SUBJECT: MTA BUS CHANGES
To: Maryland Mass Transit official:
Baltimore City Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke gave me your name to receive
comments on planned MTA bus changes. I am also sharing these comments with
others in the Baltimore community who may be interested. I will post this
Email on my weblog which is located at https://allan366.tripod.com/AllanG/

I first experienced urban mass transit while stationed with the U.S. Air
Force outside London, England. This included heavy rail trains, the London
Underground or Tube and the familiar double-decker red buses that provided
transportation to small communities not served by railroad. Later I lived in
New York City with its dense population served by the extensive subway
system.

I now live in the Charles Village neighborhood of Baltimore and rely
exclusively on the MTA bus system for transportation. I also travel
periodically to Washington, D.C. using the Maryland State MARC train.

I use public transportation because of a combination of preference and
poverty, having been prematurely separated from my employment with the State
of Maryland. If I owned a car, it would probably be a junker for errands,
trips to Washington, and some social occasions.

When I first saw the proposed MTA changes I felt a moment of panic, but when
looking at them in detail, I saw that most of them would work for me. I
would be able, for instance, to take advantage of the increased number 11
buses to Greater Baltimore Medical Center even on weekends, there to connect
with the 55 that would carry me into Towson where I years ago rented a U.S.
Post Office mail box on the possibility that downtown Towson might take off.
This connection would work well for me.

I also am looking forward to the reintroduction of the light rail north of
Mount Royal that would allow me shop the big box stores and attend the
movies at Hunt Valley. When precisely will the light rail be completed?

Some specific suggestions:

NUMBER 61 BUS - Instead of doing away with the 61, let the 11 take its place
by turning west at Northern Parkway and picking up Roland Avenue to
University Parkway and then south.

HAMPDEN SHUTTLE BUG, NUMBER 98 - Instead of doing away with the 98 extend
its area of service to Charles Village by continuing on University Parkway
then south on the Charles Street service drive. This would connect the
Hampden and Charles Village neighborhoods and, if the 98 went down Union
Avenue, to the Woodberry Light Rail stop would give Charles Villagers access
to both the north and south light rail lines.

Although ridership at the moment may be light, I would expect it would grow
when Johns Hopkins University completes its 800 student dorm on Saint Paul
and 33rd Street. At the same location, the development firm on Struever
Brothers, Eccles & Rouse is planning to build luxury condominiums. The
shuttle also provide these populations with transportation to The Rotunda
Shopping Center which is to be renovated.

PUBLIC RELATIONS - I believe the Ehrlich administrations could do a better
job of justifying and promoting these changes. I have several times visited
The William Donald Schaefer Tower on Baltimore Street where a map of the
proposed changes is mounted on an easel. Why not post the changes on the
Internet with an opportunity to make comments?

A similar approach to taking the changes to the community could be to send a
State employee to shopping centers, churches and schools with a computer
displaying the proposed changes. The employee could discuss changes with the
public and enter their comments into a database. A literature rack could
also be made available.

When the complete light rail is back in service, celebrate its return. An
event could be held in the BWI airport at the southern end and the northern
end in Baltimore County with appropriate county officials and publics
involved.

Such an event might feature Comptroller William Donald Schaefer wearing a
trolley conductor’s uniform and perhaps ringing a trolley car bell and
conducting a brass band. This would also be a way of recognizing Mr.
Schaefer for initiating the light rail.

Beyond the changes, it might be good to look at destination marketing and
promoting the use of the public transportation system by publics not now
using it. This might include an increased emphasis on MTA security.