes will be redesignated the No. 52, No. 53 and No. 57 respectively. The M17 route is being eliminated, with service between the Owings Mills Metro Station and Red Land Court being switched to the No. 59 route.
On the No. 17 route to Anne Arundel County, service to the Airport 100 Business Park and the State Employees Credit Union headquarters will be eliminated. Some runs will terminate at Arundel Mills, others at Parkway Center.
Other changes will occur on Routes No. 7, 8, 14, 15, 24, 33, 35 and 48 routes.
By Michael Dresser
Maryland’s acting transportation chief, citing concerns about privacy, has pulled back an internal proposal to use listening devices on its buses and trains for recording conversations of passengers and employees.
The Maryland Transit Administration had been considering adopting a system that would allow it to conduct audio surveillance similar to that in several other large American cities.
The idea was first reported late last week by the Maryland Politics Watch blog, which reported that the MTA’s top official had requested an opinion from the Attorney General’s Office on the legality of such surveillance.
After inquiries from The Sun Monday, acting Secretary Beverly Swaim-Staley ordered the request withdrawn.
"It certainly should have been vetted at the department level and it was not," she said. "We have not weighed the issues we should weigh before making a decision like this."
Swaim-Staley said she would review whether the state would move forward with such a program.
"Any privacy matters are of the ultimate importance," said Swaim-Staley. "They’re the ultimate test of people’s trust in government."
The request to the attorney general had sought legal guidance on whether using such equipment would violate Maryland’s anti-wiretapping law.
Continue reading "Transportation chief reins in audio surveillance idea" »
Update: Maryland Transportation Administration Acting Secretary Beverly Swaim-Staley said Monday evening that she has withdrawn the following request to the attorney general for a legal opinion, saying the matter should have been reviewed at the department level before the MTA sought legal advice.
Swaim-Staley took the action after the following was reported here early Monday.
The MTA is considering installing audio surveillance equipment on its buses and trains to record conversations of passengers and employees, according to a letter sent by the MTA's top official to the state Attorney General's Office.
The letter, reported by the Maryland Politics Watch blog, seeks legal guidance on whether installing such equipment would violate Maryland's anti-wiretapping law. In his letter, MTA Administrator Paul J. Wiedefeld notes that the MTA already uses video cameras for security aboard its vehicles.
"As part of MTA's ongoing efforts to deter criminal activity and mitigate other dangerous situations on board its vehicles, Agency management has considered adding audio recording equipment to the video recording technology now in use throughout its fleet," Wiedefeld wrote.
According to the administrator, the MTA staff decided the idea raised legal issues and decided to send a letter seeking an opinion from the attorney general on whether such electronic eavesdropping would be legal and, if so, under which circumstances.
Whether legal or not, the notion didn't play well with Paul Gordon, who broke the story on the Montgomery County-based blog.
"Personally, I find the idea of the state recording people’s conversations on public transportation creepy, something I would expect from the old Soviet Union," Gordon wrote.
I was reminded this weekend during a trip to Artscape on light rail that one of the chief sources of amusement aboard public transit are the too-loud and uninhibited conversations of fellow passengers. It would be a shame if riders were cowed into silence by the fear that someone in authority was recording their descriptions of their wild weekends.
SUN EXCLUSIVE:
The Maryland Transit Administration has adopted a zero-tolerance policy under which any operator found to have been using a cell phone or text-messaging device on the job will be fired even if it is a first offense.
The MTA took the action shortly after the Washington Metro system announced a similar change Thursday morning in which it scrapped a three-strikes-and-you’re-out policy and said it would fire violators outright.
The decision by Administrator Paul J. Wiedefeld came about an hour after The Sun inquired about the MTA’s policy in light of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Administration’s announcement. At first, the MTA said it was sticking by its policy that it “can” fire violators. Under the new policy, the MTA says it “will”fire operators who text or use cell phones while at the controls.
Continue reading "MTA falls in line with WMATA cell/text policy" »
Here's a little unsolicited advice for the Maryland Transit Administration: Ban the word "minor" from your web site and communications with customers.
No "minor" delays. No "minor" disruptions. No "minor" trouble. To the customers affected by delays, disruptions and other troubles, noting is more infuriating than to hear their problems dismissed as minor.
The word also often turns out to be wrong, as it did on the MARC Penn Line Wednesday morning. It was bad enough that one of the trains took 3 1/2 hours to get from Baltimore to Washington. Riders found it especially galling to see that the MTA was characterizing the delays as "minor."
