The demand for more roads and rail transit has local officials pondering how to promote mass transit in an ever-growing urban area while staying under a tight budget.
“The needs are enormous, and the resources are finite,” said Anne Arundel County Executive John Leopold, a member of Baltimore Regional Transportation Board that last week released its 2035 outlook of the region?s transportation needs.
The report lists 49 road projects, but notes only five transit projects. One transit proposal landed in the top six “regionally significant” projects ? the Red Line transit system to provide an east-west connection through downtown Baltimore.
According to the report, local governments plan to spend 71 percent of transportation expansion funds on highway projects, while only 26 percent of funds will go toward transit projects by 2035.
“You can enhance transit without building new transit,” said Maryland Department of Transportation Planning Director Sam Minnitte, referring to how most transit improvements come from operating funds.
Many of the hot-ticket projects ? the Red Line, widening of Interstate 695 ? eat up a disproportionate part of the budget, Minnitte said.
And with the public?s preferred transit option of trains or light rail the least economically practical, developing a balanced and cost-effective transit plan has been a struggle for the board, officials said.
“If folks wanted to take buses, we get a lot of them out and running in no time, but that?s not what people want,” said Regina Aris, policy manager for the Baltimore Metropolitan Council.
Howard County Executive Ken Ulman, the board?s chairman, and Baltimore County Executive James Smith were unavailable for comment. The board includes the five area county executives and mayors of Baltimore and Annapolis.
The report does allow for area governments to consolidate and do regional planning, which may help secure federal funding.
“Regional clout should be our focus at this time because each jurisdiction alone is not going to have the same influence in D.C. as a regional partnership,” Leopold said.
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» On the Web: You can see the draft Transportation Outlook at baltometro.org.
