As Maryland Transit Administration officials scramble to restore lost federal fundingfor the planning phase of Baltimore?s proposed Red Line bus or light rail system, a Maryland senator is seeking an explanation for how the funds were allowed to lapse.
“Senator [Barbara] Mikulski will work to restore the funding once we receive a formal request from the state transportation,” said Mikulski spokeswoman Melissa Schwartz.
“But she would also like an explanation as to why these funds were not spent on time.”
In their quest to recover the lost $2 million in federal money earmarked for studying alternatives to the proposed route from Security Square Mall in Woodlawn to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, MTA officials have pinned their hopes on a 2009 Transportation Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill now awaiting passage in Senate, sources said.
However, sources close to Mikulski said she was livid that MTA officials did not inform her of design delays that led to the loss of the $2 million.
Mikulski?s furor came after MTA officials admitted to a series of bureaucratic snafus. State transit officials were alerted to the paperwork lapse last month in a phone call from the Federal Transit Administration, the sources said.
Mikulski, a strong supporter of the proposed $1.2 billion Red Line, reaffirmed her commitment.
“She will continue to fight for funding,” Schwartz said.
A spokesman for state Transportation Secretary John Porcari said changes made to the preliminary designs, including extending the route 1.2 miles to Bayview, resulted in delays.
“We plan to provide a detailed explanation to Maryland?s congressional delegation as to why the timeline changed for the projects,” Jack Calahan said.
With Red Line funding in jeopardy, transit advocates expressed concern that the planning process may give short shrift to studying alternatives.
“It seems like they walked into the design process with a preconception,” said Edward Cohen, executive director of the Transit Riders Action Council, which has proposed using heavy rail and existing tunnels along a route that would head toward Johns Hopkins University?s Homewood campus.
“They were supposed to study four alternatives, and they only looked at one.”
