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March 31, 2006
With "Crossover Day" come and gone, it appears the fate of the majority of transit-related bills proposed in the 2006 General Assembly will be to die in committee. As we reported in the last BTA Update, a variety of bills concerning transit funding and public input into the decision making process were introduced by legislators from the Baltimore and Washington regions. Some were subsequently withdrawn after the administration agreed to postpone the closing of four MARC stations or because their sponsors were able to insert language addressing their issues in the budget bill. In particular, the budget, adopted earlier this week, prohibits the MTA from implementing Phase II of the Greater Baltimore Bus Initiative until it holds two public hearings and prepares a report on the impacts of Phase I implemented last October. Phase II had been planned to go forward with the June schedule change, but the hearing requirement will postpone that until at least October. (Schoolhouse Rock fans click here to hear "I'm Just a Bill.")
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The signature initiative of Phase I of the Greater Baltimore Bus Initiative was the 40 line, a new, "limited stop" bus line traversing the region from Woodlawn to Middle River. The line features 12-minute frequencies in the peak period, a streamlined route with no branches, and many fewer stops than a typical local bus line. The route serves a corridor with historically strong transit ridership, roughly paralleling the 10, 20, and 23 lines which are among MTA's top performers. Service got off to a rough start, with reported confusion among bus drivers and riders about the route and stop locations as well as malfunctioning bus destination signs. This has since been resolved, and in January the line was extended on the east side from Essex to Middle River and the schedule tweaked to provide more realistic running times. Ridership was initially poor but is slowly growing as riders adapt to the idea of walking further to a bus stop in exchange for a quicker ride. Up next is a modest program of improvements to stops that will include shelters, a unique sign, and real time information about the arrival of the next bus.
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Until it was dismantled in 1950, Baltimore's Number 11 streetcar line utilized a nine-block long elevated track along Guilford Avenue from Biddle Street to Saratoga Street. Built in the 1890's to avoid conflicts with Northern Central tracks, the Guilford "el" featured modest stations at Madison and Pleasant. Like most elevated streetcar lines around the country the decision to build the Guilford line was a desperate response to avoid conflicts with other traffic but left the street below in perpetual gloom. Today, drivers on Guilford still traverse the offending railroad tracks but there is no trace of the "el." To see a 1947 picture of a streetcar coming down to grade at Saratoga, click here.
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