Streetcars

A STREETCAR SYSTEM FOR THE 21st CENTURY: WHERE IT WOULD FIT (AND WHERE IT WON'T)

Many people confuse streetcars with regional transit like light rail or heavy rail, including the Baltimore City government and the Maryland Transit Administration.

The MTA tried to build a very streetcar-like regional transit line on Howard Street when it built the central light rail system from Hunt Valley to BWI-M Airport (photo above), but it is a bad fit for Howard Street with average speeds of less than 10 mph and the block-long trains which overwhelm the streetscape.

The MTA is trying the same thing with the regional Red Line, proposing to try to cram block-long regional trains on the even narrower and more crowded streets of Fells Point and Canton.

Mayor Dixon's transition report identified the proposed reconfiguration of Pratt Street as a way to try to accommodate the regional Red Line on that very visible and high traffic artery. But the winning entry selected by City judges in the Pratt Street design competition very definitely does NOT accommodate regional transit.

Trees

TREES: BALTIMORE'S TRULY OPPRESSED POPULATION


Trees don't vote. Trees don't threaten to move to the suburbs. Trees don't do drugs or commit crimes. Trees don't stage protest rallies. Trees don't demand equal rights. Trees just stand there and quietly do their jobs.

But a new City report says that Baltimore needs a whole lot more trees, and that the number of dead and dieing trees is far too high relative to the number of healthy ones. It's not just something we ought to put on our wish list. It is something that Baltimore NEEDS in order to be a healthy city.