Charm City Circulator

I live in Plymouth, N.H. Fourteen of us attended the Transportation Security Administration conference in Baltimore; we saw as many people on the MTA as live in our town. We enjoyed tours of the White House, House of Representatives, National Aquarium, Fort McHenry, Air and Space Museum, and ate in more restaurants than exist in all but the largest New Hampshire towns. Your citizens were friendly, helpful and made our bus/light rail transportation or walking easy. On one of my forays alone, the Charm City Circulator was recommended.

I think is interesting that Thursday's editorial, "Growing Baltimore" (Jan. 3), included two paragraphs about how walkability and quality transit have helped to spark growth in Washington, D.C., but only a short sentence about the Charm City Circulator when discussing Baltimore. I commend The Sun for getting it right about D.C. But that begs the question: If quality transit has been so important to the revival to the city 40 miles to the south, why isn't it important to Baltimore's future?

I enjoy public transportation in most cities. When going on the road to see the Orioles, taking the bus or train and riding to the games on Chicago's Red Line to Wrigley Field or the "T" in Boston to Fenway Park is a highlight of the trip. But in Baltimore, the Charm City Circulator is a good idea that has gone bad. "Free ride" in Baltimore means something different than in Seattle, Miami Beach and other cities that have downtown "shopping shuttles." Last Saturday's "escape" from the Harborplace shooting on the Charm City Circulator was the last straw for me. I rode the circulator a lot. But it has become a haven for the numerous "characters" that wander the downtown streets.

As of 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has imposed mandatory travel restrictions on city roads until noon Tuesday. Restrictions do not apply to uniformed personnel, hospital employees, other medical providers and Corporate Emergency Access System partners. "We need folks to stay off the roads so that our first responders can focus 100 percent on real emergency accidents as they may occur," the mayor said. "We are working closely with our hospitals and medical providers to ensure that their employees have safe routes to work.

The Charm City Circulator drives by a ton of bars, almost too many to list almost. But here's a barcrawler-tested and -approved guide to a night of drinking using only the city's free bus service. The Orange Route guide was partly put to the test in January by a group of Baltimore residents who dubbed their sprawling crawl the "sparkulator. " Stop 218 : Pratt & Eutaw Streets Frank & Nic's West End Grille, 511 W. Pratt St. Sliders Bar & Grill, 504 Washington Blvd. Pickle's Pub. 520 Washington Blvd.

Whether the Baltimore Grand Prix will ever prove itself a "game-changer" for the city, as Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake predicted, may be debatable, but there is one investment of recent years that may actually live up to that title. Instead of drawing visitors to Baltimore for one weekend out of the year, it's doing so year-round and boosting downtown businesses (and job opportunities) in the process. It's the Charm City Circulator, the free downtown shuttle bus service that this week launched its third route, a green line running between Downtown, Fells Point and Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Most who ride the St. Charles Avenue streetcar through New Orleans' Garden District are immediately smitten, not only by the city's charm but also by the convenience and nostalgia of the historic trolley. Many other cities, Baltimore included, have tried to offer light rail as a more modern take on that classic form of street-level transportation. So it's not surprising that many folks who live in Charles Village and other points along Charles Street are taken by the notion of a streetcar running through their neighborhood, too. Eighty years ago, Baltimore was a city that largely ran on streetcars, with more than 400 miles of track crisscrossing the city, including portions of Charles and St. Paul streets in Charles Village.

I was pleased to read in your June 1 article "Baltimore to launch second route of free bus" about the impending expansion of the city's extremely successful Charm City Circulator bus system. Innovative transportation solutions such as this one have the potential to both improve overall mobility, while also helping our environment. According to a 2008 study commissioned by the American Public Transportation Association, the collective use of existing public transportation options reduces domestic energy consumption by approximately 4.2 billion gallons of gasoline each year.

Baltimore transportation officials announced the following closures late Monday: * Light Street between Fayette and Lombard streets * Lombard Street between Light and Calvert streets, with the exception of the far left lane. Those who use the open left lane will only be allowed to turn left at Light Street. Commuters were told to expect “significant delays” and were encouraged to use alternate routes. Those traveling west were encouraged to use Franklin Street, while those traveling south were encouraged to use Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Green, Orange and Purple. All good. It's now time for a Blue Line on the Charm City Circulator ("Free bus service adds line from Hopkins Hospital to downtown," Nov. 2). I have had the occasion to ride on all three and it is truly a benefit. I would like to suggest the Blue Line would travel a route from City Hall and downtown down Eutaw Street to the state office complex. The existing Mass Transit Administration bus service on Eutaw Street may be second worst only to North Avenue.

