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Alternative 1

Bus Rapid Transit from Bayview to Ellicott City via Johns Hopkins Hospital and CMS/SSA

DESCRIPTION

Alternative 1 is a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line between the Johns Hopkins Bayview campus and Ellicott City via Johns Hopkins Hospital and CMS. This alignment travels through Southeast Baltimore, Downtown Baltimore, West Baltimore, Woodlawn, Catonsville, and Ellicott City. This alternative travels entirely on surface streets, including Eastern Avenue and Fleet Street through Canton and Fells Point. It is the longest alternative being evaluated.

THEMEMEASURE OF EFFECTIVENESSVALUESCOMPARISON
Reliability Percent of dedicated or separated guideway 84% GOOD
Fixed or Flexible Guideway  FLEXIBLE FLEXIBLE
System Travel Savings Average travel time savings for transit riders living in the corridor 2 minutes GOOD
Travel Time Transit travel time between West Baltimore and Hopkins Bayview1 54 minutes GOOD
Ridership Projected daily boardings in 2045 per mile 1,100 GOOD
Connections Connections to rail stations, frequent bus routes and locally operated transit systems 24 BEST
Access To households within 1/2 mile of a station, per mile 2,600 BETTER
To students within 1/2 mile of a station, per mile 800 GOOD
To future jobs within 1/2 mile of a station, per mile 11,500 GOOD
Equity Transit-critical population / households within 1/2 mile of a station, per mile2 8,500 GOOD
Sustainability Trips shifted to transit 4,700 BEST
Cost Capital cost $1.1 Billion $
Implementation Implementation time 6-8 years SHORTEST
Tunneling Complexity  N/A N/A

1 Total trip time, including walking to and from station. Baseline is currently 66 minutes.

2 Sum of low-income, minority, limited English proficiency, and 65+ populations, people with disabilities, and zero-car households within 1/2 mile of a station, per mile. People/households may be counted more than once if they're part of multiple transit-critical groups.

Key Characteristics

Icon for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)
Icon for Transit Distance 22.7 miles
Icon for Number of Stations 39 stations
Icon for Only Option Only alternative that serves both CMS and Ellicott City
Icon for Longest Alternative Longest alternative with most stations
Icon for Transit Only Includes a transit street along Howard and Baltimore Streets in Downtown Baltimore

Areas Served

Does not Serve Essex
Serves Bayview
Serves Highlandtown
Serves Canton
Serves Fells Point / Harbor East
Does not Serve McElderry Park
Serves Hopkins Hospital
Does not Serve Old Town
Does not Serve Inner Harbor
Serves Charles Center
Serves Lexington Market
Does not Serve UM BioPark
Servea Harlem Park
Serves West Baltimore MARC
Serves Edmondson Village
Serves Woodlawn
Serves Ellicott City

Alternative 2

Bus Rapid Transit from Bayview to Ellicott City via Johns Hopkins Hospital and US 40

DESCRIPTION

Alternative 2 is a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line between the Johns Hopkins Bayview campus and Ellicott City via Johns Hopkins Hospital and US 40. This alignment travels through East Baltimore, Downtown Baltimore, West Baltimore, Catonsville, and Ellicott City. This alternative travels entirely on surface streets, including Eastern Avenue, Highland Avenue, and Orleans Street through East Baltimore.

THEMEMEASURE OF EFFECTIVENESSVALUESCOMPARISON
Reliability Percent of dedicated or separated guideway 95% BETTER
Fixed or Flexible Guideway  FLEXIBLE FLEXIBLE
System Travel Savings Average travel time savings for transit riders living in the corridor 2 minutes GOOD
Travel Time Transit travel time between West Baltimore and Hopkins Bayview1 52 minutes GOOD
Ridership Projected daily boardings in 2045 per mile 1,100 GOOD
Connections Connections to rail stations, frequent bus routes and locally operated transit systems 18 GOOD
Access To households within 1/2 mile of a station, per mile 3,100 BEST
To students within 1/2 mile of a station, per mile 1,200 BEST
To future jobs within 1/2 mile of a station, per mile 11,900 GOOD
Equity Transit-critical population / households within 1/2 mile of a station, per mile2 11,600 BEST
Sustainability Trips shifted to transit 4,800 BEST
Cost Capital cost $1 Billion $
Implementation Implementation time 6-8 years SHORTEST
Tunneling Complexity  N/A N/A

