Park & Ride Lots Provide Options (Metropolitan Report, v2 #2)
Summer 2001
Park and Ride Lots Provide Options for Motorists
One of the legacies of the 1974 oil crisis is the park and ride lot, where carpoolers could meet, or suburbanites could catch transit to conserve gasoline. Today the Baltimore region is served by 105 park and ride facilities with 28,200 parking spaces. About two-thirds of the facilities are served by transit, while the remainder are used by carpools and vanpools. With the exception of Baltimore's Penn Station, the BWI rail station and the Navy-Marine Corps Stadium in Annapolis, all lots offer free parking.
Park and ride lots can save money and a lot of aggravation.
- Meet a carpool and split the costs of gas and parking at your destination.
- Park for free at a Metro or light rail lot and ride to downtown Baltimore. Transit is cheaper than a parking garage.
- Avoid the Capital Beltway and the high cost of parking in DC by taking the MARC train to Union Station and connecting with the extensive DC metro system to reach your destination.
Another legacy of the 1974 oil crisis is the regional rideshare program, which offers free matching services for commuters interested in starting or joining a carpool or vanpool. Each jurisdiction has a rideshare coordinator who enters applicant information into a data base that encompasses both the Baltimore and Washington regions. The coordinator forwards a list of matches to the applicant, who may then contact potential ride-sharers and proceed to make their own commuting arrangements.
BMC staff, on behalf of the Baltimore Regional Transportation Board, is currently completing a study of park and ride lot use. Between April 17 and May 17, staff and volunteers from local jurisdictions placed postage-paid mail-in survey postcards on the windshields of approximately 10,000 vehicles in 58 representative park and ride lots. Drivers were asked how far they drove to the park and ride lot, how they were continuing their trip, the distance of the lot from their destination, and what they would do to improve park and ride services.
The overall response rate was better than 12 percent, which is considered exceptional for this type of study.
The data from the survey will be analyzed to determine the emission-reduction potential of regional park and ride facilities, provide documentation on the level of use of the lots surveyed and gather recommendations to meet future park and ride needs. The results will be used in next year's Air Quality Conformity Analysis, and in developing future long-range transportation plans.
For the location of a park and ride lot near you, call 410-732-6000 or visit www.metrorideshare.com. To learn which lots are served by transit, visit www.mtamaryland.com.
For more information:
Lillian Bunton, lbunton@baltometro.org or 410-732-6000.
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Last Updated on Monday, 29 September 2008 09:45