Md. shifts tack on transit policy

Maryland needs to extend the Green Line to Laurel Race Track, extend the Orange Line to the Bowie Bay Sox baseball stadium, and extend the Red Line past Silver Spring to the Rt. 32/Broken Land Pkwy Park and Ride

That would cut down a HUGE HUGE HUGE amount of traffic around the 495 beltway; provide easier access to Laruel Race Track (think slot machine revenue) and maybe give rise to commercial/retail development around the Bowie Bay Sox Stadium creating a destination and economic development.

But what about BRAC? I thought our elected officials have told the FEDS we were ready for it. Are we ready for the huge congestion on our highways? Better be. WE don't need any more failed plans to carry people into the city. We need a plan to take people from where they live to where they work, concentrating on APG area and FT Meade area. And we need wider highways, soon.

That money seems puny and woith the declining tax revenue, how will it be spent? Sounds like a drop in the bucket. What, more green buses?

Great job Ed! Thanks for making me realize that sometimes, the voice of the people is powerful! When government gets too far removed from the people they are supposed to serve, it is up to those people to reign them back in!

This investment will help make Maryland more viable in the future, especially since gas prices will get worse...

Construction people can't take buses or light rail, they carry tools. And BRAC people ain't movin' into no city of Baltimore, That's fer sure.

Lou - Paradise MD wrote:

Construction people can't take buses or light rail, they carry tools. And BRAC people ain't movin' into no city of Baltimore, Th/at's fer sure.

Construction people and BRAC people are only a percentage of the potential transit users in the Baltimore metro region. Besides, no one said they couldn't still drive to work.

Lou - Paradise MD wrote:

That money seems puny and woith the declining tax revenue, how will it be spent? Sounds like a drop in the bucket. What, more green buses?

Hey, it's a start. And it's a sign (finally) that the people who plan transportation are waking up to the fact that the only thing more roads bring is more congestion.

Too bad they didn't do this back in the 1970s when the oil embargo took us to the mat - if they had we'd have viable mass transit now (a functional multi-mode system and people used to relying upon it instead of upon their cars).

Incase someone forgot to notice, both Aberdeen and Ft Mead have MARC stations in very close proximity, and the County's and The Army are looking into a shuttle bus service to cary the people from the stations onto base. Sure that still limits the geography of people that will benefit from better train service, but it's not fair to say those people will not be able to benefit from transit projets, they can if they move to the right areas.

F0rget it! MASS TRANSIT IN MD SUCKS! THERE IS NO HOPE! I used it for years it was truly unreliable! I got my car and I will never use it again! MASS TRANSIT IN MD SUCKS!

Anybody get beat up on a bus lately?

Wheels a turnin wrote:

Incase someone forgot to notice, both Aberdeen and Ft Mead have MARC stations in very close proximity, and the County's and The Army are looking into a shuttle bus service to cary the people from the stations onto base. Sure that still limits the geography of people that will benefit from better train service, but it's not fair to say those people will not be able to benefit from transit projets, they can if they move to the right areas.

I've used the MARC trains and they make too many stops - if we want to use rail, the DC metro is great and should be extended further into Maryland. Orange Line to Bowie Rte 50/301 // Green Line to Laurel.

Baltimore needs to get a metro from White Marsh to downtown and it needs to be underground!!

HoCo guy wrote:

But what about BRAC? I thought our elected officials have told the FEDS we were ready for it. Are we ready for the huge congestion on our highways? Better be. WE don't need any more failed plans to carry people into the city. We need a plan to take people from where they live to where they work, concentrating on APG area and FT Meade area. And we need wider highways, soon.

Forget it. Those of us in Harford County are once again ignored, shunned and just plain shafted.

Jerrard wrote:

Anybody get beat up on a bus lately?

No. Wanna know why? SCHOOL'S OUT FOR THE SUMMER!

Lou - Paradise MD wrote:

Construction people can't take buses or light rail, they carry tools. And BRAC people ain't movin' into no city of Baltimore, That's fer sure.

Actually, BRAC people will be moving into Baltimore. Don't forget that many of these folks are civilian employees and contractors, especially young technical professionals who are moving to the city.

riverside wrote:

<quoted text>
Actually, BRAC people will be moving into Baltimore. Don't forget that many of these folks are civilian employees and contractors, especially young technical professionals who are moving to the city.

Yeah right. Many of them from Ft. Monmouth have beachfront homes. Baltimore is way better than oceanfront.

The energy savings of mass transit are overrated anyhow, we have and will continue to have a bus centric system. Buses use 20% more energy than passenger cars per passenger mile. In fact buses still use 7% more energy than SUV's and personal trucks per passenger mile. The only winning system is rail, with the commuter rail being 15% more efficient than a car.

Factor in construction and operating costs, taxpayer subsidies and energy used in construction and the savings are a fallacy.

Source: http://cta.ornl.gov/data/tedb27/Edition27_Ful...

pp.62 Transportation Energy Data Book
US DOT, ORNL

This is definitely a positive development. For years, people have complained about not addressing mass transit needs in the city. It looks like that is starting to change. Not that most of the people on these forums would notice; just like the Ravens or O's threads, 75% of the posters just come here to biatch and whine. For cripe's sake, this is a good thing, it will cut down on traffic and help a lot of people get to work cheaper and safer. Why do people around here always have to find something to cry about no matter what the topic is?

David21009 wrote:

This is definitely a positive development. For years, people have complained about not addressing mass transit needs in the city. It looks like that is starting to change. Not that most of the people on these forums would notice; just like the Ravens or O's threads, 75% of the posters just come here to biatch and whine. For cripe's sake, this is a good thing, it will cut down on traffic and help a lot of people get to work cheaper and safer. Why do people around here always have to find something to cry about no matter what the topic is?

Cheaper No. Transit is and always will be heavily taxpayer subsidized. Safer probably (unless you get beat up on a city bus). Transit will help alleviate parking in the city, but why should I subsidize your parking, my employer has a parking lot and I live 5 miles from work. Get your employer to open up shop in the county or move closer.

Besides we Marylanders have a lot to "biatch" about.

Surf52 wrote:

<quoted text>
Yeah right. Many of them from Ft. Monmouth have beachfront homes. Baltimore is way better than oceanfront.

Actually, several BRAC employees from Ft. Monmouth signed contracts on new homes in Baltimore City during Live Baltimore's home tour last spring. I should know because one of them is moving into a rehabbed rowhome across the street from me.

Why don't you worry about what's going in your own backyard instead of commenting on topics that you know absolutely nothing about? I hear Edgewood is getting safer by the day with all of those new Section 8 tenants migrating there.

The same flim-flam man who sells the lotto must have thought of this. They put up the big number in the headline, then they tell you "oh that's over 20 years".

Wasn't our State budget in the billions?$17 million a year is Nothing. They are acting like it's a big deal. It's just political fluff to make it look like they care about the city.