A shared bus depot between Anne Arundel and Howard counties could be a key connection between the two transportation systems, a need brought on by the expected flood of jobs to Fort Meade.
And after more than five years trying to secure a location and funding, the federal Base Realignment and Closure measure has boosted the priority of the depot.
“It sounds like BRAC has motivated the state now,” said Jim Vannoy, an assistant to Howard County Executive Jim Robey who is involved with the county?s BRAC efforts.
“It?s going to be a part of the BRAC transportation issue,” he said.
Under the BRAC measure, Fort Meade is expected to gain about 5,300 jobs.
Officials have been trying to secure a spot for a bus depot, which would provide a garage and transfer point for the county?s buses, for five to seven years, said Carl Balser, transportation chief at the Howard County Department of Planning and Zoning.
Commercially zoned land is in high demand, and Howard County is tethered by requirements such as environmental studies and site comparisons to get state and federal grants, he said.
“We had a few sites that got pulled out from under us,” Balser said. “But when BRAC became a reality, suddenly there was more need and demand in the future for public transportation to the fort.”
But Howard County officials expanded the search beyond county lines and have identified a location at the Tipton Airport near Md. 198 in Anne Arundel County.
The depot is expected to open in 2011, Balser said, and many of the details are still being worked out.
The bus depot also would have an economic advantage, Balser said. By owning a bus depot, the county would no longer be limited in the contracts awarded to transportation companies.
Currently, Howard officials must contract with bus companies that have their own facilities. But with a county-owned facility for the company to use, they can search nationally for a contractor and have a more competitive bidding process, he said.
Dick Kirchner, chairman of Transportation Advocates, an independent citizens? group, said he was skeptical about it being completed.
“We?d like to see it move to some resolution,” he said. “We all welcome it, but it?s like a pie in the sky at this point.”