1 Total trip time, including walking to and from station. Baseline is currently 66 minutes.

2 Sum of low-income, minority, limited English proficiency, and 65+ populations, people with disabilities, and zero-car households within 1/2 mile of a station, per mile. People/households may be counted more than once if they're part of multiple transit-critical groups.

Key Characteristics

Icon for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)
Icon for Transit Distance 18.4 miles
Icon for Number of Stations 36 stations
Icon for Bayview Connector Connects Bayview to Howard County via a direct route along US 40
Icon for Hopkins Connector Provides a connection between Bayview and Johns Hopkins Hospital north of Patterson Park

Areas Served

Does not Serve Essex
Serves Bayview
Serves Highlandtown
Does not Serve Canton
Does not Serve Fells Point / Harbor East
Serves McElderry Park
Serves Hopkins Hospital
Serves Old Town
Does not Serve Inner Harbor
Does not Serve Charles Center
Does not Serve Lexington Market
Does not Serve UM BioPark
Serves Harlem Park
Serves West Baltimore MARC
Serves Edmondson Village
Does not Serve Woodlawn
Serves Ellicott City

Alternative 3

Heavy Rail Transit (Metro) from Bayview to Edmondson Village, Bus Rapid Transit from Edmondson Village to Ellicott City

DESCRIPTION

Alternative 3 is a combination of a Heavy Rail Transit (HRT) line, known as Metro Subway in Baltimore, between the Johns Hopkins Bayview campus and Edmondson Village via Johns Hopkins Hospital, and a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line between Edmondson Village and Ellicott City. This alignment travels through East Baltimore, Downtown Baltimore, West Baltimore, Catonsville, and Ellicott City. The HRT section of the alternative travels in exclusive right-of-way, mostly in tunnels or on elevated structures, making use of the existing Metro Subway tunnel and stations between Johns Hopkins Hospital and Lexington Market. The BRT section of the alternative travels entirely on surface streets.

THEMEMEASURE OF EFFECTIVENESSVALUESCOMPARISON
Reliability Percent of dedicated or separated guideway 95% BETTER
Fixed or Flexible Guideway  FLEXIBLE/ FIXED FLEXIBLE/ FIXED
System Travel Savings Average travel time savings for transit riders living in the corridor 2 minutes GOOD
Travel Time Transit travel time between West Baltimore and Hopkins Bayview1 39 minutes BEST
Ridership Projected daily boardings in 2045 per mile 1,400 BETTER
Connections Connections to rail stations, frequent bus routes and locally operated transit systems 21 BETTER
Access To households within 1/2 mile of a station, per mile 2,300 GOOD
To students within 1/2 mile of a station, per mile 1,000 BETTER
To future jobs within 1/2 mile of a station, per mile 12,000 GOOD
Equity Transit-critical population / households within 1/2 mile of a station, per mile2 9,300 GOOD
Sustainability Trips shifted to transit 2,800 GOOD
Cost Capital cost $4.2 Billion $$$$
Implementation Implementation time 10-12 years LONGEST
Tunneling Complexity  HIGH HIGH

1 Total trip time, including walking to and from station. Baseline is currently 66 minutes.

2 Sum of low-income, minority, limited English proficiency, and 65+ populations, people with disabilities, and zero-car households within 1/2 mile of a station, per mile. People/households may be counted more than once if they're part of multiple transit-critical groups.

