By Cory Kefauver
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
As the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) releases a proposed six-year, $16 billion transportation and infrastructure plan, leaders in the Baltimore area say they hope the region will see a greater share of those dollars than in past years.
Daniel Ramos, deputy chief administrator for Mayor Brandon Scott, said that since the recession in 2008 the Baltimore area has not seen the same level of funding as other areas of the state.
Ramos said that transparency from the state will be a key factor moving forward. He said that the Consolidated Transportation Plan (CTP) recently published by state transportation officials has not outlined how the funds will be distributed among Maryland districts.
“We have no idea how much is coming to us, how much is coming to the Eastern shore, and how much is coming to the DC region,” Ramos said. “We just haven’t had the same investment and you can look no further than the cancelled Red Line project.” The Red Line was a proposed light rail line in Baltimore that was nixed by Gov. Larry Hogan (R) six years ago.
Brian O’Malley, the president of the Central Maryland Transportation Alliance (CMTA), a transportation activism group that advocates for improving and expanding transportation options in Maryland, said the CTP needs to be clearer with what is being spent and where.
O’Malley said he’d like to see the state improve existing infrastructure before starting new projects.
“A responsible department of transportation, a responsible state government would be prioritizing fixing what we have first,” O’Malley said. “A key step in that process is just being clear and transparent in the CTP about what is being spent on new capacity compared with what is being spent on state of good repair.”
Donald Fry, president of the Greater Baltimore Committee, a group that advocates for local business, said there has been a disinvestment in the Baltimore area from the state. Fry said lack of transportation funding hurts communities deeply.
“Whenever you have a transportation project you are making an investment in a particular neighborhood, community, or portion of the region,” Fry said. “It’s the connectivity that affects someone’s employment opportunities and their education advancement. If you don’t make that investment in a community, that is a disinvestment.”
In June 2015 Hogan cancelled the Red Line project that would have connected east and west Baltimore by rail but approved a similar project in the DC suburbs called the purple line.
According to the Baltimore Sun, the state spent $300 million in planning, design, and land acquisition for the rail system. The article said that Marylanders are still paying the increased gas tax that would have gone towards the project.
County Spokesperson Sean Naron said that the Baltimore area is the top job center in the region and the second largest job center in the state, with more than 21,000 businesses employing nearly 380,000 workers. Naron said that despite this, the Baltimore area has historically received less funding for transportation than other large jurisdictions in the state.
“Improving transit opportunities across Baltimore County will help empower our residents more easily to move around our communities,” Naron said. “Increased state investment in transportation can support a number of key priorities, including bike and pedestrian projects, pedestrian safety and traffic capacity projects, economic development related improvements.”
Fry said that since the cancellation of the Red Line, the Baltimore area has no comparable projects in the works compared to the DC region. He said that both regions need their share of funding due to the amount of employment in both areas.
According to Fry, many people who are dependent on government transit have been hurt by the lack of funding.
“The governor has put a major emphasis on developing a program around the Washington Beltway, which is a significant cost as well,” Fry said. “Somehow we have got to find a way for the state to make more equitable contributions to address the equity situation for people who don’t have ways to and from employment opportunities.”
Fry said it is important to talk about transportation projects and for citizens to rally for equal transportation funding because of the time that it takes to get the projects done. He said the Red Line was in the works for 12 to 13 years before the plug was pulled.
“It takes up to a decade for many transportation initiatives to come to fruition,” Fry said. “For that reason, we have to keep pushing [transportation] as a regular key component to our economic growth in this region.”
O’Malley said the issue is not having enough money but how it is spent. He said he believes the money is available but that priorities are not straight with where funds are going.
Ramos said that the Baltimore area is a big economic engine for the state and that the state should be more upfront about where transportation money is going. He said that citizens should know that the region has been shortchanged compared to the DC region.
“It is unfair for our taxpayers to be footing the bill when they don’t know where the dollars are going,” Ramos said. “The expansion of 495, the talks about replacing the Bay Bridge, those are all huge capital dollars that city taxpayers will be footing the bill for that do not benefit city residents.”