Department Of Transportation

THE PROBLEM -- Lack of information about parking fines and violations. THE BACKSTORY -- Alexander D. Mitchell IV doesn't dispute that he parked on Lancaster Street in Fells Point a few minutes longer than the two hours allowed. What he wants to know is whether the parking officer cited him for the correct offense. But trying to research his case to determine whether it's worth challenging, Mitchell ran into a roadblock: He couldn't find a complete list of parking violations and corresponding fines.

Transit plan omits critical area projects The Sun's editorial "A greener future" (Nov. 26) hit the mark in pointing out the Baltimore Regional Transportation Board's failure to include the Green Line in its long-range transportation plan, "Outlook 2035." The omission of the Green Line from a planning priority list that will influence federal transit funding runs counter to the Baltimore Regional Rail Plan, which was adopted in 2002 by the Maryland Department of Transportation and contemplates a 30- to 40-year build-out of a comprehensive, integrated rail system for the region.

THE PROBLEM -- Motorists traveling south on Russell Street toward the Baltimore-Washington Parkway were greeted by a sign near Hamburg Street warning that cars in the right lane must exit at Interstate 95, even though there is no such restriction. THE BACKSTORY -- Ron Wilner of Baltimore e-mailed Watchdog: "Those in the know have rightly ignored this sign for over a year, but the harm is that out of town motorists are forced to do lane shifting unnecessarily which confuses and slows traffic.

The Baltimore Department of Transportation and railroad conglomerate CSX agreed yesterday to a one-month deadline to decide which entity will pay for improvements needed on five "structurally deficient" bridges in the city. "We've essentially agreed to agree," said Jason T. French, a spokesman for CSX Transportation. "We today are committed to working with the city of Baltimore, despite what has happened in the past." For more than a decade, the two have squabbled over which is responsible for maintaining the spans.

Stephen R. Chapin Sr. said yesterday that he will not seek a third term on the Westminster Common Council."I served eight years, and I had a great experience," Chapin said. "But we need some fresh blood and somebody with new ideas and energy."Yesterday was the deadline to file for the May 10 election. Four candidates are competing for three open seats on the five-member panel.Incumbents Gregory Pecoraro, who was appointed in 1994 to fill a vacancy and was elected to a full term in May 1995, and first-term Councilwoman Suzanne Albert are seeking re-election.

Air traffic patterns may be changing over area communities during the next two weeks because of closures affecting both major runways at Baltimore-Washington International Airport.Runway 10-28 will be closed this weekend, reopening at 6 a.m. tomorrow; nightly closures of Runway 15R-33L will take place from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. tomorrow to Oct. 8; and both runways will be closed from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. Oct. 3 and Oct. 4.The closings will allow construction work and pavement and lighting repairs to take place, the state Department of Transportation said.

David L. Blackshear was named the new executive director of Baltimore-Washington International Airport yesterday, and he thinks he just might be a little crazy."

HERE'S WHAT ALL who will live and drive in metropolitan Baltimore in the next 20 years should understand about Outlook 2020, the "21st century" regional transportation plan just approved by the Maryland Department of Transportation.Its first "guiding principle" is sound -- "linking transportation to managing growth."But it doesn't.It proposes to spend $2.8 billion on new and expanded roads, including hundreds of millions on projects that would guarantee more sprawling development, costing the region environmentally, fiscally and socially.

After nearly 20 years as the subject of North County community meetings, fly ash made it to the General Assembly yesterday. And the reception was not enthusiastic.Members of the House Environmental Matters Committee sharply questioned supporters of a proposed bill to strictly regulate uses of the fine gray powder left over from the burning of coal. They asked how dangerous the ash could be if the state Department of the Environment has not found it to be hazardous and if the state Department of Transportation uses it to build roads.

Relief for highway traffic congestion may soon be just a few computer bytes away.Aiming to move truck traffic more efficiently, the state Department of Transportation unveiled yesterday a computerized inspection system that allows a truck to be weighed in Maryland and not have to stop for another inspection anywhere on the East Coast."

An influential civic group with strong ties to City Hall and Baltimore boardrooms is proposing a significant change in the region's long-term transit plans by urging policymakers to jump a proposed Lutherville-to-Columbia line ahead of one serving Northeast Baltimore and White Marsh. The Central Maryland Transportation Alliance made that recommendation as part of a report it released Wednesday promoting the concept of mixed-use development around existing transit hubs and future stations on the proposed east-west Red Line.

