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#61 NewMarketSean

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Posted 22 October 2015 - 02:47 PM

I frequently use the transit system here in Portland (which is far better than Baltimore's). Buses will always have a place because they fill needs that rail cannot....they are much more flexible and cost-effective than building rail. That said, they continue to expand the rail system here (a new line opened just a month ago), and with mostly good results. For whatever reason, a lot of people tend to romanticize the idea of riding on rails, and thus you'll get people who do so once it is introduced to a new area who before ignored buses that took the same route. Also, development and property values usually see a significant boost around the rail stops, even before it is actually operational, just because of the intrinsic value.

 

It was touted that the Red Line might have done the same for some areas in West Baltimore....although having seen the neighborhoods around some Metro stops, which has been running since the 80's, I was always a bit skeptical of that part. I liked it because it simply provided a seemingly better alternative to get downtown from the western suburbs, filling in that hole in the highway system that has lingered since the I-70 extension was killed back in the early 70's.

 

Well the homeless hipsters in Portland have to get around somehow. Lord knows they're not doing that on buses. Ick. :P

 

For some reason, Baltimore exists in its own black cloud bubble where things that improve other cities don't catch on here for whatever reason. We've failed to build comprehensive mass transit, build major league arenas, curb crime, clean up the harbor, and about a million other things that other cities seem to do.

 

That's why we should be thankful for what does get done. But most people aren't even thankful for that.


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#62 PatrickDougherty

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Posted 22 October 2015 - 04:07 PM

Well the homeless hipsters in Portland have to get around somehow. Lord knows they're not doing that on buses. Ick. :P

 

For some reason, Baltimore exists in its own black cloud bubble where things that improve other cities don't catch on here for whatever reason. We've failed to build comprehensive mass transit, build major league arenas, curb crime, clean up the harbor, and about a million other things that other cities seem to do.

 

That's why we should be thankful for what does get done. But most people aren't even thankful for that.

Whoa whoa whoa what city in its right mind would destroy roads for years just to improve traffic patterns and implement or lay the groundwork for effective mass transit?


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#63 BSLMikeLowe

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Posted 22 October 2015 - 05:04 PM

Well the homeless hipsters in Portland have to get around somehow. Lord knows they're not doing that on buses. Ick. :P


That's because you gotta show you paid the fare before you can board a bus....you can catch a free ride on the light rail if you're willing and able to dodge the fare-checkers. Once you've blown all your panhandling change on chronic, not much leftover to get down to the SNAP office.

#64 RShack

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Posted 22 October 2015 - 05:07 PM

I was torn on the RL. I would have liked to see it happen but it was going to cost upwards of $3 billion -- maybe more -- and it still wasn't going to connect 2 already very different transit lines. Plus the wealthiest neighborhood it was going to run through didn't want it.

 

I've found that the bus is more convenient than the metro in other cities -- when it works. This is a step in that direction. The bus was always going to have a place in this city, RL or not, so there's no harm in trying to make it run better, because right now, it's a mess. Hopefully these changes bring about some reliability and convenience. Because the bus system sorely needed it.

 

Right or wrong, for better or worse, you're just not gonna get mass adoption of mass transit with buses... you're just not... if you want mass transit to be mainstream, it's gotta be rail... doesn't matter if that makes sense, it's still true...


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#65 NewMarketSean

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Posted 22 October 2015 - 06:15 PM

I was torn on the RL. I would have liked to see it happen but it was going to cost upwards of $3 billion -- maybe more -- and it still wasn't going to connect 2 already very different transit lines. Plus the wealthiest neighborhood it was going to run through didn't want it.   I've found that the bus is more convenient than the metro in other cities -- when it works. This is a step in that direction. The bus was always going to have a place in this city, RL or not, so there's no harm in trying to make it run better, because right now, it's a mess. Hopefully these changes bring about some reliability and convenience. Because the bus system sorely needed it.
  Right or wrong, for better or worse, you're just not gonna get mass adoption of mass transit with buses... you're just not... if you want mass transit to be mainstream, it's gotta be rail... doesn't matter if that makes sense, it's still true...
Mass transit is never going to be mainstream here. That's the thing. Outside of O's and Ravens games, when the LR and metro still have long, ongoing issues handling crowds, it won't work here. So why force billion dollar projects on a population so against it? The people who rely on mass transit (low income people) get along with buses as is and the revisions will serve them well. Commuters in Bmore will never leave their cars to hop on a train unless it's super cheap, super fast and super safe. And this city can't deliver on either. So what we get is what we deserve. And I say this as a transit nerd who wished we had much better transit in this city.
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#66 DJ MC

