Maryland

[iwishiwascanadian]

I think that they would be used more if they connected to the Beltway.  I know that the great recession caused the state to remove the ramps from 695 to the ETL and that the space will still exist to add them eventually but until then they'll mock all of the people stuck in traffic going north towards Harford County.

[jeffandnicole]

The biggest problem I see is the distance between the northern ETL terminus and the Beltway is less than 2 miles.  There is no benefit of the ETLs whatsoever between those two points, because they are bypassing nothing - there are no other exits for traffic to enter and exit between those two points.  The only thing that will be occurring is 6 lanes total will merge down to 4 lanes.  Going Northbound at the end of the split, if they try to maintain the 2 ETLs to the left and merge the 4 General Purpose lanes down into 2, the moment the divider ends motorists will jump across the solid gore lines into the faster lanes to the left, and that's only going to lead to all lanes congesting anyway.

[cpzilliacus]

TOLLROADSnews: Delaware Turnpike and Maryland's Kennedy Highway have 50th anniversary Thursday

[TheOneKEA]

It will be interesting to see if the eight miles of the I-95 Express Toll Lanes currently being built have any significant effect on the LOS of I-95 between the Baltimore City line and MD 43; I would expect them to have very little effect because, in my opinion, they are too short. In fact, after reading the I-95 Master Plan produced by the MdTA in 2003, I think the entire 18-mile ETL facility proposed by the MdTA is also too short, and would not be surprised if the segment of the JFK Highway from Exit 80 to Exit 85 is studied again when the MdTA can afford it.

For reference, the Section 200 plates are available here:

http://www.mdta.maryland.gov/I95section200/Documents/Appendix%20A_Plates.pdf

Other documents of interest are available at http://www.mdta.maryland.gov/I95section200/documents.html

The plates show the convergence of the quad carriage way 3-2-2-3 alignment into a 4-4 alignment in the northbound direction, about 3/4 of a mile southwest of Maryland House. If the MdTA does restudy this portion of I-95 I would expect there to be some interesting alternatives for maintaining access to Maryland Hpuse with the new ETL carriage ways present.

[cpzilliacus]

The plates show the convergence of the quad carriage way 3-2-2-3 alignment into a 4-4 alignment in the northbound direction, about 3/4 of a mile southwest of Maryland House. If the MdTA does restudy this portion of I-95 I would expect there to be some interesting alternatives for maintaining access to Maryland Hpuse with the new ETL carriage ways present.

I would love to see the access/egress from both sides of I-95 modified to use flyover ramps to eliminate the left-lane exit and entrance ramps.

[roadman65]

The plates show the convergence of the quad carriage way 3-2-2-3 alignment into a 4-4 alignment in the northbound direction, about 3/4 of a mile southwest of Maryland House. If the MdTA does restudy this portion of I-95 I would expect there to be some interesting alternatives for maintaining access to Maryland Hpuse with the new ETL carriage ways present.

I would love to see the access/egress from both sides of I-95 modified to use flyover ramps to eliminate the left-lane exit and entrance ramps.

The Garden State Parkway did that for the Cheesequake Service Area when the 3-2-2-3 (now 3-3-3-3) was first configured as it used to be typical left exit and entrances.  When the express lanes were added, to and from the south, right exits with underpasses were created.

[cpzilliacus]

WBOC-TV Channel 16: O.C. Officials: Route 90 Bridge Could Get Widening

OCEAN CITY, Md.- Who hasn't complained, at some point, about the traffic jams in and out of Ocean City in the summer. Town officials are pushing Worcester County and state officials to take a closer look at the Route 90 bridge.

"More and more traffic is coming to the North Ocean City area," said Dave Gregory, of Ocean City. "This [The North side] is where you know a lot of people live."

Gregory lives in Montego Bay, he dreads driving across this bridge. So he avoids Route 50 and takes the Route 90 bridge to get into Ocean City.

"Saturday morning, coming into Ocean City is not a good idea from there," said Gregory.

Town officials said during Superstorm Sandy most of the Route 50 Bridge was completed flooded, meaning they had to rely solely on the Route 90 Bridge; which is why Route 90 is at the top of their list.

[Alex4897]

WBOC-TV Channel 16: O.C. Officials: Route 90 Bridge Could Get Widening

It's about time they widened that.  That bridge, actually that entire highway from at least US 113 east to OC is a nightmare during the summer.

[cpzilliacus]

WBOC-TV Channel 16: O.C. Officials: Route 90 Bridge Could Get Widening

It's about time they widened that.  That bridge, actually that entire highway from at least US 113 east to OC is a nightmare during the summer.

Agreed.  And beyond the heavy volumes of traffic, it's pretty crash-prone, even though most of it now has a steel barrier between the eastbound and westbound lanes.

