Transportation

If all goes according to plan, the Maryland Transit Administration’s long-debated Red Line, connecting southeastern Baltimore City with the west side of Baltimore County, will be up and running by 2021. A look at the early stages of the Red Line plans with Henry Kay, executive director of the Maryland Transit Administration’s Transit Development and Delivery office; Osborne Anthony, the Red Line’s chief architect; and Baltimore architect Klaus Philipsen.

A conversation with architect Klaus Philipsen about urban spaces and the need to move people around them and to them -- the challenges of retrofitting old cities like Baltimore for modern transportation systems while accommodating pedestrians and bikers.

The House of Delegates has passed a bill that would create a new tax on gasoline, on top of the existing tax, to fund roads and mass transit.  Now the debate continues in the Senate. WYPR statehouse reporter Karen Hosler tells us more.

Then, Captain Larry Simns was the voice of Maryland’s commercial watermen for forty years until his death earlier this month. We talk with Bob Rich, who helped Larry Simns write a book about his life.

And, a play about life’s takeoffs and landings. Theater critic J. Wynn Rousuck reviews "Mud Blue Sky" at Center Stage.

March 25, 2013

Bicyclists, and motorists, have a stake in how Maryland is updating its Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan.  We’ll talk to the Maryland Department of Transportation’s project manager, and to the Executive Director of Bikemore, a Baltimore advocacy group.

Then, copy editor John McIntyre’s new book is called "The Old Editor Says: Maxims for Writing and Editing." Today, The Baltimore Sun veteran explains some maxims. Like this one: "If you are not possessed of a perpetually filthy mind, you are ill-equipped to edit."

March 20, 2013

Maryland is recognized as one of the best states for bicycling, but state transportation officials and bicycle advocates agree there could be room for improvement. One of the ways the Maryland Department of Transportation is improving bicycling in the state is by updating The Maryland Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan. The plan hasn’t been updated since 2002.

February 18, 2013

Today, on The Lines Between Us, how transportation can help—or hinder—a move into the middle class. Where do public transit and job opportunities intersect? Then, Tom Hall talks to two representatives from organizations helping individuals build their wealth and assets, despite their limited income.

There are over 12,000 square miles in Maryland, and chances are you don’t traverse them solely on foot.  Whether your chosen mode of transit is bus, train, automobile, or scooter, chances are you’ve been affected by the policies of the Department of Transportation.