Commuters

THE PROBLEM -- Commuters using a Maryland Transit Administration bus in Southeast Baltimore have to climb over a guardrail to reach their ride. THE BACKSTORY -- Using public transportation takes patience, but people who want to take the bus from Ponca and O'Donnell streets, near a Royal Farms store, have to put up with far more than delays and missing schedules. They have to fight an urban battlefield. The stop on eastbound O'Donnell Street is located just past the entrance ramp to Interstate 895 South.

The Downtown Partnership launched a Web site yesterday to provide timely traffic-related information to Baltimore commuters -- a potential boon to drivers the next time a water main breaks. The site, Get Around Downtown, offers real-time alerts on unexpected traffic backups in the downtown region as well as information about long-term road projects. Michael Evitts, public relations director, said the nonprofit corporation created the site as a successor to an e-mail list that had grown to about 2,000 recipients.

Give M-TAG a fair chanceAs executive secretary of the Maryland Transportation Authority, the agency that oversees Maryland's seven toll facilities, I would like to respond to Gregory Williams' letter to the editor regarding the state's new M-TAG electronic toll-collection system (M-TAG system broke what didn't need fixing," May 20).Mr. Williams is correct that the transition and testing phases of the new program have caused some additional delays at the toll plazas. The temporary delays have started to subside since April 21 as the first commuters began to use the M-TAG system in staffed toll lanes at the Baltimore-area plazas.

The tires of as many as 25 vehicles were slashed Friday on the park-and-ride lot at the Maryland Rail Commuter (MARC) stop in West Baltimore, the Mass Transit Administration said.Fifteen commuters filed reports with MTA on Friday night after returning to their vehicles at West Mulberry and Smallwood streets and finding their tires slashed, said Anthony Brown, an agency spokesman.Brown estimated that the tires of as many as 25 cars were slashed, but said only 15 owners filed reports with MTA police.

Carroll planning officials are hoping to boost participation in the county's seldom-used ride-sharing program by encouraging the state to take charge of it.The effort to get the state to hire a program manager comes in the wake of the Carroll commissioners' decision to eliminate the position of commuter transportation coordinator from the county payroll. The three-member Board of County Commissioners announced the staff change Feb. 24 as part of a government reorganization that had been in the works for months.

Motorists interested in participating in the state's new electronic toll-collecting system -- soon to be in use at the Fort McHenry Tunnel, the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel and the Key Bridge -- can sign up for the program beginning today.The M-TAG program is scheduled to begin early next month with an estimated 70,000 drivers participating. In its first phase, M-TAG will be available to commuters in cars, minivans, pickup trucks and other two-axle vehicles.Motorists who establish payment accounts with the Maryland Transportation Authority will be able to roll through "M-TAG Members Only" lanes at tollbooths without stopping.

Thousands of Maryland rail commuters will have to find another way to work today, thanks to Hurricane Floyd.CSX Corp. has decided to shut nearly 5,000 miles of East Coast railroad track today so workers at its Jacksonville, Fla., dispatch station can evacuate. The decision means that the Maryland Rail Commuter system's Brunswick and Camden lines will not run today.It also will strand other rail commuters -- and halt most freight traffic -- between Pennsylvania and Florida.Depending on the storm's course, the shutdown might extend into tomorrow, officials said.

Commuters who subscribe to Maryland's new MTAG electronic toll system were using their own lanes yesterday, a step that should help alleviate rush-hour tie-ups at three toll plazas.The Maryland Transportation Authority dedicated one lane to MTAG customers at each of three sites: the Fort McHenry Tunnel, Baltimore Harbor Tunnel and Key Bridge.Motorists who use the system receive a plastic transponder that is attached to the windshield and allows them to drive through the toll plaza without stopping.

SOMETHING like a quick flash of lightning startled commuter Jeri Delambo recently on eastbound Northern Parkway.But it turned out to be a man-made storm."

If you commute from Carroll County, you know the routine.Each weekday morning, it's just you and the steering wheel. You battle traffic down Routes 30, 97, 26 and 140 toward Baltimore, Washington or maybe another suburb. You push through the crush of commuters racing to get to work. Most are driving solo, just like you.Take that same trip with a co-worker or two, and you've done something very unusual for a Carroll County resident.The state's second-fastest-growing county, where more than 80 percent of the working population commutes to jobs outside Carroll, has one of the metropolitan area's lowest ride-share participation rates.