[cpzilliacus]

Baltimore Sun: Hatem bridge to be first in Maryland to get rid of cash tolls

After facing a toll hike and the retirement of the old decal system, some users of the Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge between Harford and Cecil counties might get another rude awakening: No more cash tolls and no more toll booths as those crossing the Susquehanna River via Route 40 have long known them.

The bridge's toll plaza will be the first to have its cash tolls eliminated by the Maryland Transportation Authority and replaced with electronic tolling sometime next year, MDTA announced.

Hatem Bridge was selected because more than 90 percent of the drivers who pass over it now use E-ZPass instead of cash, the highest percentage of any MDTA toll plazas, spokeswoman Rachel Freeberger explained.

"All Electronic Tolling (AET) is becoming more common across the country for both new toll facilities and for existing toll plazas. The MDTA has been studying the feasibility of AET at all of its toll plazas for some time now," Freeberger said.

"MDTA has been studying the feasibility of AET for its toll plazas and finalized the report this month. There are many factors that need to be considered in the feasibility of moving a traditional toll plaza to AET, including E-ZPass usage, staffing, costs, traffic analysis, education/outreach, maintenance and operational issues and toll enforcement agreements with other states," she wrote in an e-mail.

[cpzilliacus]

TOLLROADSnews: "Sleeve roller-upper"  Bruce Gartner made MdTA chief PERSONNEL

Bruce W Gartner is the new executive secretary of MdTA, the Maryland state toller. In  an announcement this morn ing MdTA chair and state secretary of transportation James T Smith says of Gartner who has been acting in the job since June:  "He never hesitates to toll up his sleeces, put in long hours and get the job done. Bruce has a keen sense of policy development, fiscal responsibility and the legislative process at both the state and federal levels."

Gartner, 48, comes out of a 24 year career at Maryland DOT where he has been director of its office of policy and governmental affairs for the past six years, and has also been assistant secretary of policy and freight, operating budget manager and a state legislative officer before that.

[cpzilliacus]

Baltimore Sun op-ed: Man racked up more than $13,000 in unpaid Maryland tolls, fees - A highway toll-runner has reason to be thankful as fees are wiped away

I spoke to him and looked into his problem – $720 in unpaid E-ZPass tolls and late charges, plus $13,000 in administrative fees over a two-year period.

The numbers are staggering. But I can't say I'm terribly sympathetic. As one who pays these tolls – along with just about 99 percent of all E-ZPass subscribers – I'm not about to take up for someone who doesn't.

He figured he'd pay the tolls and late fees later on, when he had more money.

But he apparently underestimated his liability. If you don't pay E-ZPass tolls, in time additional late charges and administrative fees are added. Gregory says his bill hit $13,000. The MdTA, he adds, went after his state income tax refunds and got about $4,600 of that total.

Here's the part most relevant to Eric Gregory: The new law gave anyone with unpaid tolls before July 1 an opportunity to pay their balances without having to pay the administrative fees.

I passed along Gregory's phone number to the MdTA. A member of the MdTA's E-ZPass operations team contacted him Monday morning.

Monday afternoon, Gregory called me, excited.

"What did you do?" he asked. "The MdTA called and said they are wiping away the $13,000 in fees."

As I just explained, I didn't do anything, the General Assembly did. The MdTA stopped imposing administrative fees, and now toll-running is handled with citations, fines and suspensions.

[mrsman]

Baltimore Sun op-ed: Man racked up more than $13,000 in unpaid Maryland tolls, fees - A highway toll-runner has reason to be thankful as fees are wiped away

I spoke to him and looked into his problem – $720 in unpaid E-ZPass tolls and late charges, plus $13,000 in administrative fees over a two-year period.

The numbers are staggering. But I can't say I'm terribly sympathetic. As one who pays these tolls – along with just about 99 percent of all E-ZPass subscribers – I'm not about to take up for someone who doesn't.

He figured he'd pay the tolls and late fees later on, when he had more money.

But he apparently underestimated his liability. If you don't pay E-ZPass tolls, in time additional late charges and administrative fees are added. Gregory says his bill hit $13,000. The MdTA, he adds, went after his state income tax refunds and got about $4,600 of that total.

Here's the part most relevant to Eric Gregory: The new law gave anyone with unpaid tolls before July 1 an opportunity to pay their balances without having to pay the administrative fees.

I passed along Gregory's phone number to the MdTA. A member of the MdTA's E-ZPass operations team contacted him Monday morning.

Monday afternoon, Gregory called me, excited.

"What did you do?" he asked. "The MdTA called and said they are wiping away the $13,000 in fees."

As I just explained, I didn't do anything, the General Assembly did. The MdTA stopped imposing administrative fees, and now toll-running is handled with citations, fines and suspensions.

