Well here I am in the County again, the more I focus on issues surrounding the County I realize how a successful County is crucial to a successful City. This go around I'm focusing on Liberty Road East (inside the Beltway but outside the City),which includes the communities of Lochearn, Milford Mill, and Sudbrook. Most of my focus when it comes to the County is mass transit and Liberty Road East is no different.
Even if and when Baltimore has a viable Rail Transit system not every suburban drag will be located directly on Transit Line but Liberty Road has the distinction of eventually being located in between two; the Green Line to the north and the Red Line to the south hopefully by the year 2020. In the suburbs of DC, due to their well functioning Rail Transit system, there has been an upswing in Transit Oriented Development (TOD) in the past 10-15 years. Obviously TOD has to be within a short of one or Rail Transit Stops in order to qualify as such so Liberty Road doesn't quite meet the qualifications, or does it?
Who says TOD has to be built strictly around Rail Transit? Perhaps a Bus Line can attract development and redevelopment to an area that although not a short walk to a Rail Stop but a short bus ride to one?
DC employs a line of buses known as "Metro Bus" (think Charm City Circulator that only goes between Rail Stops)which serves riders who don't live as hop skip and a jump away from a Rail Stop. As Baltimore expands the number of Rail Stations available throughout the City and the County, a similar venture should come to fruition to increase Rail ridership and decrease dependence on cars.
Given Liberty Road's prominent location between the Green Line and soon to be Red Line in the County I think a Metro Bus like line should operate with stops throughout Liberty Road East to increase ridership in its nearby communities. A bus route can include the Milford Mill and the Old Court Stations on the Green Line, and the Social Security and the Medicare/Medicaid Stations on the Red Line allowing Residents of the Liberty Road East Communities a convenient alternative to driving to a Rail Stop or worse driving their car all the way to their destination in the City.
Now what does a Metro Bus like system have to do with TOD? Like I said TOD only really has relevance within a short distance of the RAIL stops themselves, but why does that have to be the case? Why not have TOD oriented around a BUS Stop that then transports you to a Rail Stopfor your commute Downtown? What I'm proposing for Liberty Road East and eventually all of Baltimore (both City and County) is a class system of TOD to classify what type of transit the development is oriented around.
Class A TOD is built around at least one Rail Stop examples of this include the new Westport Development, Charles Center, and Station North. All these areas now have one Rail Line servicing them but if the Yellow Line ever becomes a Reality all these stops will have access to it. Class B TOD is what I'm proposing for Liberty Road East, though close to a Rail Stop, it's not an easy walk so dedicated buses like DC's Metro Bus will serve it. Finally Class C TOD (of which there aren't any known examples of) would be built around a Bus Stop that doesn't directly service a Rail Stop.
Now why put TOD along Liberty Road East other than what I've already proposed? Well I see a lot of promise in the area just like Liberty Heights Avenue just across the City Line. The Neighborhoods surrounding Liberty Road are stable modest single family homes withnicely manicured lawns and handsomely renovated interiors. Liberty Road itself is filled with hodge podge Retail, and rundown Apartment complexes, neither of which paint a true picture of the Community at large. If TOD albeit Class B TOD but TOD none the less were built where such blight now stands, a broader mix of residents and incomes will come to the area and with that, better amenities such as modernized Schools and Community Centers. I think a new class of TOD has just been born and if successful, can be a model throughout Baltimore.
