Transit

Three months ago, the transit center planned for downtown Towson looked like a done deal. Now it's a dead deal.One happy and unexpected upshot, though, is that Towson's notorious "intersection from hell" -- the convergence of York, Joppa and Dulaney Valley roads and Allegheny Avenue -- stands a good chance of being converted into a more user-friendly crossing for drivers and pedestrians alike.These are just the latest twists and turns on what has been a bumpy ride since the transit center was first proposed in the mid-1980s.

The agency that provides public transportation in Carroll needs a jump-start from anyone in the community who wants to help come up with ways for the bus system to stay afloat, its director said.Linda Boyer, director of the ailing Carroll Transit System, told the county commissioners yesterday she wants a "summit" of mayors, community leaders and businesses who can help make sure the county continues to have public transportation.Also, she asked commissioners to provide bus maintenance and a loan to buy cost-saving software so the non-profit agency can stay afloat.

THIRTY-FIVE YEARS ago, leaders in the Washington metropolitan area had a grand vision for the future - to create a world-class, 103-mile Metro rail system to meet the needs of a growing region. Thankfully, for those of us stuck in the third-worst congestion in the nation, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and his transportation secretary, Robert L. Flanagan, weren't around to throw cold water on that vision, as they've done to Baltimore's vision for a new subway system. Because if they had been around, we wouldn't have the Washington Metro system and we might hold the dubious distinction of having the nation's worst traffic congestion.

When gas prices were clunking along in the low 3-buck-something range, mass transit didn't seem nearly as interesting as it does now. For the vast majority of us, the idea of sharing the commuting experience with strangers was as remote as planting our own tofu trees. But with a gallon of go-juice on the north side of $4, the Maryland Transit Administration is getting more attention from this column and its readers. And rightly so. By the time this run-up ends, we may all be customers.

Even when state mass transit officials think they are winning, they end up losing. For all their efforts to give more service and more travel options to metropolitan passengers, there is a price to be paid. And that price keeps rising.Such is the dilemma confronting mass-transit specialists. It is a capital-intensive business. It takes hundreds of millions of dollars to build transit lines and tens of millions more to keep them operating. Taxpayers must subsidize the riders. And no one appreciates what it would be like if all these rapid-rail services weren't there.

Betty Ann Walker will have to sell a lot of buttons if Carroll Transit is going to keep its vans running during this period of fiscal austerity. Ms. Walker, an occasional rider, took it upon herself to solicit door-to-door on behalf Carroll Transit, which is experiencing severe financial difficulties. Suspicious neighbors alerted the police, who investigated and notified Carroll Transit of her efforts. Delighted by her initiative, Carroll Transit is giving her all the buttons she can sell.

Carroll Transit will receive a grant of $124,296 from the state Mass Transit Administration, Gov. William Donald Schaefer announced yesterday.The money represents a regular grant of $114,946 for operating expenses and a one-time grant of $9,350 to pay for a computer dispatching program, said Nancy Rigler, a regional MTA representative."

Local governments should orient new homes and businesses around transit lines instead of building more roads to accommodate suburban sprawl, according to land use experts who will speak at a forum on the topic today.The presentation will be from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the county Board of Education headquarters in Annapolis. Sponsors include the Annapolis Neck Peninsula Federation, Generals Highway Council of Civic Associations and the Alliance for Sustainable Communities.Speakers will include transportation and compact development consultants.

Carroll Transit System, the county's nonprofit transportation service, is driving more residents where they need to go. Ridership hit an all-time high last month, Executive Director James O. Mathis said.In May, Carroll Transit provided 7,150 rides, he said. The service usually provides 4,000 to 5,000 rides per month. The previous high was in October 1993, when the service provided 6,832 rides, he said.Senior citizens continue to be the primary passengers. In May, Carroll Transit provided rides for 3,146 seniors, Mr. Mathis said.

Washington. -- With budget-cutting Republicans in control of Congress, it figured that mass transit would quickly be in peril. And sure enough, the House's recent budget rescission package cut $140 million out of transit.More ominous, when House Budget Chairman John R. Kasich of Ohio, rolled out his ''illustration plan'' to cut some $100 billion over five years, he penciled in mass-transit reductions of $2.3 billion -- amounting to 36 percent of all federal transportation cuts, even though mass transit now gets only 10 percent of Washington's transportation outlays.