bosconet.org: chocolately writings

On the Envision Baltimore google group the topic of the Charles Street Trolley has re-surfaced. While I am not opposed to this I have a crazy idea for a street car that could be quickly and easily put in place and do something crazy like making Metro (the subway) more useful.

Here’s my idea. Install a street car that runs down Broadway from the Johns Hopkins Hospital Metro Stop to the Broadway Pier in Fells Point. It is a short run of just 1 mile (so a 2 mile roundtrip). Here’s the route:

As I see it here are the pros of my idea:

• cheap (relative to a longer run)
• short length ensures frequent service even with just a couple cars
• connects Metro to Fells Point via rail
• connects Metro to the water taxi (via the street car line)
• opens Fells Point up to lunch traffic from Hopkins Hospital
• ease parking needs for Fells Point
• connects Fells Point to the Center City via rail (yes you need to transfer but with frequent service on the street car it wouldn’t be so bad)

and the cons:

• if MTA gets involved
• charging too much for the streetcar (in my mind a quarter for the trip seems fair and will encourage more ridership)

I always enjoy reading any new entry on Baltimore InnerSpace the author is smart and insightful and knows his stuff. With his most recent entry WHY IS THE BALTIMORE REGION’S 30 YEAR TRANSPORTATION PLAN SO PATHETIC? he sums up the dysfunctionality of Baltimore Transit beautifully with this sentence:

Then there is an East Baltimore MARC commuter rail station, currently envisioned to be north of either Hopkins Bayview Medical Campus or the Hopkins Biotech Park, with no regional rail transit connections in the plan at either location.

You might expect he people planning this to be smarted especially after building a subway and light rail that never meet, and a light rail line that you need to exit and take a shuttle to get to the main rail station (Penn Station).

Go read the Baltimore InnerSpace article, and catch up on all his back articles.