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STATE OF MARYLAND
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
MARYLAND TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION
BaltimoreLink Public Hearing
Randallstown Public Library
8604 Liberty Road
Randallstown, Maryland 21133
January 11, 2017
MICHAEL HELTER, Hearing Officer
ELENI FLANNERY, Hearing Secretary
Proceedings recorded by electronic sound recording; transcript produced by Free State Reporting, Inc.
FREE STATE REPORTING, INC.
Court Reporting Transcription
D.C. Area 301-261-1902
21
I N D E X
Page
Opening remarks by Michael Helter 3
Rules and procedures by Eleni Flannery 4
Speakers:
Virginia Jones 7
Denise Fowler-Moott 9
Leigh Moore 10
Sharon Baylis 12
Shirley Supik 12
James Myers 13
Elliott Lehem 15
Logan Mitchell, Sr. 16
P R O C E E D I N G S
MR. HELTER: Let the record show it is now
6:00 p.m. on the 11th of January, 2017. I call to order this public meeting conducted by the Maryland Transit Administration, as required by Title 7 of the Maryland Transportation Article. The Maryland Transit Administration, also known as MTA, is a transportation business unit of the Maryland Department of Transportation.
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I am
Mike Helter, the MTA's manager of project development, serving as the hearing officer this evening. The hearing secretary today is Eleni Flannery.
I welcome you to this public hearing, and I thank you for taking the time to attend. If you have not already done so, please silence your cell phones now.
The purpose of this hearing is to accept testimony pertaining to the Maryland Department of Transportation's Maryland Transit Administration's proposed service changes for the next phase of implementation of the BaltimoreLink transit network design. The proposed changes would be effective on or about Sunday, June 18, 2017. Full details of the proposed changes are presented in a two-volume document available at the registration table.
The role of the hearing officer and the secretary is strictly to take testimony. We are unable to answer questions while this hearing is in progress. Please address any questions you may have to the MTA representatives just outside this room.
The Maryland Transit Administration is committed to ensuring no individual is excluded from participation in or denied the benefits of its transit services and programs on the basis of race, color, or national origin as protected by Title 6 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Ms. Flannery will now state the rules and procedures for this hearing.
MS. FLANNERY: Good evening. The, the procedures for this hearing are as follows:
1. Individuals desiring to testify should register in the lobby area.
2. Speakers are required to provide their name and address. If representing a group, its name and address should also be provided.
3. For this hearing, all statements should be directed to the hearing officer, and must be related to the subject matter of the hearing as outlined in the proposal.
4. Questions should be addressed to the MTA representatives outside of this room. The hearing officer cannot respond to questions while the hearing is in progress.
5. Speakers are required to limit their statements to three minutes.
6. These proceedings are recorded by a court stenographer.
7. Prepared statements or literature pertaining to the subject of the proposal may be submitted to the hearing officer or to the MTA Office of Customer and Community Relations.
For those who prefer to submit comments in writing rather than verbally, comment forms are available at the registration table. MTA staff is available to offer assistance. Comment forms can also be downloaded by visiting www.baltimorelink.com. Written statements may be submitted for the hearing record by submitting to MTA staff at the registration table, mailing to the address listed on the comment form, or emailing comments to with, written testimony, as the subject heading. All testimony received by the February 21, 2017 deadline will be considered before the proposals are finalized. Sorry.
MR. HELTER: Notices regarding this hearing, were published in 2016 are as follows: December 5 and 12, in the Baltimore Sun; December 27, The Jeffersonian; December 28, the Towson Times; December 29, The Dundalk Eagle and East County Times; December 30, the Sun's Weekend and El Tiempo Latino.
Notices published in 2017 include January 4 in the City Paper; January 6, the Afro-American, the Sun's Weekend, The Baltimore Times, and the Jewish Times; January 9, in the Baltimore Sun; and January 11, the Catonsville Times and the Arbutus Times.
At this time, I would like to welcome any elected officials to come up and provide comment. Do we have any elected officials with us this evening? No? Okay.
