Conway Street to be closed for two weeks

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If your commute Monday into downtown Baltimore was a bit longer and anxiety-inducing than usual, get used to it. You’ll likely face the same lousy traffic for the next two weeks, thanks to a closed Conway Street.

Conway was to have been closed to both eastbound and westbound traffic between Light and Charles streets starting at 5 a.m. Monday because of Baltimore Grand Prix construction, according to Downtown Partnership of Baltimore Inc.

During closure, motorists attempting to access westbound Conway from Light Street will be detoured onto Lee Street and Charles Street, then back onto Conway. All eastbound Conway Street traffic will be detoured onto Charles Street.

Parking garages that lie on Conway — attached to the Hyatt Regency Baltimore, the Sheraton Inner Harbor Hotel and the surface lot across the street from the Hyatt — all have entrances on either Charles or Light streets, both of which will still be open.

But the sidewalk on Conway will be closed, and the crossing of Light at Conway will not be allowed, said Adrienne Barnes, a spokeswoman for the Baltimore City Department of Transportation, in an emailed response to questions.

Americans with Disabilities Act-approved wheelchair ramps will be built before the closure, and then barrels and orange fencing will be set up to keep the sidewalk closed.

“We are trying to prohibit folks from cutting through in the construction,” Barnes said.

Taxi drivers and employees who work around the area were caught off guard by the news.

“Wow,” said Gurdeep Singh, a cab driver for Yellow Cab of Baltimore Taxi Service’s Checker line. “[The commute] is going to be affected big time. Already we have bad traffic in the afternoons.”

Singh said he usually waits for Hyatt visitors who need a ride, and he said it will be tough for the five to six other drivers who provide services for each hotel.

What usually is a simple trip to Little Italy or Harbor East may now take three times as long. Customers may not be so happy having to pay for longer cab rides, he said.

Terry Miller, an employee with the Hyatt Regency Baltimore hotel, said she didn’t know about the closing starting on Monday. Miller, who lives in Dundalk, said she’ll need to plan a new route to get from Interstate 395 to the hotel.

Two electronic message sign boards are posted to inform commuters. One is set up on Light Street, south of Baltimore, the other on Lombard between South and Calvert streets. Another sign is on I-395 before Conway Street, Barnes said.

Edwin Smith, a resident of Southwest Baltimore, was biking around the construction at Conway and Charles streets Friday. He said he usually bikes or drives through the area to shop at Whole Foods Market in Harbor East, and comes through Conway to head back home.

“[The traffic] is a pain,” Smith said. “I’ll just have to go through Pratt Street now.”

Jon Koscher, general manager of the Sheraton Inner Harbor, said he isn’t concerned about the Conway closure until the next phase of construction on the street since visitors can still come into the hotel’s lot through Charles Street. The next phase of work will have Conway closed between Charles Street and Oriole Park at Camden Yards so asphalt can be replaced, he said.

Hotel managers have been meeting regularly with organizers of the Grand Prix to discuss construction and changes coming up that may affect the hotels.

“Got to have pain to get ahead,” Koscher said.

In addition to the Conway closure, the lanes that are closed along southbound Light Street will move to the opposite side of the roadway.

These closures are expected to last about two weeks.

Alternate routes for outbound traffic include:

-Lombard Street to Howard Street, Greene Street, or Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard;

-Fayette Street to Liberty/Sharp streets to Conway Street;

-Fayette Street to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Suggested alternate routes for inbound traffic include:

-I-395 to Howard Street to Baltimore Street;

-I-395 to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to Baltimore Street, Mulberry Street or Druid Hill Avenue/Centre Street.