tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974845.post2582241222382913244..comments2024-03-28T03:16:23.997-04:00Comments on Baltimore InnerSpace: The "Plank Line" from Westport to Port CovingtonGerald Neilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03765375014163120449noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974845.post-34892651781248723342016-05-21T19:43:52.288-04:002016-05-21T19:43:52.288-04:00Baltimore's light rail system - despite it'...Baltimore's light rail system - despite it's shortcomings - manages to perform in the "middle of the pack" of US LRT systems. This is to be lauded because it was designed & built without federal funds, which left most of it subject to barebones planning & execution. Plank's teams are hoping to inject more relevance into what in it's time was more of a boondoggle than what Boss Hog pegged the red line to be. The extension he proposes can be extrapolated into quality transit for Locust Point too, but, if the City Council trusts Plank enough to approve the TIFs for him, we should too. The man's on a roll, and so far, anything connected to him is akin to strikin' gold. We should listen when he (his team) speaks. It can't hurt a hurtin' city anymore than drug dealers & sleazy politics do.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06292284800651780772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974845.post-23099141670597963032016-05-21T19:33:53.088-04:002016-05-21T19:33:53.088-04:00Baltimore's light rail system - despite it'...Baltimore's light rail system - despite it's shortcomings - manages to perform in the "middle of the pack" of US LRT systems. This is to be lauded because it was designed & built without federal funds, which left most of it subject to barebones planning & execution. Plank's teams are hoping to inject more relevance into what in it's time was more of a boondoggle than what Boss Hog pegged the red line to be. The extension he proposes can be extrapolated into quality transit for Locust Point too, but, if the City Council trusts Plank enough to approve the TIFs for him, we should too. The man's on a roll, and so far, anything connected to him is akin to strikin' gold. We should listen when he (his team) speaks. It can't hurt a hurtin' city anymore than drug dealers & sleazy politics do.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06292284800651780772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974845.post-5905604493152052982016-01-13T08:25:27.271-05:002016-01-13T08:25:27.271-05:00What also needs to happen in concert with this is ...What also needs to happen in concert with this is the changing of the light rail on Howard Street. The reason the line is so slow is that it shares the streets way too much. You can fix this by combining a change to the light rail with the development of the SuperBlock. Make several blocks of Howard Street "Light Rail Only" and create a plaza/walking environment with the new development like they have in Boulder, CO. This makes the light rail run faster/smoother, which really is the problem with our light rail. clebo99https://www.blogger.com/profile/00347533355957543430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974845.post-81614193380076400882015-08-14T16:51:54.919-04:002015-08-14T16:51:54.919-04:00Good idea having half the bridge for a rail line a...Good idea having half the bridge for a rail line and the other half the bridge for peds/bikes. Your "use what's already there" technique could also be used eastwards from Penn station. Also, along the abandoned rail line going from Canton crossing up through Greektown to the Amtrak corridor.Victor Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05395890500180301803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974845.post-84638424336278690372015-08-12T20:33:37.987-04:002015-08-12T20:33:37.987-04:00I've heard various accounts and certainly vari...I've heard various accounts and certainly various signal timing schemes have been tried. The vehicles have signal pre-emption equipment but it is not being used. I talked to one consultant who insisted his signal plan would work but the city declined to implement it.<br /><br />I believe the basic problem is that signal cycle length (green+yellow+red time) throughout downtown is too long. This means red times are too long and recovery time from any pre-emption would be too long. One scheme that was tried early on made the cycle time even longer and not only did it not work, but it had a bad ripple effect throughout downtown.<br /><br />I don't want to overblow this problem, though. Mt. Royal to Camden Yards is 15 minutes out of the 80 minutes from Hunt Valley to BWI. That leaves 65 minutes for the rest of the trip, but only 8 minutes of that is Camden Yards to the south city line at Patapsco Avenue.Gerald Neilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03765375014163120449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974845.post-51760990084956290932015-08-12T16:07:35.614-04:002015-08-12T16:07:35.614-04:00Is it true or a myth that engineers worked out the...Is it true or a myth that engineers worked out the signal timing for the Light Rail when it was built, but DOT told them not to implement it? I've heard the signal program was built, but not used.<br /><br />I like the idea of low-floor train cars to promote the "hop-on, hop-off" appeal of a local line.<br /><br />You mentioned the casino, but the North Westport station could really add some sense to the location of the Greyhound Station.jpasqualemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00806790949561004299noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974845.post-71844296357817043162015-08-12T10:16:38.357-04:002015-08-12T10:16:38.357-04:00That's an interesting idea but what stops woul...That's an interesting idea but what stops would you skip? I think Centre Street is the only expendable one. The others have too many transfers - to the Metro, to buses and to Penn Station (at Mt Royal/U of B).<br /><br />But something needs to be done. The current Penn Station to Camden Yards "local" runs only every half hour, making it pretty worthless. Hunt Valley to BWI takes an excruciating 80 minutes. (They reduced the scheduled time for a while, but now it's up). If skipping Centre St would really help, then yes, do it, but that's no substitute for signal timing.<br /><br />To reinforce the "local" theme, the Port Covington line could use smaller low-floor trains and add another stop at Antique Row (south of Read Street) with shorter platforms and no "high blocks". Antique Row needs a major fix anyway but that's a subject for another time.Gerald Neilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03765375014163120449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974845.post-44420393533763369722015-08-11T09:04:30.233-04:002015-08-11T09:04:30.233-04:00If you had a line from Port Covington to Penn Stat...If you had a line from Port Covington to Penn Station as the downtown/local line, do you think you could improve the timing or performance of the Hunt Valley to BWI line by letting it skip some Howard St stops.jpasqualemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00806790949561004299noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974845.post-67965479588809985962015-08-10T18:56:27.056-04:002015-08-10T18:56:27.056-04:00Sounds like the kind of idea that's consistent...Sounds like the kind of idea that's consistent with how the MTA planned the Red Line for 15 years - very difficult, expensive and serving limited areas that have already been developed. The line would have its own new bridge over the Middle Branch and it would have to go over or under the active CSX Locust Point freight line, which in turn goes under Hanover Street and its I-95 ramps. There would also be very little new development potential, unlike Port Covington. So the MTA staff would probably love it.<br /><br />It would be interesting to see how the Baltimore Metropolitan Council would react. They moved away from Howard Street when the current light rail line came in there, and then moved away from Boston Street when the Red Line was being planned there. Would they move away from McHenry Row to avoid light rail too?Gerald Neilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03765375014163120449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26974845.post-34913142213668932272015-08-10T13:14:52.287-04:002015-08-10T13:14:52.287-04:00Is there a way to fit a spur between I-95 and the ...Is there a way to fit a spur between I-95 and the Riverside neighborhood? I could imagine a stop near Riverside Park and then another in the Locust Point / Fort Ave area. The trip from there to Camden Yards / Downtown would be very quick.Dan's Thoughtshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15077155460350473337noreply@blogger.com