Transit

Highways are often regarded as the ultimate example of user-financed government. Motorists pay a variety of fees, from state and federal taxes on fuel to titling and registration fees on vehicles, to pay for their construction and maintenance. But are roads truly self-sustaining? A new study says absolutely not. Researcher Mark A. Delucchi of the University of California, Davis' Institute of Transportation Studies recently looked at the nation's total expenditures on roads and compared the result with the total collected in highway-related taxes and fees.

Frank P. Baummer, a retired streetcar operator who headed the 2,200-mem- ber transit workers union for 16 years, died of pneumonia May 24 at Charlestown Retirement Community. He was 92. Born in Baltimore and raised on North Durham Street, he was a 1930 graduate of the old St. Michael's Commercial School in East Baltimore. He worked at Montgomery Ward and was a manager of an Arundel Ice Cream Co. store. He became a Baltimore Transit Co. streetcar operator in early 1941 and became a dispatcher seven years later.

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.

Bus operators are being encouraged to call police and stop the vehicle at the first sign of disruptive behavior as part of a plan to curb violence on public transit, the Maryland Transit Administration announced yesterday. Responding to a series of assaults recently on its buses in Baltimore, the MTA also said it would step up patrols by its police force and forge a closer working relationship with the Baltimore Police Department and the city school system. Among other steps, the MTA plans to speed notification of city officers when an incident occurs on a bus or other transit facilities in the city.

The new leadership of the Maryland Transit Administration is halting one of the signature transportation programs launched under Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. -- a comprehensive route restructuring known as the Greater Baltimore Bus Initiative. MTA Administrator Paul J. Wiedefeld said Democrat Martin O'Malley plans to take a more incremental approach to route changes -- making limited changes three times a year rather than a sweeping series of changes at once. The acknowledgement that the initiative had been scrapped came as Wiedefeld and his management team held a "round- table" for reporters on plans for the state's transit system.

THE DRIVE around Baltimore's Beltway and along Interstate 95 is a daily headache for many commuters who have no choice.Christy Griffith, 27, treasurer at Adams Express Co. in Baltimore, spends about 40 minutes driving her Mazda Miata to work each morning -- a reasonable travel time compared with many in the region.But as she navigates the congestion for the 24 miles between her Columbia home and downtown Baltimore office, she finds herself wishing there were another way. "If light rail would come through Columbia, I would take it."

Public transportation won't improve until the public demands itI am delighted by The Sun's leadership in devoting a series of editorials to the Baltimore region's woefully inadequate public transportation system (Dec 12-14).Access to living wage jobs, revitalizing neighborhoods through integrated transit and community development projects and improving our region's air quality in the face of future population growth are just some of the challenges an expanded, better coordinated, better financed public transit system would address.

GOV. Parris N. Glendening shows leadership when it comes to helping the Washington area complete one subway extension and plan another. And that's fine.Mr. Glendening pays attention when Washington-area officials seek a "subway-beltway" that would encircle Maryland's Washington suburbs. And that's dandy for Silver Spring, College Park and New Carrollton.But what about Woodlawn, White Marsh, Columbia, Towson and Essex?Mr. Glendening is neglectfully indifferent toward this area's long-term transit needs.

Names in the newsJerry Korzybski of Millersville has been appointed manager of the Mass Transit Administration's Customer and Community Relations Division. He will work with the director of customer services to resolve transit-related issues with individuals, communities, business leaders and elected officials as well as coordinate MTA outreach programs.Don Lundblad of Annapolis has joined Amerix Corp. as executive vice president of operations and part of the management team. Lundblad joins Amerix from Bank One's credit card subsidiary, First USA, where he was senior vice president of card-member services.

Without job training or a car, Vonzella Riggs struggled for two years to find a stable job in East Baltimore, where she lives."I could never look for work in the counties, because I didn't have any way of getting there," she said.A report released today says thousands in Baltimore share a similar unemployment trap.More than a third of all entry-level jobs in the Baltimore region can't be reached by public transportation, a daunting hurdle for people trying to move off welfare and into the work force, says the study by the Citizens Planning and Housing Association.

