Recent comments in /f/baltimore

Trailmagic OP t1_iy83ot7 wrote

Reply to comment by YorickTheCat in Driving down E Pratt street, saw some yellow flashing traffic lights. Slowed down to proceed with caution and then a freaking MARC train cut across the street. Shouldn’t there be like… a retractable barrier or at least red lights? by Trailmagic

No it was yellow the whole time. It was flashing, and I was approaching with caution but they were definitely yellow. You are correct it was the light rail.

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gaiusjuliusweezer t1_iy83ire wrote

Reply to comment by YesIDoBlowCops in Elon Musk’s Boring Company Ghosts Cities Across America by bmore

The red line has an existing grade separated right-of-way through W. Baltimore. You also have a lot of zero-car/low income households providing stronger support than an equally dense neighborhood elsewhere.

The Section west of Edmondson Village is of dubious value in terms of residents, but otherwise it does go through downtown and some of the densest neighborhoods.

The problems with the red line is that the new tunnel two blocks south of the Subway downtown is a lot of $ to not connect directly.

Likewise the walkshed in Canton is reduced a lot by running along Boston St

EDIT:

I would absolutely change the alignment if we have to start from scratch.

However, IF the bipartisan Infrastructure bill’s provision that Van Hollen put in to fast track previously approved projects like the Red Line pays off, I would really like to implore the the citizens of Baltimore NOT to look the gift horse in the mouth, because it could take years off of the time to implementation and tons of other planning related costs.

That time, money, and personnel can be used for the north-south project.

Transit lines reinforce one another to create a network greater than the sum of its parts, so a subway from Towson to Port Covington should not be seen as competitor with the Red Line in anything but their order in terms of priority.

They’re literally perpendicular, and they intersect at their midpoints to form a hub and spoke network connecting the richest and poorest neighborhoods alike with the lion’s share of the jobs, medical facilities, higher education, and recreation in the city.

EDIT 2:

Unlike the overstretched 40-mile light rail lines they are building in the postwar sprawl of LA and Seattle, these are <15 miles AND, with the exception of the Highway to Nowhere (featuring a dedicated right of away pre-built) and Woodlawn, almost entirely built through pre-war foot and streetcar-oriented development.

The vast majority of the built structures from that era still there (for better or worse)

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Trailmagic OP t1_iy83e79 wrote

Reply to comment by YoYoMoMa in Driving down E Pratt street, saw some yellow flashing traffic lights. Slowed down to proceed with caution and then a freaking MARC train cut across the street. Shouldn’t there be like… a retractable barrier or at least red lights? by Trailmagic

I didn’t stop on the tracks. I don’t even cross traffic lights until I know I can fit because I hate being that dude stranded in the intersection.

I stopped before the yellow lights because I noticed the oncoming light rail, but not because of the yellow flashing lights. If they were red I would have stopped anyway had I not seen the light rail. Yellow just seems a poor choice for the warning lights.

If there is some other signal off on the side of the road I was supposed to notice, not everyone is aware of them and traffic to your right could block your view (if there is one over there).

I just think the the lights should have been red. I am not sure if this is who its set up, but if it is, it’s dumb and dangerous (with a very simple fix).

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megalomike t1_iy82sm4 wrote

Reply to comment by MuffinRat84 in Temporary Vehicle Tags by luchobucho

texas has a weird temp tag for dirt cheap you can buy online. its intended for people who are moving to texas, but you just need to check a box or whatever saying you intend to move there.

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anne_hollydaye t1_iy82qio wrote

Reply to Temporary Vehicle Tags by luchobucho

If memory serves, there was a big holdup back during the height of the pandemic - people weren't getting proper tags due to the backlog.

Add to that the issue with Carvana not doing paperwork in time, or at all. Lots of folks with Carvana purchases and old temp tags.

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needleinacamelseye t1_iy81rod wrote

Reply to Temporary Vehicle Tags by luchobucho

Keeping temporary tags on your car is a way to avoid paying for car insurance and the 6% titling tax. I'm not surprised at how common this practice is given that city car insurance rates are barely affordable for well-off, safe drivers. Unfortunately the city police have more important things to do than enforce vehicle registrations...

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