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Jamie,

… bringing the health care/health insurance debate into this was not a great rhetorical move.

But you have, so let me build on the parallel: underlying many peoples’ (mine included) concern in the health debate is cost v. outcome. The government is proposing to take on an enormous debt (cf: the CBO estimate) to spend a lot on money to create new governement infrastructure that may or may not solve a problem that could probably be solved without doing what the government is proposing to do. Debt (meaning higher taxes or inflation) and flexibility (honest concern about losing control of one’s ability to guide one’s health care decisions independent of government) are at issue here.

Similarly with the Red Line: the government is proposing to spend $1.6 billion (right now, and that’s just capital and not operating costs)
to create a new government infrastructure that may or may not solve a problem that could probably be solved more effectively in another way. So, we’re taking on debt and effectively creating a transportation obstacle in Edmondson Village and Canton (reducing flexibility) by
narrowing Edmondson Avenue and Boston Street all in the service of … what? Getting people who don’t live in those neighborhoods (which are
well served by buses) through those neighborhoods more quickly?

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Two quick asides:

I’m no aesthete, but the Green Line as it rolls along the surface of Commonwealth Avenue near Boston University is simply butt-ugly.
Neither Boston Street nor Edmondson Avenue will ever approach the sublime beauty of Comm Ave where the Green Line runs underground near
the Public Garden, but Boston’s getting better (since the replacement of its rail lines with a median with trees) and Edmondson _could_ be
improved.

As a matter of curiosity: who has stated that houses will be torn down? I’ve missed that one. It certainly could be that boring (or will
it be “cut and cover”?) the Fleet Street tunnel may have some, ah, unexpected impacts on some of the 18th, 19th, and early 20th century
buildings along its route. Yes, technology has come a long way since the old City College collapsed when the Howard Street Tunnel was being built, but tunnelling still has a lot of unknowns. It is physically impossible to know “what lies beneath” every block of the tunnel. This is not an argument _not_ to tunnel; it just underscores why $1.6 billion is probably just the beginning of what the Red Line will cost.

Jamie Hunt

Being a citizen who cares I have attended meetings related to the Red Line for several years. I started supporting this concept but was vigilant because of concerns related to Leakin Park. I was involved many years before when citizens stopped the “Leakin Park Expressway.”

I went to open houses, attended hearings in Annapolis when the legislature was in session, went to neighborhood community meetings as well as meetings of specific interest groups such as the one which Nate Payer is vice president of. I am also currently a member of the Citizens Advisory Council to the Baltimore Regional Transportation Board.

If I knew nothing about the red line I would have problems deciding whether Nate Payer or James Kendrick were telling the truth.

Yes, there are some people who oppose any form of mass transit because it might affect them personally, the NIMBY type personality. However, most people who are opposed are rational and have studied the issues for many years.

I can’t honestly assess yet whether the red line is a boondoggle. However, as it stands at this moment in time I think it will be a disaster.

For example, when Boston and Edmondson contained rail cars on the surface, Baltimore was a very, very different place. Edmondson contained fraction of the traffic it does now, before the existence of the two-(or multi)-car working and middle class family. Boston was fully industrial. Sure, the streets CAN carry rail – so can the middle of nearly every street downtown. There used to be trolleys there too.

Comparing valid concerns with the “Death Trap” tunnel, a potentially hazardous situation, to the scare tactics used to distract from key issues in health care is baloney. This tunnel is aptly named because in the event of a signaling malfunction, there might not be driver opportunity to prevent a collision, as occurs in surface operation where the driver has line of sight. Yes, there are light rail systems all over the world with single track SURFACE operation and operator line of sight, and yes there are single track rail tunnels all over the world too. However, nowhere else is there a system with BLIND dips and curves like this with trains alternating directions less than 4 minutes apart at 50+ miles per hour. And that timing assumes perfect reliability, which nobody claims the system will have.

If you can find such a system, stop hand waving and PLEASE post the information so we can analyze it. You won’t, because it doesn’t exist. Stop citing inter-city tunnels in Europe that see service only a few times per hour. Cite a system where the tunnel is occupied 20% of the day.

1) Fact for “Myth: The light rail killed Howard Street and will do the same to Boston Street. Property values will decline dramatically.”
-First, stating that Howard Street was “already dead” is not a valid argument for the affect 4C will have on Boston Street as Boston Street is located in a thriving and growing community. Not only will an above ground line slow traffic and eliminate parking, it will also be a safety hazard for both drivers and pedestrians. Secondly, the proximity of the above ground track in relation to the water front property along Boston street will by all means have a negative affect on property value. I’m not sure what real estate books you have been referring to, but mass transit rail systems do not add value to your house when placed within a 100 feet of your front door.

2) Fact for “Myth: Boston Street and Edmondson Avenue weren’t designed to carry rail cars.”
-True, they were designed to carry rail cars, but Baltimore City also spent MILLIONS of dollars removing the tracks, creating extra traffic lanes, extra parking and making beautiful tree lined median strips. It would be a waste of tax payer money to undo all of that.

Again, I would like to state that I am a Canton resident that supports the extension of Baltimore’s mass transit system, but do it the right way, UNDERGROUND. Wait until we have the assests and funds to do it in a way that the community, as a whole, can agree upon.