What's really upsetting is that the fee schedule for fees and fines is higher than it would be if the man didn't pay an equivalent amount of taxes timely.  Everyone should pay their tolls and those who cheat should pay a penalty, but the amount must be reasonable. 

The IRS failure to pay penalty (but who filed timely):

If you do not pay your taxes by the due date, you will generally have to pay a failure-to-pay penalty of ½ of 1 percent of your unpaid taxes for each month or part of a month after the due date that the taxes are not paid. This penalty can be as much as 25 percent of your unpaid taxes.

So 2 years would add on a penalty of 12%

[Dr Frankenstein]

I agree. $13,000 in late fees for $720 over a two-year period is... usurious.

[cpzilliacus]

What's really upsetting is that the fee schedule for fees and fines is higher than it would be if the man didn't pay an equivalent amount of taxes timely.  Everyone should pay their tolls and those who cheat should pay a penalty, but the amount must be reasonable.

Strongly agreed.   

The IRS failure to pay penalty (but who filed timely):

If you do not pay your taxes by the due date, you will generally have to pay a failure-to-pay penalty of ½ of 1 percent of your unpaid taxes for each month or part of a month after the due date that the taxes are not paid. This penalty can be as much as 25 percent of your unpaid taxes.

So 2 years would add on a penalty of 12%

Excellent points. 

I think MdTA has gotten rid of the massive penalties permanently.  Much better for them to put a hold on registration renewals, which will get people to pay up.

[cpzilliacus]

Washington Post op-ed: Montgomery's bus rapid transit looks like a feel-good plan rather than a realistic blueprint

The original, bold, visionary plan to solve traffic gridlock in Montgomery County called for 160 miles of fancy, new bus lanes.

Under the actual plan adopted Tuesday, the so-called bus rapid transit network shrank to 98 miles.

The original plan envisioned double lanes running down medians of many major highways.

The actual plan provides for one lane, maybe, in key corridors inside the Beltway, such as Rockville Pike and Colesville Road – and only if the neighbors approve.

Did I mention there's no agreement on how to pay for this? That the project might absorb funds needed for the Metro system and Montgomery's Ride On buses? That it can succeed only if large numbers of residents are coaxed to switch from driving their own cars to riding county buses?

[jeffandnicole]

I agree. $13,000 in late fees for $720 over a two-year period is... usurious.

Not really.  You're not looking at the penalities as individual occurrences.

Look at it this way: I have a $1,000 credit card bill.  I forget to pay it ontime, and get charged a $35 fee. 

Now, I do this all year long.  Every month, I forget to pay it. I eventually pay it - just not by the due date.  Should my fee be $35 or $420?

That's what happened in this case: Guy didn't have EZ Pass.  Daily, he would go thru the EZ Pass lane.  He ignored the lane display sign and the notices.  And the "You don't have to pay after a certain time" never came up in conversation?  Should he be fined once - pay just a $50 admin charge for the ability to ignore the EZ Pass rules day after day?  Or should he pay on each occurrance?

I'm sure if he started getting these notices and made a phone call, realizing he was in error, EZ Pass would've helped him out - waived the fees, etc.  When you do this for 2 years and rack up a foot-tall pile of violation notices, he's lucky if he gets any break whatsoever.

BTW, if the IRS penalty is 1/2 of 1 percent each month, that's traditionally very low.  Most credit cards charge 1.5% each month for starters.

[cpzilliacus]

Baltimore Sun: Code Orange air quality alert issued, relatively rare outside summertime

[deathtopumpkins]

Forgive me if I'm missing something, but what does an air quality alert have to do with roads?

[hbelkins]

Forgive me if I'm missing something, but what does an air quality alert have to do with roads?

Everything, if you ask those of certain political beliefs.

[kj3400]

Forgive me if I'm missing something, but what does an air quality alert have to do with roads?

I wanted to ask that too. but didn't have the balls.

[deathtopumpkins]

Forgive me if I'm missing something, but what does an air quality alert have to do with roads?

Everything, if you ask those of certain political beliefs.

I actually clicked on it expecting it to be somehow cars' fault, but nope. Apparently just a naturally-occuring stagnant warm air mass.

[NE2]

It often is partially the fault of cars. But CP's gonna CP.

[cpzilliacus]

Forgive me if I'm missing something, but what does an air quality alert have to do with roads?

In Maryland, the two are intimately related (as far as some people and groups are concerned).

[cpzilliacus]

N.Y. Times: 'Riding With the 12 O'Clock Boys'

Long before I actually saw any of the 12 O'Clock Boys, a notorious group of dirt bike riders in Baltimore, I heard them. The rev of their motors, even at a distance, was a regular addition to the constant soundscape of helicopters and sirens. (Their name is in reference to the vertical position the riders attempt while pulling off wheelies.)