Maryland's Transportation Projects - Show Me the Money

Ten years ago my wife and I bought our first house. And we did what most people do when they buy a house - we dug gardens and planted lots of pretty annuals. After a few years we started to realize that his was an expensive yearly task. As you know, annuals die after the first frost and they do not return. Therefore, we decided to start buying perennials. Though more expensive, perennials return every year. We realized that we couldn't buy all of the perennials that we wanted right away, so our plan was to buy several per year. Now we have no annuals and lots of perennials. Our costs are high, but without the financial burden of purchasing annuals every year, we will win in the long-term.

In an era of economic recession, it's almost counter-intuitive to think that Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley is running to the Congress with his hat in hand asking for more money. But with our 'just print more money' President, it's not entirely out of the question for O'Malley to do this.

Because of its geography and the inbred culture of being against everything that is proposed, Maryland is burdened with an inadequate transportation system that is the ire of travelers, commuters, and freight haulers alike. Washington D.C. has done an excellent job of investing in its transportation infrastructure and has one of the better integrated subway systems outside of New York.

Baltimore, on the other hand, has the dubious distinction of having a one-line subway (which most people don't even know about) that runs from Owings Mills in the northwest corner of Baltimore County to Baltimore's fleeting business district and on to Johns Hopkins Hospital. If you don't live on this route or work downtown, it's totally useless to you. In addition to that, there is the north-south light rail line that cuts its path through the county and into the city and south to that airport with the overbearingly long name.

To make matters as complicated as possible, transportation officials, politicians, and warring residents made sure that these 2 transportation projects did not have an integrated exchange, despite overlapping near Lexington Market.

In an effort to make Baltimore's public transportation a more viable option for commuters, Governor O'Malley is pushing for the infamous red line, an east-west line that will connect the Woodlawn \ Social Security area on the west side, to the Essex suburbs on the east side, with connections in the downtown business district and running through Fell's Point.

Believe it or not, I am in favor of a more comprehensive public transportation system in the state. I worked downtown and took the subway everyday for 4 years. Despite my run-in's with crazy homeless people and the miscreant middle school kids, it was the most convenient and time-efficient way to get to work. And when we go to Washington D.C. we nearly always take the Metro.

In addition to the red line project in Baltimore, Governor O'Malley is also asking for money for the Purple line in Washington, which will connect Northwest Washington with Northeast Washington, a cross-county suburban transportation line unlike the other lines which run into the city and back out again. There is also the Intercounty Connector (ICC) which is already in the building stage. And finally there is the expansion of I-270, one of the most congested highways in the country.

It appears as if our leaders will be pushing for a light rail line for the red line and most likely a rapid bus plan for the purple line. I understand their desire to get something up and running at the least possible cost, but they seem to be ignoring investments. Just because a transportation project is less expensive and "visible" does not make it better. When you are in Washington, D.C. or New York City, you do not see the subway lines, but they are there and they are great for moving around. Neither disrupt the above ground transportation of the city and neither are unsightly, at least until they get out into the suburbs where they come above ground and become an eyesore.

Instead of making the investment in an unseen subway, O'Malley is pushing for a light rail for the red line, which will carve up the city even further. In addition to being unsightly, the light rail also intersects roadways, creating dangerous situations at crossroads, and the light rail is not as fast. The Baltimore subway moves at about 70 mph above ground, whereas the light rail moves at about 40-50 mph. With a subway line the transportation grid will be able to move people in and out of the city at a much faster and convenient rate.

Moreover, in the Washington suburbs Governor O'Malley is pushing for a rapid bus line for the purple line. After elected officials spend millions of dollars for this rapid bus line, what will we own? Some buses and a road. When the money runs out, what is left? Nothing. Maybe some old buses. If the state invests in a subway you will always have a subway. It's there. No one is going to fill it in with dirt and make it go away. A rapid bus line is not a transportation investment. It's an unproven transportation cost to the state with only short-term benefits. Subways are proven long-term investments with long-term benefits.

In Montgomery and Frederick Counties there is now a war brewing about expanding Interstate 270. Most will argue that expanding the highway will further destroy the environment and only encourage more urban sprawl. My argument is that the Washington D.C. area is growing like crazy. What do you plan on doing with all of those people that want to move there? Not everyone wants to live in a 1200 unit high-rise condominium next to a subway line.

Officials can concentrate the growth in certain areas, but the area is growing and without updating the infrastructure, transportation will only get worse. Encouraging people to use the bus will not improve the situation. However, including an extension of the red line in the expansion project up to the northwest part of the county will certainly encourage more ridership and reduce highway congestion.

These projects cost a lot of money, billions of dollars, in fact. But our elected officials need to look at long-term solutions and consider them investments. They need to avoid the short-sighted money-saving ideas. Instead of planting the annuals, let's plant the perennials. In 50 years, Martin O'Malley will only be a nightmare from the past to my generation, but if the proper investments are made in transportation, in 50 years we will still have a efficient functioning subway system that will make us proud.