So let the edict go out: The MTA may have delays, disruptions and troubles, but the minors are in Salisbury, Bowie and Frederick.
Every once and a while I get an email that displays uncommon good sense in the face of nonsense. This, from Terry Shepard of Baltimore, is one of them. After passing along some compliments that are too extravagant to inflict on readers, Shepard writes concerning the June 22 Metro crash that killed nine in Washington:
The Sun and other papers continue to run follow-up stories on it and that is understandable. What is less explicable is the employment of this accident by some to spread fear of and opposition to public transit. Auto commuters say "See, that's why I don't ride transit" and even the Sun ran one of its reader polls on whether this would make people less likely to do so.
Meanwhile, a June 30 story in the Sun reports on "a tractor-trailer that plowed into stalled cars in a turnpike accident that killed 10 people" and no one is running polls or saying "See, that's why I don't drive on the highway." (I realize that crash was in Oklahoma, but you get the point.)
This despite the fact, reported in a June 24 story in the Sun, that: "According to the National Safety Council, the number of accident fatalities per vehicle miles traveled is about 14 times worse for passenger cars than trains and subways. Only transit buses are considered safer."
Perhaps you could repeat those statistics and interview a psychologist who works on transportation as to why people refuse to accept this (beyond the obvious answer that many Americans reject facts that suggest they should get out of their cars and ride on public transit with people they don't know.)
As you know and have argued, more and better mass transit are both possible and absolutely vital if we are to avoid killing our environment, our cities and ourselves. Americans must get past their unreasoning fear of transit and you can help them do it:
I have to disagree, Terry. If anyone, you are the one that can help them do it. And just have. Thanks.
I don't think you need a psychologist to explain what's at work: Transit is unfamiliar to most middle-class, auto-oriented Americans. Cars are something they encounter every day. That which is unfamiliar is more scary than what is familiar, even when the familiar is demonstrably more dangerous. Transit also involves contact with unfamiliar people.
The point on the poll is well-taken. It should be noted that it comes with the disclaimer: "results not scientific." Still, it is encouraging that only 17 percent answered yes. And I'm going to venture an unscientific guess that those most of those folks don't ride transit now.
The Maryland Transit Administration has faced a triple-whammy today as trouble struck on three of its modes of travel.
The biggest disruption was on the light rail line, where bad weather and downed trees shut down the soouthern end of the line. Here's the update from the MTA:
Last updated: June 04, 6:00 PM Due to downed wires, Light Rail is experiencing major delays on the southern end between Camden Yards and North Linthicum. MTA is in the process of implementing shuttle bus service between locations. We ask for your patience and cooperation.
Meanwhile, the MTA warned commuters on the Camden Line of potential flooding at the Laurel station.
Then, there are preliminary reports that a car hit a bus on the No. 20 route at Baltimore and Carey streets, sending at least 24 people to the hospital.
After weeks of relative quiet at the MTA, it's getting ugly out there.
According to Maryland Transit Administration spokeswoman Jawauna Greene, the MTA has worked out an agreement with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Administration that would let holders of the soon-to-be-introduced MTA "smart cards" use them on the Washington Metro system and WMATA-operated buses.
WMATA users would also be able to use their SmarTrip cards on MTA buses, the Baltimore Mettro and the light rail (not MARC).
This makes so much sense it's a surprise it could actually happen.
These smart cards, which store value added in advance, make the experience of riding public transit much smoother. Users can eliminate much of the fumbling for change that complicates a simple bus or rail trip.
There's something very strange going on at the Maryland Transit Administration: Nothing.
That's nothing as in no news. And there's no place where the axiom that no news is good news applies as much as at a public transit agency.
It's been about a month since I've received an email from a disgruntled MARC rider. If anybody's been getting beat up on city buses, it's certainly been kept quiet. When I've ridden the light rail, the ticket machines have been working. The Metro subway just keeps rolling along with its usual boring efficiency. The MTA personnel I've dealt with have been courteous and professional.
What's going on here anyway? Is this turning into the Stepford Transit System? Whatever happened to the font of horror stories where Sun reporters have slaked their news thirst at for years? Is this a fluke or could it be that this agency isn't as screwed up as it used to be?
Continue reading "Dogs not barking at MTA" »
Maryland is seeking more than $3.6 billion in congressional earmarks for transit projects, along with an additional $327 million for highway work, according to a document released Friday by the state Department of Transportation.
The request is part of process leading up to congressional action on a new six-year surface transportation spending reauthorization bill. The current law expires this year. States typically request many dollars for each one that ends up in the legislation.