I'll continue on to the -- oh, sorry. Okay. I'll proceed on to the sign-in list for those that registered to provide testimony. When I call your name, please step to the microphone, state and spell your name, and provide your address for the record. I'd like to start with Virginia Jones.
MS. JONES: Hello. My name is Virginia Jones, V-I-R-G-I-N-I-A, Jones, J-O-N-E-S. I live at 3927 Tiverton Road, Randallstown. I'm the president of the Woodlands of Deer Park Community Association. I represent over 500 homes up in that area, and we are right there where they're talking about the bus line extending out to do a turnaround.
The people in our community, we're not so much against having the bus come out Liberty Road. Our biggest problem, we don't want the bus to come off of Liberty Road for the turnaround to come down either Tiverton, Marriottsville Road, or Deer Park, although I don't represent Deer Park. I represent Tiverton, and Marriottsville, and Winands Roads.
I took a picture. I went up there to Liberty Road where the Deer, the Deer -- the Kings Point Shopping Center is located, so where the bus was turning around. And I'm told, as of now, they haven't made a final decision. I did take pictures of a place that's up there where it used to be an old gas station that's big enough to build a lot or a driveway for the bus to turn around and still stay on Liberty Road.
Back again, the biggest problem we have is the bus taking off of Liberty Road, and going on a side street. We just don't want that big bus coming down. Another problem was, is it necessary to have the bus run until 2:00 a.m. in the morning, and then start again
4 o'clock in the morning? Personally, I don't catch the bus, so I don't know why, you know, anything would need to be out there at 2:00 a.m. We have no businesses up there. There's no food market up there for anybody to be coming up there at 2 o'clock in the morning to catch the bus up there.
I don't know whether I should give this to you.
MR. HELTER: Thank you.
MS. JONES: But I do thank you for your time, and, like I said, I do represent the people up there. I live there. I'm retired. And we know, over the years, it has passed where, before, we didn't want the bus at all, and we've been fighting this for like 20 years. So, we finally decided, you know, people do need a place to catch the bus, but not coming off of Liberty Road. So, please take that into consideration, and I appreciate your listening to me. Thank you.
MR. HELTER: Thank you.
Okay, I'd like to call Denise Fowler-Moott.
MS. FOWLER-MOOT: Good evening. I am
Denise Fowler-Moot, 4114 Hanwell Road, Randallstown, Maryland. I am just a resident of the Randallstown community, and I just want to piggy-back on what
Ms. Virginia has said, that it's not necessarily that we don't want the bus route, but it's the way the busses will be turning around; and I'm really concerned about the times, 2:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m., and that's, that's just a big concern that I have. Thank you.
MS. FLANNERY: One second.
MS. FOWLER-MOOT: Yes?
MS. FLANNERY: Would you mind spelling your last name?
MS. FOWLER-MOOT: Yes. It's hyphenated. It's F as in Frank, -O-W-L-E-R - M as in Mary, double-O, double-T as in Tom.
MS. FLANNERY: Thank you very much.
MR. HELTER: Thank you.
That's it. Okay. Okay.
Is there anybody else here that would like to provide testimony before we take a short recess?
That's fine. So, go ahead and sign in at the front table, and we'll give you a chance to get on the record. Um-hum.
MS. MOORE: Good evening.
MR. HELTER: Good evening.
MS. MOORE: My name is Leigh Moore. That's
L-E-I-G-H, M-O-O-R-E. The address is 27 Millstone Road, Randallstown. I live in the Hernwood Heights community, which is the end target for the route 81 bus, and it has been stated previously there has been concern over the last 25 years about bringing the bus out that far, because it is and has been historically a community that is supported by folks who use their cars.
Having said that, we understand that there are people who do need bus transportation. However, the time frames that are listed in the proposal as stated are really a big longer than we think are needed, so that they should be shortened. Specifically, if we're talking about students or workers who need the bus transportation during the morning hours, perhaps they should be looking at -- perhaps the MTA should be looking at a schedule that begins at 5:00 or 5:30 a.m. through perhaps noon, and then starting again in the afternoon, perhaps
2 o'clock p.m. through 8:00 or 9:00 p.m.