WASHINGTON - -The popular "cash-for-clunkers" program in which the federal government put up $3 billion to reward car owners who traded in older vehicles for newer, more fuel-efficient models, will end Monday evening, according to the Obama administration. The program, which offered rebates of $3,500 or $4,500 to car buyers, proved wildly popular. The initial $1 billion in funding was snapped up so fast that Congress swiftly approved an added $2 billion before leaving for its August recess.

The problem:: A hole in an East Baltimore sidewalk remained unfilled for four months. The back story:: Harvey Levy owns the Sportsmart on Exeter Street, a family business for 30 years. He noticed a hole in the sidewalk in the 400 block of N. Gay St., near Orleans Street, in April and called 311 to report it. The opening, edged in metal, looked like any number of water meter vaults found elsewhere in the city - except the cover was missing. When Levy saw that prompt action had not been taken, he called back.

Two die as small plane crashes in Carroll 1 A Davidsonville man and an Edgewater woman were killed Saturday morning when their two-seat sport aircraft crashed shortly after taking off from a grass airstrip in northwestern Carroll County, according to Maryland State Police. Robert H. Kociemba, 61, and Letty Williams, 66, were pronounced dead at the scene by members of the Taneytown Fire Department. It will be up to the Federal Aviation Administration to determine the cause of the crash, state police spokesman Greg Shipley said.

THE PROBLEM : Should no stopping signs remain outside an inactive fire station in Waverly? THE BACK STORY : This Watchdog is ripped from the headlines. Last week, an article in The Baltimore Sun described the century-old Waverly firehouse, which has been closed since June because of a leaking roof, a pigeon infestation and other problems. Firefighters assigned there have been transferred to a nearby station. So, if the firehouse is closed, a Watchdog spy wants to know why city workers are still enforcing the no-stopping signs for a Fire Department driveway on Greenmount Avenue, across the street from the firehouse.

Gov. Martin O'Malley named Deputy Transportation Secretary Beverley Swaim-Staley as acting secretary of transportation Thursday, replacing John D. Porcari, whose nomination by President Barack Obama as deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation was confirmed last week. Swaim-Staley, a veteran Maryland transportation official, will take over Monday, when Porcari will be sworn in as the No. 2 official in the federal department. Swaim-Staley became deputy in 2007 after Porcari was named to the secretary post for his second go-round.

THE PROBLEM : A crosswalk across a busy Howard Street intersection is nearly worn away. THE BACKSTORY : Sandra Heningburg saw the aftermath of the accident from her kitchen window. A Maryland Institute College of Art student was killed in February while walking across Howard Street at Dolphin Street, just north of the Sutton Place apartments, where Heningburg saw the flashing police lights. Heningburg, who crosses there herself to reach the light rail stop, worried that the crosswalk stripes were so worn that drivers wouldn't expect pedestrians, especially people headed southbound who pick up speed on the Howard Street bridge.

President Barack Obama turned to Maryland for another high-level appointment Friday as the White House announced that he intends to name Maryland Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari to the No. 2 position in the U.S. Department of Transportation. In choosing Porcari, Obama has selected one of the few state transportation secretaries whose portfolio includes all the major modes of travel - highways, aviation, mass transit, maritime commerce and rail freight. If he clears the required background checks and is confirmed by the Senate, Porcari would serve as deputy to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, a former Illinois congressman and a Republican.

CLAUDE BRINEGAR, 82 Transportation secretary under Nixon Claude Brinegar, who led an overhaul of the railroad industry and saw the nation through the oil crisis of 1973 as the third U.S. transportation secretary, died Friday of natural causes in Palo Alto, Calif. President Richard M. Nixon nominated Mr. Brinegar to head the Department of Transportation in late 1972. At the time, Mr. Brinegar was a senior vice president at Union Oil Co., where he had worked since 1953. During his tenure as secretary, Mr. Brinegar led efforts to overhaul the collapsed Northeastern railroad industry, ultimately resulting in the creation of Conrail Inc. He served as a founding director of Conrail from 1974 to 1975 and joined the board again from 1990 to 1998.

THE PROBLEM: The northbound lanes of Aisquith Street are closed, so motorists drive the wrong way up a one-way street. THE BACKSTORY: Victoria Grace lost her shortcut in the spring. She used to turn right from Baltimore Street onto northbound Aisquith Street to reach Fayette Street on her way to Interstate 83 each weekday morning. But one day the northbound lanes were closed - blocked by jersey barriers and a "road closed" sign at Baltimore and about halfway between Baltimore and Fayette.