While saying he recognized the state's fiscal problems, Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith Jr. pushed for several critical highway projects and upgrades to mass transit during a meeting with Maryland transportation officials Monday. Road and highway maintenance "remains essential both to the quality of life in our communities and to helping us to rebound and promote economic growth," Smith said. While making annual visits to each jurisdiction, transportation officials are delivering the same message: Only projects already under construction will be funded, while all others are deferred.

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.

Baltimore commuters have a big stake in the fate of the American Clean Energy Security Act, also known as the Waxman-Markey bill, which passed the U.S. House in June and heads to the Senate this fall. This landmark legislation is the first attempt of the federal government to drive the United States to a clean-energy economy with lower greenhouse gas emissions, more jobs in new clean energy industries and less dependence on uncertain oil supplies. It will lead to important new investments in energy efficiency to save consumers money, and new forms of generating clean electricity, such as solar and wind.

Light rail the future of transit It is time for the next generation of transit in Baltimore. The Baltimore Metropolitan area is growing and the demand for a reliable transit option is only increasing. How we address this challenge will shape our communities for decades to come -- it will help determine how we connect with each other, to our neighbors and neighborhoods, to our places of work, and play, and worship, and help us continue building a growing and vibrant economy in the region.

One might think that in the depths of a recession that has governments across the country slashing expenses and ordering layoffs and furloughs, a proposal for a $4.6 billion widening of Interstate 270 from Montgomery County to Frederick with four toll lanes would be dismissed out of hand by elected officials. After all, construction on the $2.6 billion Inter-county Connector to link Montgomery and Prince George's counties is still unfinished. In Howard County, officials are still waiting for state funding to widen northbound Route 29 by one lane approaching Columbia, and there's no money to widen Route 32 from Clarksville to Interstate 70 either.

If there is a phrase that strikes fear into the hearts of Maryland light rail commuters, it's "single track." Baltimore's Central Light Rail Line was originally built with so many single track sections that once a train started running late, the rest of the system was doomed to follow. Blame the intricate and often maddening choreography of stops and starts when trains running in opposite directions are forced to share one track at multiple locations. The system's shortcoming was eventually fixed - at a cost of more than $150 million - but only after many years of commuter suffering.

WASHINGTON -- Maryland representatives are requesting more than $5.3 billion for high-priority mass transit, highway and rail projects as Congress begins drafting a new transportation blueprint for the country. The House version of the $450 billion measure, to be outlined Thursday, is also expected to include new environmental provisions designed to reduce highway storm runoff. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings of Baltimore, a member of the Transportation committee, called the runoff provisions an "extremely important" part of efforts to improve water quality in the Chesapeake Bay and other waterways.

Once a gritty neighborhood on Southeast Baltimore's industrial waterfront, Canton has transformed itself into a model of urban chic where million-dollar townhouses overlook the harbor and destination night spots surround O'Donnell Square. But many residents of the resurgent community worry that the city's preferred route for an east-west transit line would cut off Canton from the water, drag down property values and compound the area's already serious traffic and parking problems. They're organizing to oppose the plan known as Alternative 4-C - which has powerful support and could well be chosen when the Maryland Transit Administration decides this summer.

The county has received $386,000 in federal grant money to buy two buses for Fort Meade and MARC rail commuters. The federal stimulus funds will be used to buy two ultra-low-sulfur diesel-powered buses, which will provide service to Fort Meade, the surrounding communities and nearby MARC stations, the county has announced. The buses are to operate during peak hours Monday through Friday. The funds will also cover the purchase of radios, GPS devices, fare boxes, wheelchair ramps and bike racks, according to the county.

The people who run our regional public transportation agencies are more accustomed to dodging brickbats than catching bouquets. When things go smoothly, they're just doing their jobs. When they don't, they're a bunch of incompetent idiots. But you have to admit: They did a remarkable job Tuesday in getting an enormous crowd to and from the presidential inauguration. Topping the list of all-star performers is the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Administration and its general manager, John Catoe.