MARC as a gentrifier

I was thinking today, East Baltimore near the PRR main is pretty badly run down. With them working so hard on the harbor and fells point, could the construction of a MARC station, combined with the 1 dollar row home program give this area a boost?

gprimr1 wrote:I was thinking today, East Baltimore near the PRR main is pretty badly run down. With them working so hard on the harbor and fells point, could the construction of a MARC station, combined with the 1 dollar row home program give this area a boost?

I'm not that familiar with the location you mentioned (unless you meant West Baltimore, which I'll slightly familiar with), but such a program MIGHT work. The city of Baltimore has a lot of need areas however, and I see gentrification being more likely in a couple of other locations, specifically near Lexington Market, which is located near the light rail/subway transfer point, and the area around Penn Station.

In general, and this applies not only in Baltimore or along the MARC lines, I think gentrification that is transit-oriented is much more likely to occur in areas where more frequent heavy or light rail service is available rather than commuter rail service. That has a lot to do with A) frequencies and B) commercial/residential patterns of development near heavy/light rail stations vs. commuter rail stations. The exception to this rule would be along commuter rail lines that have been established, either long ago or more recently, with transit-oriented development in mind. SEPTA's R5 west of Philadelphia, which was part of the old PRR Main Line (and is still called the Main Line in local Philadelphia area vernacular to this day) is a good example of this. Not coincidentally, that line has the highest level of service and ridership in SEPTA's entire regional rail system.

I can't say I'm that knowledgeable about the MARC lines (I've only ridden a single one-way trip on both the Penn and Camden Lines between Baltimore and Washington, and have never used the Brunswick Line), but I don't think those lines lend themselves to gentrification, either in terms of service frequencies or development patterns around existing stations.

gprimr1 wrote:I was thinking today, East Baltimore near the PRR main is pretty badly run down. With them working so hard on the harbor and fells point, could the construction of a MARC station, combined with the 1 dollar row home program give this area a boost?

Unfortunately, the areas surrounding the PRR main in East (and West) Baltimore are amongst the poorest and most violent parts of the city (25 murders in January 2007 - probably 70 - 80% in these 2 areas).

Great (sad) article in the Baltimore Sun about the East Baltimore area, search for American Brewing Company (old Brewery).

Once you read that, I think you'll see that the areas being discussed are "not ready for gentrification" at this time.

One other thing to remember about Baltimore is that for decades it was a very depressed ( and depressing) city. The development of the downtown area ( spurred by the Inner Harbor) has gone a long way toward changing this view of "Charm City", but, unfortunately this revitalization has not reached most of the neighborhoods.

With regard to the potential effect of MARC service on "gentrification", there are not enough MARC stations in Baltimore City for the kind of development that has occurred around many of the DC Metrorail Stations. Maybe if the original multi route Baltimore Metro had been approved and built as the DC system was, there would have been enough stations to have really spurred the kind of development being suggested here. I don't think that, as presently constituted, MARC service has this kind of potential.

Again, the areas served my MARC, particularly those immediately to the east and west of the tunnels leading to and from Penn Station are the City's WORST. There is a MARC stop in West Baltimore and it is only lightly used, due partially to fear.

An additional factor is the upcoming BRAC relocation of military bases to Aberdeen (north of Baltimore) and Ft. Meade (south of Baltimore). The state is going to spend every transportation dollar it can spare to improve infrastructure in and around these areas.

MARC driven gentrificaton of the most down and out sections of Baltimore is not likely anytime soon. Until someone can figure out how to get a handle on the murder problem (forcasting 350 this year in the city), gentrification will have to wait.

NO DOUBT; the neighborhoods in B'more that MARC's Penn Line passes through on the outskirts of the city don't look good at all. I would be a little careful around the station as one side might not look that good.

Johns Hopkins Hospital has recently torn down a lot of houses in the area to the Northeast of that facility for a Bio-tech park. Among the support functions they are seeking is a MARC stop near Preston and Biddle, where until 1958, a small PRR stop existed. Two main problems exist though. MTA is not receptive to the idea, and even if it were built, it would (at least if present schedule patterns were operated) only be served by the Perryville trains. Amtrak may also be less than receptive to the idea as well. IIRC, there is triple track through this stretch.

West Baltimore Station is actually pretty well used by peak hour drive-in ridership, as it has over a city block of free parking available unlike Penn's paid garages and lots. It also gets some transfer traffic from MTA buses 23, 40, and 51. This lot is always filled beyond capacity on a normal day.

That much said, I do agree that it would take quite a bit of effort to transform this area into a walk-up livable area for most of the MARC ridership base, as it doesn't present either natural amenities to attract residents, nor does it have any logical delineators that could create a small pocket area free of the problems surrounding it. The area is largely just simple city grid, with just the railroad and the highway to nowhere as its barriers. The Bentalou Street corridor to the station's Northwest is still a stable quiet area, but Edmondson Avenue which must be passed to reach the station has definitely seen better days.

I am not certain that any strictly commuter railroad, such as MARC, can be expected to be a vehicle for gentrification of the neighborhoods through which it runs, even with additional stations. There simply are not enough scheduled trains to generate the kind of development necessary to change the character of some of these neighborhoods. A much more likely candidate would be one or more rapid transit lines which would provide enough service to make development near its stations attractive to both new residents and commercial developers. This is what has happened around many of the DC Metrorail's stations. The Johns Hopkins location in East Baltimore lies at the eastern end of the Baltimore Metro rapid transit line, which will have much more of an effect on the development taking place there than would the addition of a MARC station on the site of that old PRR station.

Believe it or not, I saw a document that said they are considering a study on an East Baltimore MARC stop to encourage BRAC commuters to reclaim the area.

gprimr1 wrote:Believe it or not, I saw a document that said they are considering a study on an East Baltimore MARC stop to encourage BRAC commuters to reclaim the area.

The question there will be what comes first, the station or upscale housing. And there will always be the contentious issue surrounding the displacement of the low income current residents of the area.

This sounds like transit-oriented development, so they really need to have a station in place by the time the housing is ready. One would think it would be quicker to slap together some platforms/stairs/ramps than it would be to build a house...

Transit oriented development would probably be more effective ( in gentrifying the area) than a MARC station would be. Along with housing you would need to have retail shopping development as well as office building development. While the office buildings could be expected to benefit from a commuter rail station in the area, retail establishments would benefit much more from additional rapid transit ( either subway or light rail) than they would from the simple addition of a MARC station.

It's going to be a transit oriented development.

It's really an exciting time for MARC. We are on the verge of great things.

gprimr1 wrote:It's going to be a transit oriented development.

It's really an exciting time for MARC. We are on the verge of great things.

Would this TOD include the proposed "Green Line" extension to Madison Square, presumably under the Amtrak ROW? Has that been discussed?

The only green line proposal I've seen is the one that goes up to White Marsh via Perring Parkway/loch raven corridor.

There is a proposed purple line that follows the Amtrak ROW out to Martin's Airport at least. That one is a bit more fictitious than the green line.

The TOD I was hearing about revolved around the area between BIDDLE and RIVER on the Amtrak Mainline.