Baltimore Skyline

Apparently, Baltimore is the 2nd Angriest City in the US , who knew! Well, this is according to Men's Health Magazine, which isn't exactly filled with empirical data and peer-reviewed articles. Weren't we listed recently as one of the top least-friendly places, ugliest, dirtiest, and rudest over the past few years? Is there any truth behind these claims, or does the rest of the country just not like us all that much. IMO, I think the people that write these articles and make these surveys haven't spent enough time living in the areas they rank. They base their models off of national statistics, but don't understand the local culture because they haven't been immersed in it. Sure we have a lot of aggravated assaults, but that isn't indicative of the major of the population of Baltimore, so are we all really that angry? No. So next time you magazine writers want to rank Baltimore, how about you actually take some time to get to know us.  Then  you c...

Love it or wish it was better, the new MARC Penn Line schedule goes into effect on Monday morning. MTA Maryland, finally getting into the social network age has posted a video link on their Facebook page. http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1896043403490#!/video/video.php?v=1896043403490&oid=110997865589755&comments

At first glance, the Downtown Partnerships new Open Space Plan looks good. While the downtown district has many smaller parks, it lacks large open, green space that can be utilized by workers, residents, visitors, etc. While, I haven't had the chance to dive into everything, a few things already have come to mind. The plan for existing parks like Preston Gardens, Hopkins Place, and Liberty Place are excellent. They are underutilized, and could be much improved. The alterations and additions to Preston Gardens are extremely positive. The idea of turning the whole Arena site into a large park is misguided. I don't see the point, and I think it's waster real estate. The full plan gives four alternatives that turn some of the space into smaller parcels to develop, along with a park. This is the alternative I would select. I don't fully agree with turning over undeveloped land to park space. In the case of 1 Light St, it's tantamount to throwing in the towel. It'...

This is an oldie, but a goodie from Streetfilms  that showcases pedestrian controlled crosswalks in Seattle. These have foot activated pads on the street corner that turn the yellow warning lights in the street on. This is meant to give drivers a better warning to stop for pedestrians, especially at night. It's also deterrent against the "I swear I didn't see him/her, officer" defense. Shopping around for potential sites in Baltimore is easier. There are many pedestrian crossings in downtown that would benefit from this technology. One spot would be on Key Highway across from the Science Center at William Street. Another would be at N. Charles Street at Oliver Street next to Penn Station. Although plans are to put in a pedestrian activated red light, I think this option is better. If anyone else out there can think of other places, let us know! More importantly let the city know!

 "Passage Through Baltimore" Adalbert J. Volck, 1863  No, President Obama is not in Baltimore today, you can stop panicking about closed off streets and traffic tie-ups. The 16th President, Abraham Lincoln is in Baltimore today, or rather, someone who looks a lot like him. Fritz Klein, looks a lot like President Lincoln, and that's the point, he's been playing the role for decades. As a commemoration of the 150% anniversary of his inauguration, Klein (I mean Lincoln) with the help of the National Park Service is retracing the route the Lincoln took from Springfield, Illinois to Washington, DC. Historically, Lincoln took most of the journey by train visiting 16 cities along the way. Today, some of the train routes he took no longer exist, so most of the trip was done by car with the last leg, Baltimore to Washington to be done via Amtrak. Klein, like Lincoln, left Springfield on February 11th, and this morning he arrived in Baltimore at Camden Station to mu...

There's a new MARC schedule for the Penn Line in town, or at least there will be on March 14th. The changes that the MTA made are in an attempt to ease crowding and give riders more options on their commute. I haven't had the chance to dive into it yet, but I will be soon, and will report back. At first glance though, it doesn't seem that it's improved the ability to commute more easily into Baltimore, since the MARC train is still DC centric in its thinking. If anyone out there who reads this rides the MARC Penn Line, we'd like to hear what you think about this new schedule.

photo by me: Pleasant Street at N. Charles St. This was taken Monday at around 5:20pm when most people are on their way out of downtown to head home after the work day. The Charmulator NextBus shows the next arrival times of 20 mins and 71 mins! The poor schlubs who missed the first bus would have to wait nearly an hour for the next to arrive. How can this happen during rush hour, there should be more buses on the route, that's no excuse.