Two upcoming transportation events

1. Public hearing on proposed elimination of 921 Commuter Bus Route

Recently the Maryland Mass Transit Administration (MTA) announced plans to eliminate several commuter bus routes and MARC train routes as a result of $25 million in budget cuts. One of the routes on the chopping block is the 921 bus route from Annapolis to the New Carrollton Metro Station near Washington, D.C.

Tomorrow, Thursday November 20th, the MTA will hold a public hearing to receive input on the proposed cuts. The hearing will be from 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m., and again from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. in the gymnasium of the Stanton Center at 92 W. Washington Street in Annapolis. Comments may also be sent by email to commuterbus@mtamaryland.com until December 26th.

Elimination of the 921 route is ill-advised for a number of reasons. It is important that people who care about this route speak out. Even if one is not a rider of the 921 route, it benefits us all. Transit is a major part of the solution to avoid increasing gridlock in the future. Even though our national economic crisis may defer plans to expand transit, we need to hold the line and protect our current level of service.

Below is the text of a letter I sent last month to MTA Administrator Paul Wiedefeld shortly after the proposed cuts were announced.

October 21, 2008

Mr. Paul Wiedefeld
MTA Administrator
Maryland Transit Administration
6 Saint Paul Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21202

Re: Proposed cut to MTA 921 Commuter Bus Route

Dear Mr. Wiedefeld:

This letter is to respectfully urge you to withdraw the proposed elimination of the 921 Commuter Bus Route from Annapolis to New Carrollton. Cutting this service now will only put more cars on an already congested Route 50, and will increase household expenses for hundreds of working families already struggling to make ends meet.

The 921 is a mainstay for Annapolis-area commuters and has been for years. As you know, an estimated 42,000 riders rode the bus last year. Ridership has been increasing, fueled in part by the recent rise in gasoline prices. To accommodate this demand, the state has recently been enhancing – not scaling back – its Washington commuter bus service.

Unlike the other two Annapolis to Washington commuter routes (the 922 and the 950), the 921 serves a unique role. As the only commuter route that terminates at the New Carrollton Metrorail Station, it provides a vital service for the unanticipated trip. If a commuter is running late or needs to leave early to pick up a child from school, the 921 enables them to do so. The 921 also is the most efficient of the three routes because it fully empties at New Carrollton. By contrast, the 922 and 950 have multiple stops in D.C. and therefore transport fewer and fewer riders after passengers disembark at each stop.

Commuters to Baltimore are already dealing with the previous administration’s elimination of the 210 route. The last thing we need is to cut back on our Washington D.C. bus service as well. As you seek ways to absorb the state budget cuts, I respectfully urge you to protect the 921 Commuter Bus Route. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Joshua J. Cohen
Councilmember, District Six

2. Panel discussion on transportation

ARTMA, the Annapolis Regional Transportation Management Association, will be holding its annual meeting the week after Thanksgiving. I will be one of the panelists for a discussion about applying smart growth principles to a coordinated, multi-modal transportation system to improve mobility and reduce congestion.

The annual meeting is scheduled for Thursday, December 4th from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m. at the Hampton Inn and Suites in Annapolis. For more information or to register, visit www.artma.org and click on Programs.

Community Conversation on Transportation

On Tuesday, October 28th, I will be hosting a public forum about transportation. Billed as a “Community Conversation on Transportation in Annapolis and Anne Arundel County,” the event will feature three Annapolis-area panelists who have broad experience working on transportation and land use issues from a citizen’s standpoint:

1. Shelley Row, Eastport resident, former president of the Eastport Civic Association and a national expert on Intelligent Transportation Systems.
2. Wilford W. Scott, Hunt Meadow resident, member of Annapolis' past two Comprehensive Plan Citizens’ Advisory Committees, and longtime member of the Annapolis Planning Commission.
3. Dinny White, Severn Grove resident, architect and planner, and member of Anne Arundel County’s Special Advisory Committee to the General Development Plan.
   

The forum will be held on Tuesday, October 28th from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall of Calvary United Methodist Church, 301 Rowe Boulevard in Annapolis. The rear parking lot in back of the church is located at the Fellowship Hall entrance. This event is free and open to the public.

Renaissance Festival traffic and parking update

August in Anne Arundel County means the arrival of an Annapolis-area tradition: the annual Maryland Renaissance Festival. The Renn Fest, as it is known locally, runs from August through October. The venue is a faux medieval village built on 125 acres of rolling woodland along Crownsville Road between Route 178 (Generals Highway) to the north and Route 450 (Defense Highway) to the south (map).

