Transportation officials in and around Baltimore are always looking for ways to increase the number of people who ride transit. Believe it or not, the city of Atlanta is having the same trouble and officials at the local transit agency (MARTA) have hired a company to help them.
The company is, if little else, creative. Some of the proposals from BrightHouse are to put artwork from local artists in the rail cars and the stations.
While that may not sound too off the wall, how about this: Having local furniture companies display their wares inside of rail cars. Imagine sitting on a big leather sofa on your way in to work. How this furniture would be secured to meet safety requirements isn?t explained.
BrightHouse suggests having a cart in the stations that would sell “traffic jam and toast.”
But the worst idea of all is to provide free fares for riders on Martin Luther King?s birthday to capitalize on the “free at last” phrase in his most famous speech.
I can?t imagine anything more offensive than using Dr. King?s words in a marketing campaign.
Dangerous intersection
Matt writes: “I recently started reading The Examiner and came across your section.
“I don?t know whom I should contact at the county, but I have a concern about a certain intersection. I travel from Saterhill Road to Cromwell Bridge Road every morning and cannot believe that there is not a light at that junction.
“I don?t know how many accidents there have been, but I am sure the list is long.
“The problem is that there is a blind turn for drivers traveling on Cromwell Bridge Road going from Glen Arm towards the Beltway. For cars trying to turn left from Saterhill onto Cromwell, it is very hard to get out with the cars coming around the corner at such a high rate of speed.
“I would like to see if there are any plans for improvement or a traffic signal in this area. Safety is a huge concern of mine, as I am traveling with my 4-month old son.
“My alternative would be to travel all the way back down Saterhill to Waltham Woods, but that is a very congested intersection.”
I must admit that I?m not familiar with that intersection, but I understand your point.
Safety is a concern for everyone whether they?re 4 months old or 43 years old. The balance between safety and the number of vehicles that can be moved through any given intersection, as well as the intersections nearby, is the challenge of the traffic planners. The other fact to consider, though it is obviously much lower on the list, is the cost of putting signals into an intersection.
You can try contacting the local county transportation planner, or you can get your local legislator involved. I?ve found in the past that local politicians can push the right buttons to get change, but you have to get them to buy in to the solution first.
Good luck. Let us know what happens.
Transportation questions? Thoughts, comments, random musings? Do you have an idea on how to make Baltimore?s commute a little easier for everyone? Write to Steve at Letters@SprawlandCrawl.com