I've lived in Baltimore most of my life and own a house in the city, but I travel for work, and when I go to Portland I stay at a hotel along the streetcar line, in Seattle along the streetcar line, in San Francisco along one of their streetcar lines, and in New Orleans at a hotel with the streetcar out front. When people who don't know Baltimore come to visit, I tell them to find a place along the light rail line, usually in the county. Begin to see a theme here? Why, because you always know where it is going.

If you haven't done so already, you should stop right now and read a piece by another young journalist from Baltimore, “Fear of a Black President,” the September cover story by The Atlantic's Ta-Nehisi Coates. I'm serious. It's really good. Here's a paragraph break so that you know where to pick this up. Welcome back. Now as you'll recall, Mr. Coates points out the irony of America's first black president barely mentioning the subject of race at all. It's certainly an issue for other people.

Most who ride the St. Charles Avenue streetcar through New Orleans' Garden District are immediately smitten, not only by the city's charm but also by the convenience and nostalgia of the historic trolley. Many other cities, Baltimore included, have tried to offer light rail as a more modern take on that classic form of street-level transportation. So it's not surprising that many folks who live in Charles Village and other points along Charles Street are taken by the notion of a streetcar running through their neighborhood, too. Eighty years ago, Baltimore was a city that largely ran on streetcars, with more than 400 miles of track crisscrossing the city, including portions of Charles and St. Paul streets in Charles Village.

An unattended Charm City Circulator bus hit five vehicles and a building Saturday afternoon, Baltimore police said. Shortly before 3 p.m., the bus was parked on the 1500 block of North Charles Street, which is near Penn Station, when "for whatever reason, it drifted backward into traffic," Det. Donny Moses said. The bus hit five vehicles that were stopped at the red light, he said. It also struck a light pole before hitting a building at 1420 N. Charles St. Several people had minor injuries, Moses said.

Baltimore transportation officials announced the following closures late Monday: * Light Street between Fayette and Lombard streets * Lombard Street between Light and Calvert streets, with the exception of the far left lane. Those who use the open left lane will only be allowed to turn left at Light Street. Commuters were told to expect “significant delays” and were encouraged to use alternate routes. Those traveling west were encouraged to use Franklin Street, while those traveling south were encouraged to use Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Runs through Tuesday at Baltimore's Inner Harbor, Fort McHenry, Martin State Airport and other locations . Inner Harbor activities Star-Spangled Sailabration Villages will feature live entertainment, traditional festival fare and hands-on fun for kids. Ships, docked throughout the harbor area, will be open for tours. Transportation Officials urge visitors to use public transportation, because parking will be limited. Options include the Water Taxi, MTA's MARC, the light rail and buses, Amtrak and the Charm City Circulator's free Banner Route, which travels from the Baltimore Visitor Center to Fort McHenry every 10 minutes.

Here's a heads up about some discounts for indoor activities you can enjoy this weekend despite the deluge that promises to continue through Monday. Geppi's Entertainment Museum is only charging $5 admission through Sun., Sept. 11 in honor of its fifth anniversary, which I discovered via Baltimore on the Cheap . Tickets are usually $10 for adults, so this is a real deal. The first 529 people to show up at Port Discovery when it opens at 10 a.m. Sat., Sept.

I read with interest the commentary by Gregory Spencer Jr. ("Connect the lines," Feb. 2) on the need for a transportation hub in Baltimore. There is no question that the convergence of the Red Line, the existing light rail transit (LRT) line and the Charm City Circulator will provide a new day for transportation for Baltimore. Transit and auto transportation is expensive, and as a region we need to continue to support every piece of transit that is affordable. It appears that there is the likelihood of some form of gas tax increase which will add to the cost of commuting.

After a 10-month closure, the Fort Avenue bridge in Locust Point reopened Friday, according to city officials. Two lanes — one in each direction — are now open to public traffic, though construction continues at the bridge, officials said. There may be single lane closures because of that construction, in which case transportation personnel will control traffic flow across the bridge, city officials said. The $6 million project to replace the bridge, which crosses over railroad tracks owned by the CSX Corp., was jointly funded by CSX and the city, and first closed the bridge in August 2011.