"In concept, sure," said Paul Hartman, when asked if he supports the idea of a free, downtown Towson circulator bus.
"The devil is in the details," he said.
Hartman, president of the Greater Towson Council of Community Associations, was among 40 people who crowded into a conference room at the Baltimore County Chamber of Commerce on a rainy Tuesday evening to hear business leaders pitch plans for a circulator bus they envision as running north-south along York Road, possibly extending as far as from the Drumcastle Center to the Goucher College campus.
The circulator would be state- and county-funded and modeled after the motto of the Charm City Circulator in Baltimore City.
County Councilman David Marks, who represents Towson, said a transportation component is essential as the downtown Towson area grows, with a new multiplex of movie theaters already open and the $300 million Towson Row project among many housing, shopping and restaurant developments on the horizon.
"We have to deal with mobility in Towson," said Marks, who cautioned last year, "We've got to deal with these transportation issues before Towson Row is finished."
"Transit's got to be part of our future," said 42nd District State Del. Steve Lafferty. He and others said people who live or work outside the downtown core need a way to get around that would reduce the number of cars clogging roads and taking up parking spaces.
"Our goal is to look out for the growth of Towson," said Matthew Mueller, president of the Greater Towson Committee, a pro-business community group which sponsored the meeting. "We don't just want growth. We want smart growth. We have to make sure we get the most bang for our buck."
"With all the development that's going on, what can we do to be proactive?" asked Katie Pinheiro, executive director of the Greater Towson Committee.
The idea of a circulator found widespread support at the meeting.
"I think it would be a great idea," said Jessica Fugate, a Goucher graduate, who works in marketing for the Boy Scouts of America in North Baltimore. She said Goucher used to offer a shuttle service, "but they shut it down."
"We have a serious parking problem," said Tom Murtaugh, president of Bykota Senior Center. He asked planners to consider a circulator bus stop in front of the center.
Others were more critical of the idea, noting that the Charm City Circulator in Baltimore City is operating at an $11 million deficit and that the Maryland Transit Administration already runs regular bus service along York Road.
Holly Storck, of Rodgers Forge, an urban planner for a private consulting firm, said there are too many bus services being offered in the area, from MTA to the Baltimore Collegetown Network shuttle, and suggested that they be merged somehow.
"Why can't we create [just] one?" Storck asked.
Towson-based attorney Richard Reinhardt advocated waiting until Towson is more built out with planned developments before starting a circulator.
"Did anyone think to phase in development?" he asked. "You've created the problem by creating the density."
But Mueller said, "Not everything is [being built] at the same time."
Reinhardt also questioned the need for another York Road bus service, asking, "Isn't that service by the MTA already?"
But the MTA was the subject to criticism for its perceived slow service. Greg Bauer, of the Burkleigh Square community, said sarcastically that the letters MTA stand for "miserable transportation alternative."
"I have waited an hour for a bus," he said.
Reinhardt wasn't satisfied, saying after the meeting, "They're going into this without even considering the funding. There's too much missing from the equation."
One suggestion from the audience that Reinhardt did like was to require developers to contribute to a transportation fund in exchange for project approval.
"I like the idea of developers paying," Reinhardt said.
"It's an idea," Mueller said.
Hartman echoed the sentiment that dependable funding is key to a circulator's success.
"It's got to be long-term," said Hartman, of the Aigburth Manor neighborhood. He said that's imperative to ensuring that a circulator would get rolling quickly and find favor with the public.
"If people don't ride," he said, "it's going to go away and you're never going to get it back."