Charles Street

The problem: A "no stopping" sign on North Charles Street lists incorrect hours when cars aren't allowed to stop. The backstory: Motorists new to Baltimore sometimes have an expensive lesson to learn. On some major roadways, cars are not permitted to stop during certain hours. Sometimes the prohibition falls during the morning rush, and sometimes it happens in the evening. If cars are parked in these zones during the forbidden hours, they may be towed to permit a smoother flow of traffic during peak hours.

The State Highway Administration will begin migrating traffic onto the new Charles Street Bridge over the Beltway this weekend. The changeover from the old bridge to the new bridge will mean flagging operations and traffic stoppages throughout the weekend. However, the old bridge will remain open to traffic during the shift. SHA says the ramps from southbound I-83 and eastbound I-695 to Charles Street will be temporarily detoured to the MD 45 (York Road) interchange during the weekend.

In previous issues I read the comments of the Charles Street Association, which explained the need of improvement in downtown section of Charles St. ("More Charles Street TLC," Readers Respond, Aug. 22). But I wished to hear some comments of Johns Hopkins University, which lies on very north Charles Street and receives students and parents from all over the U.S. and the world. Anyone who drives from south to north on North Charles Street after 29th Street will be sorry that he took this what city officials call scenic drive, because of its potholes and poor surface, especially in front of Hopkins University.

Those of us of a certain age can recall Charles Street when there were dozens of shops and consumer oriented services in the blocks between Fayette and Centre Streets, the area addressed by Janet Heller ("Charles Street could use a little TLC," Commentary, Aug 11). In particular, in the 300 block in the 1950s on the east side of the street, there were two furriers, a TV store, a silversmith, a purveyor of antique jewelry, a camera store, a men's' haberdashery, two sellers of fine china and stationery (one was my family's 120-year-old business at 317)

Yes, I agree Charles Street could use improvement ("Charles Street could use a little TLC," Commentary, Aug. 11). And help may be on the way if the proposed Charles Street Trolley were to become a reality. I attended a meeting recently about a fixed-rail transit system that would run up Charles Street from Harbor Place to University Parkway. At first I was skeptical, but data presented demonstrate trolleys add tremendous value to a city's quality of life. Several examples of other cities who built trolley lines were cited along with hard economic statistics.

Charles Street may be one of Baltimore's major arteries, but take a stroll up this historic pathway from Fayette Street to Centre Street and one can only conclude that a beautiful and diverse collection of buildings has fallen on hard times. There is no excuse for their shabby, down-at-the-heels appearance. What do we see? Vacant ground-level storefronts where no attempt has been made to decorate empty spaces. Paint peeling from Brown's Arcade; windows fronting on Charles — like those of the American Heart Association building — that are bare or tastelessly furnished.

Baltimore's Washington Monument, the first civic monument to the nation's first president, has been closed to the public until further notice because of safety concerns. Public officials closed the midtown landmark Friday "as a precaution to citizens," according to Cathy Powell, a spokeswoman for Baltimore's Department of General Services. Powell and Gwendolyn Burrell, a spokeswoman for the city's Department of Recreation and Parks, said they could not say when the monument will reopen.

It has been a very long time since I have read such a condescending, holier-than-thou commentary than that which Michael Dresser wrote in today's Sunpaper in which he praised the recently passed legislation in Annapolis that allows police to ticket cars that come within three feet of bicyclists on public roadways ("Sharing the road with bicycles is hardly a hardship," May 3). He says that this is hardly a hardship and denigrates all of the opinions of people who have pointed out serious safety concerns with regard to this requirement.

The problem: A fence around a demolition site on Charles Street forced pedestrians into the street. The backstory: John Dorsey finds himself at Charles Street and North Avenue pretty frequently. Sometimes it's on the way back from driving his daughter to Baltimore International College, he said. Other times, it's as a pedestrian, walking to the Windup Space to watch his children and their friends play music. But for nearly a year, by his estimation, the fence around a demolition site on the northwest corner of Charles and North has forced him and other pedestrians into the roadway on Charles Street, Dorsey said.

For years, the annual St. Patrick's Day parade has charged down Charles Street, banked left on Pratt Street and wound up at Market Place. But this year, construction on Charles Street threatened to keep the parade off its regular route. Though heavy machinery and other equipment was still at work early this week, parade chairman Arthur Casserly was assured by the city that Charles Street will be clear come Sunday. He has made several trips to Charles Street in the past few weeks to check on progress, and he is confident that the parade will stick to its traditional plans.