Key Characteristics

Icon for Heavy Rail Transit (HRT) Heavy Rail Transit (HRT)
Icon for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Bus Rapid Transit (LRT)
Icon for Transit Distance 19.1 miles
Icon for Number of Stations 25 stations
Icon for Only Alternative Only alternative to serve neighborhoods northeast of Hopkins Hospital
Icon for Heavy Rail Transit Only alternative that includes Heavy Rail Transit (HRT) in the densest parts of the study area
Icon for Metro integration Utilizes existing Metro Subway infrastructure between Johns Hopkins Hospital and Lexington Market

Areas Served

Does not Serve Essex
Serves Bayview
Does not Serve Highlandtown
Does not Serve Canton
Does not Serve Fells Point / Harbor East
Does not Serve McElderry Park
Serves Hopkins Hospital
Does not Serve Old Town
Does not Serve Inner Harbor
Serves Charles Center
Serves Lexington Market
Does not Serve UM BioPark
Serves Harlem Park
Serves West Baltimore MARC
Serves Edmondson Village
Does not Serve Woodlawn
Serves Ellicott City

Alternative 4

Light Rail Transit from Essex to CMS/SSA via Bayview and Johns Hopkins Hospital

DESCRIPTION

Alternative 4 is a Light Rail Transit (LRT) line between Essex and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) campus via the Johns Hopkins Bayview campus and Johns Hopkins Hospital. This alignment travels through Eastpoint, East Baltimore, Downtown Baltimore, West Baltimore, and Woodlawn. This alternative travels mostly on surface streets, with a short tunnel under Highlandtown in East Baltimore and a short tunnel under Cooks Lane in West Baltimore.

THEMEMEASURE OF EFFECTIVENESSVALUESCOMPARISON
Reliability Percent of dedicated or separated guideway 92% BETTER
Fixed or Flexible Guideway  FIXED FIXED
System Travel Savings Average travel time savings for transit riders living in the corridor 4 minutes BEST
Travel Time Transit travel time between West Baltimore and Hopkins Bayview1 47 minutes BETTER
Ridership Projected daily boardings in 2045 per mile 1,400 BETTER
Connections Connections to rail stations, frequent bus routes and locally operated transit systems 21 BETTER
Access To households within 1/2 mile of a station, per mile 2,700 BETTER
To students within 1/2 mile of a station, per mile 1,000 BETTER
To future jobs within 1/2 mile of a station per mile 14,700 BETTER
Equity Transit-critical population / households within 1/2 mile of a station per mile2 10,900 BETTER
Sustainability Trips shifted to transit 1,700 GOOD
Cost Capital cost $3.1 Billion $$$
Implementation Implementation time 8-10 years MIDDLE
Tunneling Complexity  MEDIUM MEDIUM

1 Total trip time, including walking to and from station. Baseline is currently 66 minutes.

2 Sum of low-income, minority, limited English proficiency, and 65+ populations, people with disabilities, and zero-car households within 1/2 mile of a station, per mile. People/households may be counted more than once if they're part of multiple transit-critical groups.

Key Characteristics

Icon for Light Rail Transit (LRT) Light Rail Transit (LRT)
Icon for Transit Distance 16.4 miles
Icon for Number of Stations 28 stations
Icon for Similar Alternative Similar alignment to Alternative 5 (BRT)
Icon for north of patterson park Only LRT alternative that travels north of Patterson Park
Icon for only alternative Includes a connection between Essex and Bayview
Icon for Transit Only Includes a transit-only street along Baltimore Street in Downtown Baltimore

Areas Served

Serves Essex
Serves Bayview
Serves Highlandtown
Does not Serve Canton
Does not Serve Fells Point / Harbor East
Serves McElderry Park
Serves Hopkins Hospital
Does not Serve Old Town
Does not Serve Inner Harbor
Serves Charles Center
Does not Serve Lexington Market
Serves UM BioPark
Serves Harlem Park
Serves West Baltimore MARC
Serves Edmondson Village
Serves Woodlawn
Does not Serve Ellicott City

Alternative 5

Bus Rapid Transit from Essex to CMS/SSA via Bayview and Johns Hopkins Hospital

DESCRIPTION

Alternative 5 is a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line between Essex and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) campus via the Johns Hopkins Bayview campus and Johns Hopkins Hospital. This alignment travels through Eastpoint, East Baltimore, Downtown Baltimore, West Baltimore, and Woodlawn. This alternative travels exclusively on surface streets.