Jack Cahalan, a department spokesman, said the wish list reflects the state’s priorities of transit, preparations for military base realignment, safety and bridge rehabilitation. The transit requests include $1.3 billion for the proposed east-west Red Line in Baltimore as well as $1.8 million for two transit lines in the Washington suburbs. The request also includes $188 million for the extension of Baltimore’s Metro subway line in the direction of Morgan State University.
All in all, the list brings few surprises. Most of the requests are for projects that have long been high priorities of the O'Malley administration and, in many cases, the Ehrlich administration as well.
On the transit side, the state is also seeking $100 million for the Baltimore bus system, $60 million for local bus systems, $60 million to study Amtrak tunnel replacement and $126 million for a new BWI railroad station.
Highway request include $30 million each for BRAC-related projects around Andrews Air Force Base, Aberdeen Proving Ground, For Meade and the Bethesda National Naval Center. Money is also being sought for improvements on Interstate 70, 695 and 81.
The city Department of Transportation and the Maryland Transit Administration have weighed in with information on Preakness road closings and transit services.
The elimination of the service provided in the past from Mondawmin Mall and Poly/Western is the result of the same federal ruling that deep-sixed shuttle service to Orioles and Ravens games. The MTA is blameless in this case.
Transit
Metro: The Maryland Transit Administration will offer shuttle service between the West Rogers Avenue Metro station and Pimlico.
Light rail: The MTA will offer shuttle service between the West Cold Spring Lane light rail station and Pimlico.
Bus: The MTA will run additional buses as needed on Routes No. 27, 44, 91 and 54 serving Pimlico.
Park and ride: Under new federal rules, the MTA will not offer shuttle service between park-and-ride lots at Mondawmin and Poly/Western and Pimlico. Those who park at Mondawmin can take the Metro to Rogers Avenue and take the shuttle. Those who park at Poly/Western can walk to the Cold Spring light rail station and catch the shuttle.
Roads
The Baltimore Department of Transportation issued the following list of street closings and restrictions:
The following streets will be closed to through traffic:
• Saturday, May 16, 2009 – 6:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m.
Southbound Jones Falls Expressway exit ramp to eastbound Northern
Parkway (Motorists will be redirected to the Cold Spring Lane exits)
• Cylburn Avenue from Northern Parkway to Greenspring Avenue
• Saturday, May 16, 2009 – 5:30 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.
Southbound Jones Falls Expressway exit ramp to westbound Northern
Parkway (Motorists will be redirected to the Cold Spring Lane exits)
• Westbound Northern Parkway will be closed from Falls Road to
Greenspring Avenue
The following special traffic modifications will be in effect:
Thursday, May 14, 2009 at 10:00 p.m. until Saturday, May 16, 2009 at 8:00
p.m.
Rogers Avenue – One-way westbound from Winner Avenue to Park Heights
Avenue
Winner Avenue – One-way northbound from Hayward Avenue to Rogers Ave
Manhattan Avenue – One-way eastbound from Winner Avenue to Pimlico Road
Whitney Avenue – One-way westbound from Pimlico Road to Key Avenue
Sulgrave Avenue – One-way westbound from Stuart Avenue to Highgate Avenue
Rockwood Avenue – One-way eastbound from Key Avenue to Berkeley Avenue
Simmonds Avenue – One-way southbound from Rockwood Avenue to Manhattan Avenue
Woodcrest Avenue – One-way northbound from Northern Parkway to Rockwood
Avenue
Merville Avenue – One-way southbound from Glen Avenue to Northern Parkway
Berkeley Avenue – One-way northbound from Whitney Avenue to Glen Avenue
Stuart Avenue – One-way northbound from Northern Parkway to Sulgrave
Avenue
Rusk Avenue – One-way southbound from Whitney Avenue to Northern Parkway
Thursday, May 14, 2009 at 10:00 p.m. until Saturday, May 16, 2009 at 9:00
p.m.
Rogers Avenue – Will be closed to vehicular traffic from Winner Avenue to
Northern Parkway
Saturday, May 16, 2009 from 7:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.
Hayward Avenue – One-way eastbound from Park Heights Avenue to Winner
Avenue
Saturday, May 16, 2009 from 3:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.
Pimlico Road – One-way northbound from Northern Parkway to Ken Oak Road
Michael Dresser has been an editor, reporter and columnist with The Sun longer than Baltimore's had a subway. He's covered retailing, telecommunications, state politics and wine. Since 2004, he's been The Sun's transportation writer. He lives in Ellicott City with his wife and travel companion, Cindy.
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