Years ago I testified at trial (for victims’ counsel) in a well-publicized priest sex abuse case in a different city. There were extensive investigative records in that case going back decades involving dozens of victims. The judge in that case disallowed so much testimony on behalf of victims it was shocking. I was only allowed to testify because I had first-hand knowledge that directly impeached sworn testimony of a defense witness. That case was so sad and involved several of my friends. One committed suicide at 14 and his parents found a note incriminating the priest. The ONLY reason any of the information was public was because of the work of some brave reporters and the accounts of several brave victims and families. Even now years later it’s depressing to think about. The extent to which judges and police were complicit in not only covering up the original abuse but in re-victimizing the victims through gaslighting, sealing records, and covering up reports is abhorrent. The Baltimore Diocese - and this judge - will never have an ounce of moral credibility so long as these records are hidden. Shame on all of them.

And yet, in a city of the same size as the one I came from, even this 1/6th is orders of magnitude better than no non-surface mass transit at all. I read about the original "W" concept for the Metro (along with the move from a robust rail system to buses thanks largely to GM's anti-trust violations).

I really wish that W idea or some variation would/had come to fruition. Along with the Red Line - and the obvious need for transit-based development - it seems like it would be a big help.

I moved here last year and live close to the Broadway station. I can't get over how few people ride the Metro. The app/pass thing has never worked for me and the gate is always just open. But I really dig it. I hope it's not dying because - coming from a city of similar size and no rail - the Metro is a great asset.

Charles St a one-lane road with a dedicated Public Transit lane sounds like an improvement to me.

First, please show me where I said to focus on cars and put them first over everything else?

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>(historically, these neighborhoods have been overwhelmingly poor and/or black.)

I live in a neighborhood near Central and Monument. My neighborhood's population is 87% black, the average home purchase price here is $55,000 and our median household income is below the median for the city. I kind of get it.

>More than half of our population doesn’t own cars. So no 578k people don’t have to deal with auto traffic.

I'm one of those people who doesn't own a car. The notion that we don't also have to deal with auto traffic is news to me. So you're telling me -- a pedestrian and public transit user 90% of the time and ride share user the other 10% -- doesn't have to deal with auto traffic on my commutes? Please tell me how that works because it sounds wonderful. I was unaware that when I'm walking I don't have to deal with auto traffic. When I ride the bus I don't have to deal with auto traffic? Please share how that works.

But I think you missed the point: Everyone who goes anywhere in this city has to deal with auto traffic -- whether they concern themselves with the murder rate or not. So, yeah, we get, it there were 300 murders in our city, that doesn't change the fact that the rest of us have to go on about our lives. The homicide rate is awful; the other 99.999% of us who are still alive can concern ourselves with the traffic we have to deal with every day while we also concern ourselves with violent crime.

Yeah man wtf with these people?!?! It’s as if there are 578,298 people in Baltimore who still have to deal with traffic or something.

Ugh.