Routes

Landscape architect Roland Oehme's dream is modest: He wants to be able to bike from his home in West Towson to the center of the Baltimore County seat without risking his life. So far, it's easier said than done. On a recent bike ride into the heart of town, he said, he barely avoided a wreck on Bosley Avenue -- a "treacherous" mix of six lanes of cars whizzing past at 50 mph, impatient drivers and traffic lights that don't allow walkers or bikers enough time to cross. Over the past week, Oehme's cautionary tale mingled with concerns and suggestions from about 150 residents and business owners, spawning a series of recommendations that would make Towson more pedestrian- and bike-friendly -- and more attractive for shops and outdoor dining.

One day this week, I set my alarm early and caught a 5:20 a.m. bus at my corner. It was filled to capacity, reminding me how much of hardworking Baltimore remains. I took the same No. 3 line home that evening about 9, and the bus was even more crowded. In my more than 50 years of riding Baltimore's buses and waiting for them at stops, I've had a few ideas pop into my mind. A recent Sun article about the current leadership of the Maryland Transit Administration getting a case of hesitant -- if not cold -- feet about reforming and reworking Baltimore's public transit picture left me annoyed.

Looking for ways to help residents get to some of the 3,500 new jobs expected to open at Arundel Mills mall next year, Anne Arundel county is asking for federal and state funds to pay for new bus routes.County Executive Janet S. Owens announced yesterday that the county will submit proposals asking for more than $625,000 in federal money to the transportation steering committee of the Baltimore region to support a bus route between Laurel and the Odenton MARC train station and create two routes for the mall, near Route 100 and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway.

FireWinfield: Firefighters responded at 9:40 p.m. Friday to a fire alarm at Routes 97 and 26.

When Dorothy Good was growing up in Reisterstown, the neighborhood to the east -- Owings Mills -- was just a name of a place on a map."Why, there really wasn't anything even there," said Good, a resident of Reisterstown for 71 of her 72 years. But in the last 15 years, Reisterstown, on the map for 241 years, has been overshadowed and practically engulfed by the high growth of Owings Mills and Owings Mills New Town.Still, residents of Reisterstown think of themselves as a separate town with its own identity, quite apart from Owings Mills.

The State Highway Administration is preparing to resurface Interstate 95 between Routes 32 and 216.This weekend, lanes will be closed along northbound and southbound I-95 between the interchanges from 9 p.m. Friday to 11 a.m. Sunday.Concrete patching will be done in preparation for the resurfacing project this summer. The project will include safety improvements such as upgrading guardrails and roadside rumble strips and installing new pavement markings.The road will be milled -- its surface removed -- repaired and resurfaced.

FireSykesville: Firefighters responded at 12: 39 p.m. Wednesday to a mulch fire at Routes 26 and 32. Units were out 20 minutes.

Open fields, little traffic, country atmosphere -- those are some of the fond memories Irene Miles recalls when she talks about Clarksville.But those qualities also set the table for a steady pace of development that has altered the face of the town at the crossroads of routes 108 and 32 in Howard County."

Commuters from Baltimore and Washington and business owners in Odenton stand to benefit from a new bus line that will cart workers from the Odenton train station to their jobs.The line, which will serve only the Odenton industrial area bounded by Routes 32, 175 and 170, is a one-year pilot project of the Corridor Transportation Co., a nonprofit group that tries to solve transportation issues in the mid-Maryland region.The Federal Transit Administration and the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation each gave a $45,000 grant for the program, said Walt Townshend, a CTC board member.

FiresManchester: Firefighters responded at 9: 08 p.m. Thursday to a mulch fire in the 3700 block of Maple Grove Road. Units were out one hour, 50 minutes.Manchester: Firefighters responded at 7: 35 a.m. Thursday to wires down at Routes 30 and 486. Units were out two hours.

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.

