Carroll residents would vehemently oppose transit buses between Baltimore City and the county, a county commissioner says.
“The average person here in Carroll County doesn?t want to see something coming from Baltimore City,” Julia Gouge said. “People would have a fit.”
She said opposition stems from residents? desire to preserve the county?s rural character.
But the Baltimore National Association for the Advancement of Colored People President Marvin “Doc” Cheatham said the commissioner?s comments reflected a cultural divide between the city and Carroll.
“We would find it very saddening if someone would not want people from the city in their county,” Cheatham said. “We hope they would be as receptive to city people as we are to county people. We?ve got to find more ways to come together.”
Phyllis Hammond, a former Carroll NAACP president, said Gouge?s views are outdated.
“I think it?s the insecurity that bad people are going to come,” Hammond said. “It?s pathetic. I think it?s time we lose that mentality.”
Gouge?s comments come as the commissioners discuss possible transit service in Carroll, where the only public transportation is a small-scale bus service geared toward senior citizens.
While residents have spoken in favor of more public transportation, Commissioner Michael Zimmer worried about outside influences changing the county.
“There is some anxiety when you say ?mass transit,? ” Commissioner Michael Zimmer said.
He favors a commuter system that would take workers only in the morning and evening to and from work, as opposed to a mass-transit system that makes multiple stops.
Zimmer said race has nothing to do with opposition to mass transit in Carroll, where whites comprise about 96 percent of the population.
Harford, Anne Arundel, Howard and Baltimore counties have buses going into the city, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority.
Examiner Staff Writer Luke Broadwater contributed to this article.
