What is easily forgotten, now after the Red Line was cancelled, are the corollary improvements that were supposed to be "leveraged" through the nearly three billion dollar investment.
I mean the stuff to the left and right of the "right of way. It was mentioned in the Community Compact: Stuff not budgeted in the transit project itself: Improvements to communities, transit oriented development, community development, walkways, trails, services, landscaping and new community gathering spaces. Items hundreds of residents had had distilled from visions, aspirations and deficits in countless community gatherings.
As MTA and local governments decide on a Red Line Alignment, Baltimore City will develop and fund a Red Line neighborhood investment strategy to enhance the quality of life in Red Line station communities.. (Community Compact)With the transit dollars gone, these needs remain as much as the transit needs themselves, and so does the urgency for them to be met. Originally thought to be "leveraged" by the transit investment, it is now time to reverse the logic and make these investments first so they can leverage the transit eventually.
The Beltline in Atlanta presents a good example of this reversal: After voters turned down the grand idea of a circumferential rail line that tied the four ends of the two Atlanta subway lines into one giant circle, the idea did not die. Not being able to build the transit line, supporters in the Atlanta region created non-profits which set out to build on the "land-side" what would have been transit oriented development had the rail line been approved. With "land-side" I mean all the things outside the right of way for the transit line itself.
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| Atlanta Beltline: Progress before the transit line |
In Atlanta the agencies protected the right of way so that the transit line could be dropped in later. But instead of doing nothing but waiting for a better day, they built trails in and to the corridor, created nodes and built pedestrian and bike access routes all around the beltline. At critical junctures they built affordable housing. Now, some years later and after all those investments, the Atlanta Beltline seems to be so much more inevitable. On their website they even say "the line is already here":
The Atlanta BeltLine is already here – with more to come! Four trail segments are open, six spectacular new or renovated parks are now open for public enjoyment, and new affordable housing is making it easier to live along the corridor. The Atlanta BeltLine Race Series and Art on the Atlanta BeltLine are now can’t miss events, energizing and enlivening the community. Much work remains, however, and it will occur in phases through 2030. Exciting new things happen every day along the Atlanta BeltLine!The City of Atlanta has partnered with the Beltline non-profit for the construction of the first surface rail line in the Atlanta region since MART built the subway around the time Baltimore built its own (same coaches). By the way, Beltline CEO Paul Morris participated in the initial West Baltimore community visioning sessions.
What can Baltimore learn from this and what should we build, even now after the Red Line was denied construction? What follows is a list of projects and initiatives that had been identified around Red Line stations in careful community review and grass roots planning. I list some after having worked on the project for thirteen years and after years of evening meetings with communities and stakeholders. My list is far from complete, representative or properly prioritized. Some of the graphics don't show the latest state of engineering before the project was cancelled. Just for the sake of a round number I list ten items. These plans shall simply serve as a reminder that there are things that still need to be done, even if there are no Red Line stations! Because of the ongoing angst about traffic and density in Canton, I will begin the list on the eastern half of the Red Line corridor. An additional article will complete the western half.
1. Bayview MARC station and Park and Ride
The Red Line was
supposed to terminate at a new station along the MARC line coming in from
Perryville. The station was to act as an intermodal point and transfer between
regional and more local travel and was to include a large Park and Ride lot
with concept designs commissioned by the City. A MARC station at Bayview is
still important for the Hopkins Bayview medical campus. It along with a Park
and Ride could become an important element of reducing the influx of automobiles
into the fragile road network of Highlandtown, Brewers Hill Canton and Fells
Point. It can also be the beginning of making MARC a part of urban transit in the segment from Middle River to BWI.
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| The Bayview Campus and the area identified for a MARC station (top) and a P&R lot (top left, yellow) |
2. Highlandtown connection to Greektown
The proposed Red
Line Station was supposed to be the element that would begin to connect
Greektown with Highlandtown by building a strong pedestrian spine towards the
station and by converting the Crown, Cork and Seal company campus into a mixed
use TOD area. It was a classical case of using transit to turn community edges
into a center. Much of this should proceed even if there won’t be a rail
station anytime soon.
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| Highlandtown and Greektown are separated by rail lines and underused old factories. The station was supposed to knit it all together |
3. Canton Crossing Park and Ride
The park and ride
are envisioned across from the Canton Crossing Shopping center was anticipated
as an intercept point where Boston Street drivers could transfer to transit.
This function could occur still if a high capacity and frequency bus would stop
here and reduce the congestion on the Boston Street corridor by increased
transit usage.
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| The Canton Crossing P&R lot could still serve to intercept incoming commuters for a reduction of congestion on Boston Street and in Fells Point |
4. HarborPoint transportation management
HarborPoint with
3.7 million square feet of development was envisioned as the largest TOD
development in the Red Line corridor. With or without the Red Line the
peninsula or surrounding areas will not be able to handle a large influx of
additional automobiles, the misguided planned large Central Avenue bridge to
the peninsula notwithstanding. Absent the Red Line strong employer based
transportation management strategies are needed to incentivize other modes of
transportation than cars
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| Haborpoint (in pink) is a peninsula slated for 3.7 million sf of new development including the Exelon tower currently under construction. |
5. A downtown bus hub
No matter what the talk about improved bus transit will yield, the geometry of downtown will remain the same without much space for transit hubs or improved amenities.
The Red Line would have removed some of the pressure from bus service and moved
many riders to rail and underground. With that relief no longer in sight, careful
consideration should be given to the areas that act as pseudo hubs today
(Saratoga at Eutaw, Fayette at Eutaw, Baltimore at the Arena, Paca at Saratoga,
Lexington Market etc.). A potential hub could be built where the current City
owned Arena sits if relocation plans become more real. Even if this isn’t
imminent, the city should have a strategy for the future use of this area in
mind before the situation becomes acute. Another less central area with extra space
is the abandoned Social Security West area which may offer opportunities for a Westside
hub.
Part 2 see here
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