Maryland's Renn Fest is one of the more popular renaissance fairs in America. It has grown tremendously from its humble beginnings in 1977 and now averages 280,000 visitors in a season. As a result, this 16th-century festival generates some serious 21st-century traffic. Locals know to avoid area roads when they can, but residents who live close to the festival often cannot avoid major traffic headaches.

The festival organizers are sensitive to local traffic concerns. Over the years they have sought to address these concerns by expanding their parking and hiring more police officers to direct traffic and keep cars moving. Unfortunately, as the festival has grown, traffic congestion has continued to grow with it.

Trying a new approach

Earlier this year, I met with the festival's General Manager Jules Smith and Site Manager Adam Smith, along with Councilmen Jamie Benoit and Ed Reilly, Delegate James King, and Police Captain Bill Krampf. The goal of the meeting was to find a way to improve traffic flow on roads around the festival. After discussing the issue we reached a consensus that the main issue was not so much traffic management as it was parking management.

The traffic choke point occurs when cars turn off of Crownsville Road to enter the festival grounds. There are two festival entrances off Crownsville Road, each of which allows only one vehicle at a time to enter the property on a gravel road. This arrangement slows down traffic on Crownsville Road which in turn backs up cars for miles in both directions.

After the meeting, festival management consulted with a traffic engineering firm, reviewed the county's traffic data, and examined different options for improving traffic. I am pleased to share the following information from a recent letter from Jules Smith:

"After meeting with the traffic engineers and our own staff as well as the police most familiar with the festival and traffic we will be addressing the issue identified as the primary cause of delay, the left hand turn into the event. By shifting additional police traffic management to the northern entrance and intersection and hiring additional parking staff to increase the movement and speed of cars entering the driveway and parking them in multiple rows at the same time the traffic will be taken from Crownsville Road more quickly resulting in greater continued road movement."

The new arrangement will take effect with the start of the festival in just a few weeks. Jules and his team will monitor its operation and modify it if necessary to make sure it is working well.

I appreciate the Renn Fest's responsiveness to its neighbors' concerns and am hopeful that this new parking arrangement, while not eliminating the traffic problem, will be a significant improvement.

Forest Drive Commuter Shuttle?

Imagine a world in which commuters who live along the Forest Drive corridor could take the bus into Washington D.C. without ever having to get into their cars. Could it happen? Yes. Whether or not it does depends in part on whether there is enough interest to warrant a Forest Drive Commuter Shuttle.

The problem

Traffic moves at a snail's pace on Forest Drive and Aris T. Allen Boulevard during the morning and evening commutes. Commuters lament that it takes longer to drive from their houses to Route 50 every morning than it does to reach Washington D.C. once they're on Route 50.

The Maryland Transit Administration runs two popular commuter bus routes from Annapolis to the New Carrollton Metro station (Route 921) and into D.C. (Route 922). These routes pick up and drop off passengers at the Navy Stadium, at a few stops along West Street and at the Harry S. Truman Park-and-Ride off Riva Road. It is a convenient service for people who live in town.

The problem is that commuters who live along Forest Drive have to first get in their cars to reach the Park-and-Ride. And once someone drives down Forest Drive, it's usually easier to just keep driving into D.C. than to park and wait for the commuter bus.

A solution?

A possible remedy is a Forest Drive Commuter Shuttle. Its route would be a straight shot along Bay Ridge Road and Forest Drive to the Truman Park-and-Ride. It would stop at one or two intercept lots to pick up passengers. By offering commuters an alternative to battling Forest Drive traffic, it could encourage more bus ridership and take a few more cars off the road.

Where would the intercept lots be? One could be at Peninsula Park on Bay Ridge Road. It is ideally located near a dozen neighborhoods from Arundel on the Bay to Annapolis Roads. It's so convenient that people could bike there instead of drive. If a suitable location were found, another lot could be farther up Forest Drive near Spa Road or Hilltop Lane.

Would a Commuter Shuttle cure gridlock on Forest Drive? Of course not. But it would make a big difference for those who used the service. Imagine, leaving your house in the morning and taking the bus all the way into Washington D.C. without ever getting into your car.

Is there interest?

Right now this is just an idea. It is unclear if, when or how it might become a reality. The first step is to determine if there is enough interest to pursue this further. Please contact me with your input. I especially encourage feedback from people who live along the Forest Drive corridor and commute into D.C.