THEMEMEASURE OF EFFECTIVENESSVALUESCOMPARISON
Reliability Percent of dedicated or separated guideway 94% BETTER
Fixed or Flexible Guideway  FLEXIBLE FLEXIBLE
System Travel Savings Average travel time savings for transit riders living in the corridor 2 minutes BETTER
Travel Time Transit travel time between West Baltimore and Hopkins Bayview1 51 minutes GOOD
Ridership Projected daily boardings in 2045 per mile 1,400 BETTER
Connections Connections to rail stations, frequent bus routes and locally operated transit systems 21 BETTER
Access To households within 1/2 mile of station, per mile 2,700 BETTER
To students within 1/2 mile of a station, per mile 1,000 BETTER
To future jobs within 1/2 mile of a station per mile 14,000 BETTER
Equity Transit-critical population / households within 1/2 mile of a station per mile2 10,700 BETTER
Sustainability Trips shifted to transit 3,100 BETTER
Cost Capital cost $0.9 Billion $
Implementation Implementation time 6-8 years SHORTEST
Tunneling Complexity  N/A N/A

1 Total trip time, including walking to and from station. Baseline is currently 66 minutes.

2 Sum of low-income, minority, limited English proficiency, and 65+ populations, people with disabilities, and zero-car households within 1/2 mile of a station, per mile. People/households may be counted more than once if they're part of multiple transit-critical groups.

Key Characteristics

Icon for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)
Icon for Transit Distance 17.1 miles
Icon for Number of Stations 33 stations
Icon for Similar Alternative Similar alignment to Alternative 4 (LRT)
Icon for North of Patterson Park BRT alternative that travels north of Patterson Park
Icon for Only alternative Includes a connection between Essex and Bayview
Icon for transit-only Includes a transit-only street along Baltimore Street in Downtown Baltimore and West Baltimore

Areas Served

Serves Essex
Serves Bayview
Serves Highlandtown
Does not Serve Canton
Does not Serve Fells Point / Harbor East
Serves McElderry Park
Serves Hopkins Hospital
Does not Serve Old Town
Does not Serve Inner Harbor
Serves Charles Center
Does not Serve Lexington Market
Serves UM BioPark
Does not Serve Harlem Park
Serves West Baltimore MARC
Serves Edmondson Village
Serves Woodlawn
Does not Serve Ellicott City

Alternative 6

Light Rail Transit from Bayview to CMS/SSA via the Waterfront

DESCRIPTION

Alternative 6 is a Light Rail Transit (LRT) line between the Johns Hopkins Bayview campus and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) campus via the waterfront. This alignment travels through the Southeast Baltimore waterfront, Harbor East, the Inner Harbor, West Baltimore, and Woodlawn. It travels mostly on surface roads, with a long tunnel through downtown Baltimore and a short tunnel in far West Baltimore.

THEMEMEASURE OF EFFECTIVENESSVALUESCOMPARISON
Reliability Percent of dedicated or separated guideway 100% BEST
Fixed or Flexible Guideway  FIXED FIXED
System Travel Savings Average travel time savings for transit riders living in the corridor 3 minutes BEST
Travel Time Transit travel time between West Baltimore and Hopkins Bayview1 44 minutes BEST
Ridership Projected daily boardings in 2045 per mile 1,900 BEST
Connections Connections to rail stations, frequent bus routes and locally operated transit systems 22 BETTER
Access To households within 1/2 mile of a station, per mile 3,000 BEST
To students within 1/2 mile of a station, per mile 900 GOOD
To future jobs within 1/2 mile of a station per mile 15,500 BEST
Equity Transit-critical population / households within 1/2 mile of a station per mile2 9,800 GOOD
Sustainability Trips shifted to transit 3,000 BETTER
Cost Capital cost $3.8 Billion $$$
Implementation Implementation time 7-9 years MIDDLE
Tunneling Complexity  HIGH HIGH

1 Total trip time, including walking to and from station. Baseline is currently 66 minutes.

2 Sum of low-income, minority, limited English proficiency, and 65+ populations, people with disabilities, and zero-car households within 1/2 mile of a station, per mile. People/households may be counted more than once if they're part of multiple transit-critical groups.

