Remington Wal-Mart/Lowes 129X Area Traffic Increase - UPDATED

So the developer-funded May 2010 Draft of the Traffic Impact Study (TIS) for the Remington/Charles Village 25st Station has been released by the Baltimore City Department of Transportation. And already its findings are very controversial.

Exit 6 has a pretty decent analysis of the findings, pointing out a lot of problems and inconsistencies and asking several good questions.

But the most shocking thing to The Shank is the very dramatic traffic increase in the neighborhood.

According to the TIS, the 25th Street Station will see weekday traffic increase in Remington 16.5 TIMES its current rate from an average of 595 weekday trips to 9,828 estimated weekday trips.

Weekends are even worse. The neighborhood will see an increase of weekend traffic increase roughly 129 TIMES its current rate from an average of 120 weekend trips to an estimated 15,522 trips.

This is even AFTER the TIS reduced its estimated rate by 25% to account for the 25% of Baltimoreans who bike, walk and use mass transit to get to work. Although we're not sure why that number should be reduced by 25% unless they reduced current traffic estimates by 25% as well.

Also, it's highly questionable that 25% of Lowes and Wal-Mart shoppers will be trying to bike home after buying all that inexpensive sheetrock and mountains of cheap underwear and socks they seem to need.

Comments

[Incy]

Quick- Whats 129 times the zero times I normally visit Remington?

[Rusty Chompers]

And we are all the poorer for your absence.

[AngryMob]

16.5 or even 129 times an insignificant trickle is no big deal

[Rusty Chompers]

What street do you live on?

[AngryMob]

noneofyourbusiness avenue, remington

[Rusty Chompers]

Well then, we're practically neighbors. I live over on Up Yours St., Remington.

And as a neighbor who bought a house here years ago, I don't want to see traffic on my street increase 129x. I'm glad you're okay with it, but I'm not.

And I'd hardly call 15,000+ new car trips through my neighborhood an "insignificant trickle" or "no big deal" my disingenuous, blindly pro-development "neighbor".

But hey, maybe you can talk to your friends involved with the development and get them to route all that "insignificant trickle of traffic" down your street instead of mine.

[AngryMob]

Hello my knee-jerk reacting neighbor! As a property owner in the neighborhood I'll gladly give a smug 'told you so' to all the Chicken-Little forecasters of doom when this development proves to be a benefit.

[Rusty Chompers]

Well, "AngryMob" (as opposed to "RationalIndividual" I reckon?), I'm not sure what makes me "smug" except for things like having access to "facts", but okay. Sure thing. Go ahead and try to insult anyone who would dare raise questions about a $60 million dollar development being forced into a neighborhood that didn't ask for it, and, according to a Baltimore Sun poll, doesn't want it. I know that's all ya got. It's ok.

And I'll keep an eye out for those "told ya so's", but I'd feel a whole lot better if you could maybe do something for every currently existing, local, independent business this development will kill. I'm sure them giving an "AngryMob" an "I told you so" will be little comfort when they're shuttering up their decimated businesses that've been serving our community for years and trying to sell their now-worthless properties because of this large corporate development of out-of-state interests you so blindly and glibly support.

But who knows, maybe they'll find comfort in it.

Maybe you personally could back every tax dollar that will eventually go into this development?

But we're getting off topic, aren't we? We were talking about traffic. And you think 15,000+ trips are "insignificant" in a neighborhood that regularly sees 120 at that same time.

You really haven't much of an argument there except what, "I want that traffic in my neighborhood!"? Well good for you. I don't. So it seems we're at an impasse.

[girlwithcurls]

I think I love you Rusty Chompers

[Amboy Dukes]

"But hey, maybe you can talk to your friends involved with the development and get them to route all that 'insignificant trickle of traffic' down your street instead of mine."

Rusty - I just want to point out that traffic doesn't work that way. Traffic goes where traffic wants to go, regardless of direction. Think of it more like water than cattle.

So even if it's directed down one or two major neighborhood arteries, the whole neighborhood will most likely be flooded with all these new vehicles coming in.