As I rifled through the booklet, I saw that in certain other areas, or certain other routes, those types of hours are being used, so that there are core hours, rush hours, if you will, where the time frames are there for the busses; and then, at certain other times, there is no bus traffic, or perhaps it's lessened bus traffic. But hopefully, you would look at that. And as has been stated before, the chances of a need for bus transportation at 4:00 a.m. in the morning through to 2:00 a.m. in the morning the next day is probably not necessary out there. Thank you very much.
MR. HELTER: Thank you. Okay. I would like to call Sharon Baylis.
MS. BAYLIS: My name is Sharon Baylis,
S-H-A-R-O-N, Baylis, B-A-Y-L-I-S, and I, too, am a resident of the Deer Park, Woodlands of Deer Park, and my concern is basically the time. I can't see any reason that the time should be extended to 2:00 a.m. in the morning, and probably 5:00 -- like the young lady that spoke just before me, 5:00 to 5:30 in the morning as the start time, because I know, sometimes, maybe people have to maybe go into the city to work, so it takes a little time to do that. But to 2:00 a.m. is not acceptable. Thank you for your time.
MR. HELTER: Thank you.
Okay. I would like to call Shirley Supik.
MS. SUPIK: Good evening. My name is
Shirley Supik, S-U-P-I-K. I live at 3525 North Rolling Road. I am the president of the Liberty Road Community Council, and this new route has been -- it is long overdue. It's been needed for a long time. There are elderly people that have a hard time getting around because there is no bus route out that way. People get off the bus, they lug groceries, and children, and God only knows what else to get out long distances, and it has -- I've had hundreds of people come to me and beg that this route be extended.
I will incur, as well, that I think it is something that is well spoken when they ask that the time not go very, very late. I would say, if you're going to have a cutoff time, it should definitely be at midnight or earlier, so -- but I want to thank you very much.
MR. HELTER: Thank you.
I'd like to call James Myers.
MR. MYERS: Good evening. I'm looking through the book, and I just have several things I would like to say. First of all, I'm not sure where to link, but I have to catch four busses in the morning. One is from -- to start with, about 54, to the Metro, to downtown, to the 40, out to Middle River, possibly catch the 24. And it's like, it's -- for one thing, if they could get the busses on time. A lot of times -- the bus starts running at 4:30. I have to catch the bus at 4:30 in the morning, 54, right in town, and a lot of times, it's late or it doesn't show up. And I just hopefully that the route that they propose will get me out to Middle River quicker. Because even when I get out to Middle River, I have to catch the 24, and that only runs once an hour. If we could get something that could run a little, little bit, you know, quicker, you know, more efficient, out to Middle River, Eastern Avenue, that would be better, you know, for -- it'd make the route. Because I go through downtown, come out, and then go out to Middle River, too. So, what I'm proposing, I haven't seen it. I haven't been able to look through everything. But a quicker, more expedient route.
And then, 40 is good. When I transfer to the 40 downtown to go out to Middle River, that's, that's the quick bus. That's pretty good. Well, then, I have to wait on the 24; or, if you miss the 24 or the 55 -- I don't have to get to 55. A lot of people do, if you have to transfer into it. The 24 only comes once an hour, so you're kind of defeating the purpose. You're riding one bus, then you get to another bus. If you miss it, you have to wait until about an hour, and that's for a bus to get to work. Thank you.
MR. HELTER: Thank you.
Did we have anybody else who wanted to provide a statement before we take a recess?
Go ahead and state your name, and spell it, please.
MR. LEHEM: Elliot Lehem, E-L-L-I-O-T-T,
L-E-H-E-M. What I'm going to say is not a proposal for a bus route, but to improve the bus service overall. And I'm suggesting that at certain bus stops along the routes, there be a dedicated phone line to MTA so someone waiting for a bus can pick up the receiver and get connected with someone to let them know approximately how long they might have to wait for a bus to come. Thank you.