The Maryland Department of Transportation’s Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) will hold 14 public hearings in January to gather more comments from the community about the BaltimoreLink transit improvement plan as the MTA approaches the June 2017 launch of CityLink and LocalLink.
The first public hearing will be held on Wednesday, January 4, 2017, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Baltimore County Public Library North Point Branch located at 1716 Merritt Boulevard in Dundalk. MTA customers can take MTA’s Local Bus Number 4 to the meeting.
All 14 of the public hearings will be held at sites that are conveniently accessible via MTA transit options.
When Governor Larry Hogan first announced BaltimoreLink in October 2015, the MTA launched a robust outreach program to educate the public about the plan and get feedback. Outreach efforts have included public workshops, pop-up events and scheduled meetings with community associations, elected officials and other stakeholders.
Comments on BaltimoreLink also have been collected online via SurveyMonkey and the mySidewalk crowdsourcing websites. As a result, the MTA received a wealth of constructive and critical feedback that has led to enhancements in BaltimoreLink’s network design and service levels.
“Through our public outreach process, we have received more than 2,000 comments at 200 public meetings that have provided invaluable ideas on how to make this transformative plan even better for our customers,” said MTA Administrator and CEO Paul Comfort. “We encourage all of our customers to take part in the public hearing process so that they have an opportunity to present their views.”
To achieve MTA’s goal of providing safe, efficient and reliable transit across Maryland with world-class customer service, BaltimoreLink will:
* improve service quality and reliability;
* maximize access to high-frequency transit;
* strengthen connections between MTA’s bus and rail routes;
* align the network with existing and emerging job centers; and
* engage riders, employees, communities and elected officials in the planning process.
“Our goal is to link people to jobs and to life’s opportunities,” said MTA’s Director of Planning and Programming Kevin Quinn. “Public input has been a key component to delivering this transformative plan.”
The public is encouraged to visit any BaltimoreLink hearing during the times and locations listed below. Each hearing will enable attendees to examine their current travel route and see how it could change under the BaltimoreLink plan by viewing route information, information boards and discuss the transit plan with team members. MTA’s workshop information and displays will also be posted at baltimorelink.com.
Address |
Date and Time |
|
1. Baltimore County |
1716 Merritt Boulevard |
Wednesday, January 4 2017 |
2. Enoch Pratt Free Library |
3601 Eastern Avenue |
Thursday, January 5,2017 |
3. Baltimore County |
320 York Road |
Thursday, January 5, 2017 |
4. Baltimore County Public Library White Marsh Branch |
8133 Sandpiper Circle Baltimore MD 21236 |
Monday, January 9, 2017 |
5. State Center Complex |
201 W. Preston Street |
Monday, January 9, 2017 |
6. MedStar Harbor Hospital, |
3001 South Hanover Street |
Tuesday, January 10, 2017 |
7. Humanim-American |
1701 North Gay Street |
Tuesday, January 10, 2017 |
8. Baltimore County |
8604 Liberty Road |
Wednesday, January 11, 2017 |
9. Enoch Pratt Free Library Pennsylvania Avenue Branch |
2426 Pennsylvania Avenue |
Wednesday, January 11, 2017 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. |
10. Brooklyn Park Community Library |
1 E. 11th Avenue Baltimore MD 21225 |
Thursday, January 12, 2017 |
11. Central Church of Christ |
4301 Woodridge Road |
Thursday, January 12, 2017 |
12. Baltimore County Public |
1100 Frederick Road |
Tuesday, January 17, 2017 |
13. Enoch Pratt Free |
400 E 33rd Street |
Wednesday, January 18, 2017 |
14. Pimlico Race Course Sports Palace |
5201 Park Heights Ave |
Thursday, January 19, 2017 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. |
BaltimoreLink is the multi-phase plan to create an interconnected transit system by redesigning the entire local and express bus systems throughout Baltimore and adding 12 new high-frequency, color-coded bus routes that improve connections to jobs and to MARC Train, Metro Subway and Light Rail. BaltimoreLink transforms Baltimore’s half-a-century-old and outdated transit network with implementation of bus-only dedicated lanes, installation of transit signal priority, construction of a transfer hub network, rebranding and replacement of more than 6,000 transit signs, expanded commuter bus service, new shared bicycle availability, access to car-sharing options and more. New Express BusLink launched its suburb-to-suburb service in June 2016. As promised, expanded and new Commuter Bus service has seen launches in the summer and fall of 2016 with more coming this spring. High-frequency CityLink routes launch in the summer of 2017.