Key Characteristics

Icon for Light Rail Light Rail Transit (LRT)
Icon for Transit Distance 14.1 miles
Icon for Number of Stations 19 stations
Icon for Similarities Similar alignment to Alternative 7 (BRT)

Areas Served

Does not Serve Essex
Serves Bayview
Serves Highlandtown
Serves Canton
Serves Fells Point / Harbor East
Does not Serve McElderry Park
Does not Serve Hopkins Hospital
Does not Serve Old Town
Serves Inner Harbor
Does not Serve Charles Center
Does not Serve Lexington Market
Serves UM BioPark
Serves Harlem Park
Serves West Baltimore MARC
Serves Edmondson Village
Serves Woodlawn
Does not Serve Ellicott City

Alternative 7

Bus Rapid Transit from Bayview to CMS/SSA via the Waterfront

DESCRIPTION

Alternative 7 is a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line between the Johns Hopkins Bayview campus and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) campus via the waterfront. This alignment travels through the Southeast Baltimore waterfront, Harbor East, the Inner Harbor, West Baltimore, and Woodlawn. This alternative is similar to Alternative 6, but travels exclusively on surface streets.

THEMEMEASURE OF EFFECTIVENESSVALUESCOMPARISON
Reliability Percent of dedicated or separated guideway 93% BETTER
Fixed or Flexible Guideway  FLEXIBLE FLEXIBLE
System Travel Savings Average travel time savings for transit riders living in the corridor 2 minutes GOOD
Travel Time Transit travel time between West Baltimore and Hopkins Bayview1 57 minutes GOOD
Ridership Projected daily boardings in 2045 per mile 1,500 BETTER
Connections Connections to rail stations, frequent bus routes and locally operated transit systems 22 BETTER
Access To households within 1/2 mile of a station, per mile 3,200 BEST
To students within 1/2 mile of a station, per mile 1,000 BETTER
To future jobs within 1/2 mile of a station per mile 15,700 BEST
Equity Transit-critical population / households within 1/2 mile of a station per mile2 10,700 BETTER
Sustainability Trips shifted to transit 3,000 BETTER
Cost Capital cost $0.8 Billion $
Implementation Implementation time 5-7 years SHORTEST
Tunneling Complexity  N/A N/A

1 Total trip time, including walking to and from station. Baseline is currently 66 minutes.

2 Sum of low-income, minority, limited English proficiency, and 65+ populations, people with disabilities, and zero-car households within 1/2 mile of a station, per mile. People/households may be counted more than once if they're part of multiple transit-critical groups.

Key Characteristics

Icon for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)
Icon for Transit Distance 14.2 miles
Icon for Number of Stations 31 stations
Icon for Similar Alternative Similar alignment to Alternative 6 (LRT)

Areas Served

Does not Serve Essex
Serves Bayview
Serves Highlandtown
Serves Canton
Serves Fells Point / Harbor East
Does not Serve McElderry Park
Does not Serve Hopkins Hospital
Does not Serve Old Town
Serves Inner Harbor
Does not Serve Charles Center
Does not Serve Lexington Market
Serves UM BioPark
Serves Harlem Park
Serves West Baltimore MARC
Serves Edmondson Village
Serves Woodlawn
Does not Serve Ellicott City

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Thanks for your interest in the RTP East-West Corridor Study!  The 60 day public comment period ended August 1st, and MDOT MTA and our regional partners are now using what has been shared to help determine which Alternatives (or combination of Alternatives) receive further study.  You are always welcome to share additional thoughts by emailing us, but they won’t be factored into this phase of study.