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Posted 22 October 2015 - 07:45 PM

Mass transit is never going to be mainstream here. That's the thing. Outside of O's and Ravens games, when the LR and metro still have long, ongoing issues handling crowds, it won't work here. So why force billion dollar projects on a population so against it? The people who rely on mass transit (low income people) get along with buses as is and the revisions will serve them well. Commuters in Bmore will never leave their cars to hop on a train unless it's super cheap, super fast and super safe. And this city can't deliver on either. So what we get is what we deserve. And I say this as a transit nerd who wished we had much better transit in this city.

 

It's a cycle. People think mass transit won't work because they find it inconvenient to use, which means they don't get used to using it, which means they don't use it, which means they think it won't work. And the longer that goes on, the more difficult it will be to convince people that it could work.

 

That's why I hated what the Red Line became and am fine with it being cancelled despite supporting the idea of more and better mass transit. It didn't solve any real problems, and it was not likely to end up being used at a level necessary to make it worth building. That would just reinforce the idea that mass transit doesn't work here, and there would be even less support to build further lines or expand the existing ones.


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#67 Pedro Cerrano

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Posted 22 October 2015 - 07:59 PM

Make a metro like DC has. And eventually join it with DCs metro.
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#68 Pedro Cerrano

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Posted 22 October 2015 - 08:01 PM

"This is the Branch Avenue station in the direction of Bel Air via downtown Washington and Baltimore"

There is baseball, and occasionally there are other things of note

"Now OPS sucks.  Got it."

"Making his own olive brine is peak Mackus."

"I'm too hungover to watch a loss." - McNulty

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#69 DJ MC

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Posted 22 October 2015 - 08:37 PM

"This is the Branch Avenue station in the direction of Bel Air via downtown Washington and Baltimore"

 

I'll be right back; I need to change my underwear.


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#70 RShack

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Posted 23 October 2015 - 01:50 AM

Make a metro like DC has. And eventually join it with DCs metro.

 

If a critical mass of Congressional staffers lived in BAL, that could happen...  just like it happened there... everybody whining at the boss about traffic and parking, so the bosses finally voted to pay for it, just to get them to shut up...


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#71 BSLMikeLowe

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Posted 03 August 2021 - 11:24 AM

Balt Sun: Six years after it was scrapped, Baltimore's Red Line given flicker of hope in federal infrastructure bill


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#72 Mike in STL

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Posted 03 August 2021 - 02:57 PM

Thread topic isn’t about the wrestler? My mistake.
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#73 NewMarketSean

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Posted 23 November 2022 - 09:39 AM

Going to give the bus another try for Ravens games. Been driving to Ravens games a lot lately and I just cannot stand the traffic, especially after the game. LR works fine but I like to avoid 695 which can get backed up after games and the first train downtown doesn't leave until 10:30 AM. Metro is great but I need to take 695N which is awful. I used to drive to the end of 70 park and ride and walk down to the Cooks Lane stop for the 40 QuickBus. The bus dropped me off at Baltimore and Paca within 20 mins. No need to take 695. Bus back home didn't have to deal with any game traffic. Just the lights on 40.

 

Hogan changed up the bus system and now the City Link drops off on Saratoga, a few blocks north of where it used to drop off. I don't mind the extra walking but I am worried about walking back to catch the bus after the game since that part of downtown is a ghost town on weekends and crime in Baltimore is always lurking around the corner. Still, I think it'll be worth another shot.


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#74 Old Man

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Posted 23 November 2022 - 10:06 AM

DC Metro is 40+ years old, and has been in financial dire straits the whole time.

