Rail~Volution DC 2011
I attended Rail~Volution DC and listened to stories of how persistence from the Ward 7 community effected improvements to the DC bus service and how challenging issues and mistakes, such as crime and underutilized station placement were experienced with the Denver Light Rail.
View the discussion on twitter: #rv11
Open communication within the community and collaboration between governmental organizations (land use, DOT, affordable housing) is key to making the Baltimore Red Line project a success.
Some benefits of the Baltimore Red Line will be:
- improving connectivity with the current bus, metro, light rail, and MARC commuter systems
- spurring new transit-oriented development which lowers costs of energy and water consumption
- promoting a healthy lifestyle by making Baltimore a more pedestrian- and bike-friendly city with improvements to street lighting, crosswalks, and air quality
- providing opportunities for more parks and greenspace.
This week, my challenge was to take public transit from southeast Baltimore to DC and experienced what happens to a lot of residents who depend on public transit to get to school or their jobs. The #11 bus which was scheduled to show up never came and I had to wait another 20 minutes before the next one showed up. The following day, it showed up 15 minutes late causing me to miss my connection to the MARC commuter line to DC.
Baltimore needs reliable, frequent, clean, and safe transportation to connect neighborhoods along the 14 mile east-west corridor with:
Baltimore needs reliable, frequent, clean, and safe transportation to connect neighborhoods along the 14 mile east-west corridor with:
- schools and universities
- job training and major employment centers
- health centers for the aging population
- restaurants and shopping
- orioles and ravens stadiums
- arts, culture, and entertainment venues
- access to grocery stores and fresh food markets (ex. how have superfresh in downtown and giant in waverly affected health of residents living 1/4 - 1/2 mile away)
Trends
- shifting household demographics:
- in the 1950-2000s, baby boomers made up 1/3 of the population
- today, gen x & y make up 50% of the population
- aging population want to live in mixed age environment
- 75% of households have no children
- the average american spends over 50% of income in housing and transportation costs
- average cost of owning a car: $8,000 per year
Economy
- the people who ARE employed are the ones who are living in affordable housing and depend on public transportation to get to work
- median income in dc is $50k+
Public Health
- encourage healthier eating habits with access to grocery stores and fresh food markets (instead of corner stores) (obesity and diabetes)
- promote exercise with walk / bike commute to light rail station rather than spending X minutes sitting in car during commute
- less cars = cleaner air to breathe (asthma)
Community Outreach
- ensuring that residents tell their story of why they love the community they live in
- listen to what the community wants. earn trust.
- converse w/ people waiting for the next bus / train
- debunking sterotypes / myths and crossing racial barriers
- build relationships with non-profits, community leaders, and local bloggers who are passionate about your campaign
Identify issues with Baltimore's current public transit system
- light rail system
- slower than a slow bus stuck in traffic between penn station and camden yards on baseball game days. Time is money. Time that could be spent with family or friends or doing the things that you love to do.
- cleanliness and safety
- #11 bus station at fleet and chester (fells point)
- guy with ponytail and piercings at bus stop (to mt vernon):
"see that short guy with the backpack? he used to take the bus, but started walking to work at port discovery. two other women started taking other bus lines which are more consistent. never used to be a problem until august."find out what changes were made?
- guy with ponytail and piercings at bus stop (to mt vernon):
more comments:
Highlight the Positive
- http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/traffic/2011/10/mta_post_strong_rider_gains_in.html
- baltimore free circulator
Highlight Other Stations
Speakers
[list twitter handles]
more notes later!