Maryland commuters - particularly those with thoughts of traveling between I-95 in Laurel and Montgomery County's I-270 technology corridor - received a bit of sticker shock this week. Tolls on the Intercounty Connector could top $6.15 for a one-way trip in peak hours. No Maryland road, bridge or tunnel has ever charged anything approaching that. The most expensive facility currently operated by the Maryland Transportation Authority is the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway, the 48-mile portion of I-95 north of Baltimore where cars face a $5 toll at the Tydings Memorial Bridge, but that's only assessed on northbound travelers; the southbound trip is free.

There are a lot of obstacles that Nate Evans considers when he designates a bicycle route. Baltimore's bicycle pedestrian planner - yes, this is his official title - accounts for potholes, the quality of pavement and how fast cars travel on a particular street. (He calls Northern Parkway a "speedway" that should be avoided by the pedaling crowd.) But there's another factor that has to be part of the bicycle-loving mayor's Bike Baltimore campaign to mark cycling routes throughout the city.

Baltimore City is getting a touch of Venice with a fleet of water taxis to whisk commuters downtown from Fells Point, Canton and Locust Point via the Inner Harbor. Even if the snappy blue-and-white vessels aren't quite on a par with Venice's famed Vaporettos, they certainly make city commuting more scenic, and on top of that, they're free. But should they be? The system, which is being expanded with a $1.6 million federal stimulus grant, costs about $150,000 a year to operate. But so far, it's only attracted about 90 passengers a day, which seems a lot for a relative handful of commuters, most of whom probably could afford at least a token fare.

March 31 was a lousy day to observe the travails of life aboard a MARC train. I took two round-trips - one on the Penn Line and one on the Camden Line - and the rides couldn't have gone more smoothly. Where was the dysfunctional MARC I'd been hearing so much about? I was aboard that day as an exercise in making amends. After a recent column implied that MARC riders were a wee bit more persnickety than the typical transit rider, my in-box was flooded with indignant e-mail. One of my more spirited e-mail discussions evolved from ire to mutual respect to an invitation to meet with a group of MARC commuters over a beer.

MTA service cuts hurt Annapolis commuters The Maryland Transit Administration's decision to eliminate the commuter bus between Annapolis and the New Carrollton Metro stop has left many Annapolis-area commuters without access to mass transit ("MTA cuts service, keeps 10:05 train from Washington," Dec. 31). The 921 bus circulated between Annapolis and the New Carrollton Metro stop. It has been ended. However, bus service from Annapolis to downtown Washington via buses 922 and 950 has been retained.

The Maryland State Highway Administration has eased parking restrictions along U.S. 1 in Halethorpe, creating an additional 70 spaces for MARC train commuters - many of whom have been parking in nearby residential areas. The highway agency said it removed some no-parking signs along the part of U.S. 1 known as Southwestern Boulevard last week after being asked by the Maryland Transit Administration whether it could provide additional parking along the highway, which runs alongside a free MARC lot whose 770 spaces fill up most weekday mornings.

What MARC needs is better funding As a frequent user of MARC trains from Baltimore to Washington, I think The Sun's criticism of the Maryland Transit Administration was unwarranted ("Fixing MARC," editorial, July 27). The MTA is dancing as fast as it can in trying to address the tremendous growth in ridership, and summer heat does create operational problems. At least the current administration is aware of how difficult the situation is becoming for daily commuters and willing to address their concerns.

Ridership has increased on the MARC train's Penn Line from Perryman to Washington by nearly 25 percent this year. To meet demand, three new trains have been added, and the service is looking to add to its fleet of bi-level passenger cars. But, while more people are taking the train from Aberdeen, fewer are finding nearby places to park. "Parking is a nightmare," said R.V. Scott, who commutes from Aberdeen to a job in Washington. "I sometimes park on the grass. I have gotten ticketed. I have missed the train several times while looking for a space, and then I am late for work.

On Avon Court in Halethorpe, there's an unwritten law that says the parking space in front of your home is your spot. But the commuters who flock to the Halethorpe MARC station don't follow that code. They see the absence of no-parking signs as an invitation to leave their cars on the residential street - especially as the 770-space lot at the station fills up every day. The daily influx of outsiders has led to ugly scenes between residents and commuters, sometimes involving calls to police.

Lesson on tolls goes unheeded Regarding your article on new toll lanes for I-95: Back when Kennedy Highway (I-95) was built about 47 years ago, there was a local toll on the on-and-off ramps all along I-95. Local commuters screamed. Even if they were only going a short distance they had to pay coming or going. So the poorer local commuters took Route 40, Route 7 and Route 1. As traffic increased over the years and the roads deteriorated with no toll to repair them, some light bulbs started to go off realizing their mistake.