The Frederick News-Post has an interesting article about Frederick resident’s daily commutes to and from work.
Neither time, gas prices or wear-and-tear on auto and human bodies will prevent workers from their appointed commute. Some leave Frederick County for Washington, D.C., and the areas adjacent to I-270 and I-495; others drive to the county from other states. The reasons are often the same: income, quality of life and family obligations. The escalating costs of gasoline have hit $3 a gallon or more in many places.
“Gas prices, even if they go up to $4 a gallon, are not an issue for me,” said Molly Boyle, vice president of operations at 3 Roads Communications in Frederick. “As for wear and tear on the vehicle, in the scheme of things, it’s a minor issue.”
Ms. Boyle has more than 20 years’ experience in television news, management and production, and has worked for CNN, Fox, Turner Broadcasting and CBS.
She prefers to commute from her Washington, D.C., home to Frederick because the work is interesting, hours are flexible and she can live a normal life with her 4-year-old daughter.
“The news business is a very demanding life and world, and consumes your life,” Ms. Boyle said. “It’s long hours. At a cable network, you’re constantly feeding the beast. There’s no deadline; it’s an allday, rolling deadline.
“You make a lot of sacrifices at a network, and I did it for a long time. I wanted a life.”
Dee Crouse commutes from Walkersville to the National Institutes of Health in Rockville. Her husband, Jerry, commutes to the main Frederick post office on East Patrick Street in Frederick.
Does Mr. Crouse feel guilty? “I do feel guilty. It takes me 15 minutes from the garage door to the post office parking lot,” he said. “I wish Dee worked here, but her job is good income for the family.” The Crouses are parents of two teenage sons.
Ms. Crouse, an accountant, is a budget analyst for the National Institutes of Health, and it takes her an hour and 20 minutes to get to NIH. “I don’t mind commuting as long as I’m not driving,” she said.
Public transportation is her vehicle, and Ms. Crouse’s only driving is to the MARC station on South East Street in Frederick.
She buys a monthly pass that allows her to ride the D.C. Metro, Montgomery County’s Ride-On bus system and the MTA Commuter Bus. She takes the MARC so seldom, she doesn’t spend the extra $15 a month for the more expensive pass.
I can relate with my commute to Rockville everyday. At least I have a slight repreive on the traffic because school is out. I think I dread the start of the school year more than the kids do.
12 responses so far ↓
Sarah (Mrs. Irani) // August 1, 2006 at 12:07 pm
I am so anti-commute that I would not live farther than what I could bike to work. I live 4 miles away from work and that is too far for me. I hate driving with an immesurable passion. My darling hubby hates it, too. His office is 8 miles away, but he telecommutes some days a week. Cars keep us fat and lonely. We hardly know anyone in our neighborhood b/c most of them get in their cars and head down to Mo Co. early in the am and when they get home after a long day they walk from car to house, sometimes garage to house, and we never see anyone. It is creepy to live in a place packed full of houses but you never see any of the people.
Geee… I miss living downtown.
Guy // August 1, 2006 at 12:59 pm
I would love to be able to walk to work. Someday I suppose.
Sarah (Mrs. Irani) // August 2, 2006 at 3:10 pm
Well, if the energy crisis continues, we might all be walking to work ;oP
Jim // August 2, 2006 at 4:46 pm
I don’t own a car. I live four blocks from my job in downtown Frederick. I quit a higher paying job in DC to be able to do this.
Sarah // August 6, 2006 at 12:08 pm
Jim- Great! What do you think about public transportation in Frederick? I have been mulling on the idea of a Frederick Metro system. Would it be worth it? The traffic congestion in Frederick is getting worse every year. Oh, how I’d love to give up my car and ride metro.
frog // August 8, 2006 at 5:10 pm
I commute to Baltimore every day. I did my time on 270 from ‘89 until ‘95 and then worked in Frederick when we opened a facility here. It was so nice to not have to deal with traffic on 270.
I still don’t nderstand why Frederick is considered more a suburb of Washington than Baltimore. I can tell you one thing, I have a 50 mile commute that I make every morning (leaving at 6:15 AM) in less than 50 minutes. I-70 is a breeze of a commute compared to 270.
The Jordans in Thurmont // August 15, 2006 at 7:50 am
Howdy all; new to the board. My wife and I are transplants to Frederick County (Thurmont by way of Ellicott City/HoCo). I commute daily from Thurmont to King Farm in Rockville; this has been for the four years and counting. The last year and a half, my daughter has been a co-commuter (she attends school in NoVa). Actually, I find the 270 drive not so bad if leaving my house by no later than 6:30. I have previously commuted 695 in BMore from Rosedale to Owings Mills, 95/295 from Rosedale to Laurel, and 29/495 from Ellicott City to Bethesda. During that time I had always heard of the traffic horrors of 270. Now after experiencing all of them, the 29/495 is far and away the most hideous.
As for Metro to Frederick, sign me up!! My company provides a shuttle from my office door to the Shady Grove metro. that would be great.
Thanks for the rant forum; I hope to be a regular reader and occasional contributor in the future.
Nice job on the Frederick 411!!
Sarah // August 15, 2006 at 8:06 am
Part of the problem with the commuting culture is that it creates neighborhoods of fragmented community. We all just happen to live near one another, but other than that we don’t intersect much. We care about Frederick insofar as it is a place where we sleep and perhaps play, but how much more would we be invested in the place if we lived, worked, worshipped, learned, and played all here together as a communitiy?
Michael L. Donk // September 8, 2006 at 2:30 pm
I’m a transplant from Boulder, CO. Boulder is 28 miles to the North of Denver’s city limits, where light-rail connects you to downtown. Frederick sits only 22 miles from Shady Grove.
Along Rt.36 from Boulder to Denver, large Greyhound-style regional commuter buses (some express, some local) run inbound starting at 5:35am in 10 minute intervals with every other bus being an express from a park&ride on the south side of Boulder. In a matter of 15-25 minutes, you’ve arrived at the light rail connector.
I’ve driven 270 my fair share of times throughout my five years in Frederick. I’ve never seen regional commuter buses running at all. For some reason, the Montgomery Buses run along 355. That makes no sense.
The bus from Boulder to Denver’s light rail is $3.00. Every one of those buses is full until about 8:30am. The same is repeated in reverse in the PM. There are no express bus lanes outside the Denver city limits, so it would operate the same here.
The buses play CNN in the morning on the flipdown TV’s, allowing riders to plug-in to sound in the armrests, undercarriage storage compartments allow airport-bound passengers and bicyclists to store their luggage/bikes.
We just need to be a little smarter here. If Boulder County and The City of Denver can coordinate on this transit option, why can’t Mont. Co. Transit and TransIT do the same? Wisdom doesn’t come to you, it’s created within you.
D o n K
TheShortFatKid // September 8, 2006 at 2:46 pm
There is a commuter bus from Frederick to Shady Grove, but there is no HOV lane that bus can take to get around all the traffic. Someday maybe.
Kory Gray // September 12, 2006 at 12:43 pm
Good insight, Donk! We can learn from other states. Send your request into the city.
Pauline // March 1, 2007 at 7:48 pm
Hi,
I too like the Jordan commute from Thurmont to Montgomery college for the past four years. Now that I find myself in dire situations. I now need transportation and there seem to be no ‘help’ find in the MD transportation page for the Thurmont area unless I am so idiot that I dont know how to surf the website. I want to know what transportation is avail now?
Thanks
Leave a Comment