A year ago, John Harbaugh's first minicamp as Ravens coach ended with the surprise retirement of quarterback Steve McNair. After leading the Ravens to the AFC championship game, Harbaugh won't have to deal with as many drastic issues when the Ravens begin their first minicamp Friday. He spoke to The Baltimore Sun on Wednesday about the changes during the offseason, the development of quarterback Joe Flacco and the immediate plans for first-round pick Michael Oher. Where do you see this team heading into the full-team minicamp?

The Maryland Transit Administration will hold a series of public meetings this week and next to explain its proposed changes to more than a dozen bus routes this August. The MTA is proposing two new "Quick Bus" routes - the No. 43 and the No. 48 - along the path of the existing No. 3 and No. 8 routes. The Quick Bus routes would make fewer stops than the current buses on those routes. With the addition, the No. 3 and No. 8 buses would not arrive as frequently, but many riders' trips would take less time.

Howard County commuter bus riders got a reprieve yesterday from a state proposal to eliminate all service between Baltimore and Columbia as well as along the U.S. 1 corridor to Laurel. A compromise on budget cuts hammered out about midnight Thursday and announced yesterday will save all three threatened bus routes, though it will reduce the number of trips, starting Jan. 12. Howard County government also agreed to contribute $200,000 this fiscal year to keep the buses running, and the state agreed to extend another route now serving Ellicott City to Columbia.

Riders of Maryland Transit Administration buses could face longer waits and less reliable service as a result of stricter overtime limits adopted because of budget cuts, the agency said yesterday. Jawauna Greene, an MTA spokeswoman, said the agency can no longer exceed its overtime cap when employees call in with an unscheduled absence or are late for work. In such cases, the agency may be forced to skip runs on certain routes. "There will never be an instance where the entire line is shut down, but there may be delays," Greene said.

Fuel costs and a shortage of certified drivers will make this a trying year for transportation providers and the Howard County school system. Soaring diesel prices have resulted in an $800,000 shortfall for the school system's Department of Transportation. As a result, the number of buses will be cut and buses will run longer routes with more students. Fuel prices are higher than the school system had projected last year when the Howard County Board of Education approved its budget. In September, diesel fuel cost $3.038 a gallon.

Exhibit to focus on injured soldiers AT:LAST Inc., a nonprofit organization that operates a buying cooperative for devices to help the handicapped, will hold a "Regaining Independence" day from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. July 31 for wounded soldiers returning from service and their families and potential employers, and members of the community. The event will celebrate the opening of AT:LAST Inc.'s expanded Assistive Technology Learning Center in Columbia. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be at 3 p.m. The celebration includes interactive exhibits of low- and high-tech devices to overcome limitations resulting from spinal cord injury, brain injury and loss of limbs, vision or hearing.

Southwest Airlines announced yesterday that it would link up with Canadian low-cost carrier WestJet, its first concrete step in launching the international service it has talked up for years. Selling seats on each other's planes by late 2009 under a so-called code-sharing arrangement will grant the two airlines access to new customers with little additional cost, provided the agreement gains regulatory approval from U.S. and Canadian authorities. Calgary-based WestJet, which modeled its operations and corporate culture on Southwest when it started up in 1996, offers service to 49 destinations in Canada, the Caribbean, Mexico and the United States.

Howard County government offices, courts, animal shelter, library branches and the landfill will be closed in observance of Independence Day, Friday, July 4. There will be no recycling or trash service July 4. Trash will be collected July 5 for Friday and Saturday routes. Recycling and yard waste collection for Friday routes will be collected July 11. Parking meters are free July 4. Howard Transit and Connect-a-Ride will run limited routes July 4 (Howard Transit - Red, Silver, Green, Brown and Orange; and Connect-A-Ride J, K and the Laurel Loop)

Tourists and city residents would be able to ride through downtown Baltimore for free on a new shuttle bus system that officials said yesterday would begin carrying passengers by next summer. The system, which would include at least three downtown routes with 10-minute waits at each stop, would be paid for in part by increasing a city tax levied on parking spaces. "It's about trying to make it convenient for people to move around," said Mayor Sheila Dixon, adding that she hopes the shuttle would also reduce traffic congestion and vehicle emissions.