 

They havent made the first penny profit, and annual operational costs are not even met by revenue generated, lets not talk about the millions spent for every rail mile, station and escalator.



#75 NewMarketSean

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Posted 23 November 2022 - 10:50 AM

DC Metro is 40+ years old, and has been in financial dire straits the whole time.

 

They havent made the first penny profit, and annual operational costs are not even met by revenue generated, lets not talk about the millions spent for every rail mile, station and escalator.


Highways are government subsidized and don't generate revenue outside of some tolls and no one complains about the costs. And in MD we finish a road project and then tear it all up and do it again every 6 months.


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#76 Old Man

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Posted 23 November 2022 - 11:22 AM


Highways are government subsidized and don't generate revenue outside of some tolls and no one complains about the costs. And in MD we finish a road project and then tear it all up and do it again every 6 months.

Fair point.

 

I found this, not going to say their cost analysis is 100% factual, for discussion sake, lets assume it is:

Construct a new 6-lane Interstate highway — about $7 million per mile in rural areas, $11 million or more per mile in urban areas. Mill and resurface a 4-lane road — about $1.25 million per mile. Expand an Interstate Highway from four lanes to six lanes — about $4 million per mile.

So I found this tidbit about cost for DC Subway:

spending $6 billion to build the 30-mile Silver Line, about $200 million per mileOct 25, 2022



#77 NewMarketSean

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Posted 23 November 2022 - 11:31 AM

Fair point.

 

I found this, not going to say their cost analysis is 100% factual, for discussion sake, lets assume it is:

So I found this tidbit about cost for DC Subway:


Where is that from?

 

MD spends about $1.8B on roads a year. So three years of road construction and maintanence equals what it would cost to build the silver line.

 

https://www.roads.ma..._2019_Final.pdf

 

Not saying we shouldn't be spending money on roads, just pointing out the fact that complaints about funding mass transit don't occur with funding highways.


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#78 Old Man

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Posted 23 November 2022 - 12:04 PM


Where is that from?

 

MD spends about $1.8B on roads a year. So three years of road construction and maintanence equals what it would cost to build the silver line.

 

https://www.roads.ma..._2019_Final.pdf

 

Not saying we shouldn't be spending money on roads, just pointing out the fact that complaints about funding mass transit don't occur with funding highways.

Im not saying to not spend money on roads. Heck, I dont know what I am saying today. I give. Dont play any attention to me. :)

 

Just seams that the metro costs are so dang high. 6 Billion for 30 miles.

 

1.8B on roads for Md, doesnt seam too outrageous, considering how many miles that is.



#79 BSLMikeLowe

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Posted 23 November 2022 - 12:05 PM

Going to give the bus another try for Ravens games. Been driving to Ravens games a lot lately and I just cannot stand the traffic, especially after the game. LR works fine but I like to avoid 695 which can get backed up after games and the first train downtown doesn't leave until 10:30 AM. Metro is great but I need to take 695N which is awful. I used to drive to the end of 70 park and ride and walk down to the Cooks Lane stop for the 40 QuickBus. The bus dropped me off at Baltimore and Paca within 20 mins. No need to take 695. Bus back home didn't have to deal with any game traffic. Just the lights on 40.

 

Hogan changed up the bus system and now the City Link drops off on Saratoga, a few blocks north of where it used to drop off. I don't mind the extra walking but I am worried about walking back to catch the bus after the game since that part of downtown is a ghost town on weekends and crime in Baltimore is always lurking around the corner. Still, I think it'll be worth another shot.

 

So years later, what's the final verdict on the impact of that? At the time it seemed like little more than window dressing drawn up to try and appease the constituency that was angry over losing the Red Line. Any indications the incoming governor wants to make changes, or even try to revive the Red Line?



#80 NewMarketSean

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Posted 23 November 2022 - 12:19 PM

Im not saying to not spend money on roads. Heck, I dont know what I am saying today. I give. Dont play any attention to me. :)

 

Just seams that the metro costs are so dang high. 6 Billion for 30 miles.

 

1.8B on roads for Md, doesnt seam too outrageous, considering how many miles that is.


Well that is why building mass transit is so unpopular, it's expensive.


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