Baltimore Metropolitan Council 2035 Transportation Outlook

Below is a link to the Baltimore Metropolitan Council's 2035 Transportation outlook. They're envisioning $6B being spent on highway projects and $2.2B on transit, including new MARC stations and station improvements in East Baltimore (mentioned here) and Aberdeen, as well as unspecified improvements to the Penn and Camden lines.

http://www.baltometro.org/T2035/T2035draft.pdf

Here is a link to MOREtransit's analysis and comments on the transit outlook:

https://home.comcast.net/~artc12/mtcm8277.pdf

http://www.bmoremobile.org/

MOREtransit, I believe, recommends a more equal level of spending between transit and highways, as well as a new tunnel to replace the aging one trains pass through now, well as adding more track in some places.

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I think it's pretty short sighted, and I at this point, I'm not sure I can give BMC or the heads of government that run BMC, much credit in the way of envisioning MARC as anything much more than what it currently is. Apparently, Baltimore City is disappointed about the report, wanting more in the way of transit. I think what they really want is for BRAC-displaced people to move to Baltimore and do what would be currently, a reverse commute up to Aberdeen, in addition to greater mobility in Baltimore proper. Certainly more the former than the latter.

I imagine with things they are, it would be easier to get Harford County on board with such improvements, maybe Howard and Anne Arundel (through BRAC related infrastructure improvements), though from what I understand, they are historically lukewarm to Baltimore-related transit connections.

You hit it on the head. Baltimore City wants to use the incoming BRAC residents to repair some of the cities depressed neighborhoods and expand gentrification along the NEC around Biddle Interlocking.

Gentrifying around Biddle could expand the booming Fells Point neighborhood north into an area that needs improvements.

I also hope that they will improve the area between downtown and Waverly and perhaps spark Waverly.

Unspecified improvments are a series of capital improvements Amtrak has stated but never outlined that are needed to run additional Penn Line trains.

gprimr1 wrote:You hit it on the head. Baltimore City wants to use the incoming BRAC residents to repair some of the cities depressed neighborhoods and expand gentrification along the NEC around Biddle Interlocking.

Gentrifying around Biddle could expand the booming Fells Point neighborhood north into an area that needs improvements.

I also hope that they will improve the area between downtown and Waverly and perhaps spark Waverly.

Unspecified improvments are a series of capital improvements Amtrak has stated but never outlined that are needed to run additional Penn Line trains.

Patterson Park neighborhood, given its proximity to Canton and Fells Point, could get a huge boost with a new MARC station nearby, just like the "Biopark" neighborhood. I'm just waiting for Amtrak and MTA to get on board with a new joint MARC/Metro station in that location. I hate to say it, because I'm not the biggest fan of the process that's accompanied the acquisition of properties in the area, but if they start taking more near the NEC, that offers the opportunity to possibly add a couple more tracks, which would make it easier to build the stations on the Eastside that the state thought up.

As far as Waverly goes, I think if they can get the Yellow Line, as envisioned in the 2002 report, Waverly can get a boost. If they built near to York Road as I think they would, the business zones along that corridor, especially at 33rd Street, could undergo some really intriguing transformations.

I'm really hoping for them to decide to extend the "Green Line" to Good Sam, too, at least. I think having as many of the area's colleges and universities near transit lines is a good thing. With MARC connecting to the Green and Yellow lines, JHU, Morgan, Towson, UM, UB, and even Goucher, could possibly grow their student communities through rail commuters.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/traffi ... 4660.story

That's a link to a Sun story about the Open House held for the public to give their feedback on the draft Transportation Outlook 2030. I'm just happy that grassroots people are telling BMC that what's needed is more transit. I am disheartened, though, that they're passing the buck, saying that they only specified the Red Line as a worthy project, since that's the only one MTA identified as a priority. MTA's seems to exist only to run the system after it's been built. They're not the ones to talk to concerning what a system could be.