It should be no surprise that the 26th Street landslide happened ("Displaced residents blame city, railroad for inaction," May 2). Landslides occur after heavy rain and deterioration of the land. With over 3 inches of rain and a road that has had very little done to fix safety issues, this should come as no surprise. It was the perfect mix for an urban landslide like this one to occur.
The fact that nobody was hurt was a good thing. However, something very alarming came from this. Finding crumbling infrastructure in Baltimore is an alarming sign that we must do more as a city so the residents are right to blame both the city and CSX. Was it the wall or the railroad that was the problem in causing the landslide? The CSX spokesman won't say.
Let's hope this does not happen again and we can fix these issues the right way with better inspections and procedures so we do not have to worry about cars plummeting into the ground below.
Craig Atkison, Baltimore
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