|
Serving Anne
Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, and Howard Counties and the Cities of
Annapolis and Baltimore.
| |
|
|
|
Thank you for subscribing to B'More
Involved! B'More Involved is designed to provide you with helpful
information on transportation planning, citizen involvement, and environmental
justice. This important information is e-mailed out on a regular basis and is
a great way for you to learn more, stay up-to-date on important events and
news and, of course, let you know how you can B'More Involved!
In this issue:
-
Transportation Outlook 2035 Draft Amendment: Public Review
Continues Through January 23
-
2nd Transit Oriented Development
Summit January 27
- Changes to E-ZPass and Tolls Proposed In Maryland
-
How Would You Spend Billions In
Maryland?
-
Free Downtown Circulator Needs A
Name
-
Baltimore City Seeks Comments On
Sustainability Plan
- Maryland Bicycle Symposium Set For February 4
-
Make It A Day On... Not A Day
Off!
-
In the News |
| TRANSPORTATION OUTLOOK 2035 DRAFT AMENDMENT:
PUBLIC REVIEW CONTINUES THROUGH JANUARY 23 |
| Share
Your Thoughts At A Public Meeting This Thursday |
|
 After several months of public
outreach and involvement, the BRTB is pleased to present, for public review and
comment, the draft preferred alternative for the amendment to the Baltimore
region's long-range transportation plan, Transportation Outlook 2035: Creating a Blueprint for
the Baltimore Region's Future.
This draft preferred alternative
proposes $225 million in funding for regional transit projects, beginning in the
year 2020.
The mix of projects includes:
-
Green Line Transit - Preliminary
engineering
-
Park-and-Ride spaces - Averaging
$10,000/space for 2,000 spaces in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Harford, and Howard
counties
-
Carroll County - Transit vehicles
and amenities
-
Intermodal Facilities / MARC
stations / Transit Oriented Development (TOD)
-
$10 million/facility average, 3
of 4 (smaller type facilities such as bus to bus: Central Maryland Transit
Operations Facility (CMTOF), Columbia, Snowden Square, Parole)
-
$20 million/facility average
(larger type facilities such as rail to rail or bus: Lexington Market, or
other Baltimore City location)
-
MARC station(s) not currently
included in TO2035, i.e. Odenton, West
Baltimore, or East Baltimore Development Initiative (EBDI))
-
Dedicated bus lanes - In
congested corridors such as I-695, MD 152, US 29, MD 2
In response to public comment, the projects included
in this amendment focus on ways to make the regional transit system more
user-friendly and attractive to a broader segment of the region's population and
workforce.
A public input period will be run through Friday,
January 23, 2009. During this time, public comments will be accepted by
mail, fax, or online using our public comment form.
Comments may also be submitted in person at a
public meeting on Thursday, January 15, 2009 from 3:30 to 5 p.m. or 5:30
to 7 p.m. at the BMC offices located at 2700 Lighthouse Point East, Suite 310,
Baltimore, MD 21224.
Details about how to submit comments can be found by
clicking on the link below.
>> Learn more about
Transportation Outlook 2035 |
| 2ND
TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT SUMMIT JANUARY 27 |
| Summit
Looks Back At 2008 and Looks Forward To 2009 |
 On Tuesday, January 27, 2009 from 7 to 9 p.m.
several area organizations will host a 2nd Transit Oriented Development
Summit at the Thumel Business Center Auditorium (11 W. Mount Royal Avenue,
Baltimore, MD 21201).
The summit will include speakers from the
Maryland Department of Transportation, Central Maryland Transportation Alliance,
and Reconnecting America. Topics to be discussed include Central Maryland's
opportunities and challenges for TOD, new initiatives and advances in local TOD
planning, and an emerging national agenda to promote smart investment in
infrastructure and innovation.
The event is free and open to the public
and is accessible by MTA Bus Lines 3, 11, 21, 61, 64, Light Rail and MARC Train.
For more information or to RSVP, contact Brian O'Malley at bomalley@cmtalliance.org or 410-332-4172 ext. 122.
>> Download a flyer
|
| CHANGES TO E-ZPASS AND TOLLS PROPOSED IN MARYLAND
|
Public
Encouraged To Submit Comments by January 27, 2009
|
 In the face of a struggling
economy, skyrocketing material prices and declining traffic and revenue, the
Chairman and eight members of the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) have
proposed a cost-recovery initiative expected to generate approximately $60
million annually for the self-supported agency that operates Maryland's seven
toll facilities. The proposed changes involve an increase in toll rates for
large trucks and other multi-axle vehicles and implementation of E-ZPass service
charges.
The public can e-mail comments regarding the proposal until
January 27 to mdtatollrates@mdta.state.md.us or can send comments to
Mr. Ronald L. Freeland, Executive Secretary, Maryland Transportation Authority,
2310 Broening Highway, Suite 150, Baltimore, MD 21224.
MdTA plans to consider the matter for final action at its regular monthly
public meeting on January 29, 2009.
>> Visit mdtransportationauthority.com for details |
| HOW
WOULD YOU SPEND BILLIONS IN MARYLAND? |
Coalition
On Smarter Growth and U.S. Conference of Mayors Seek Public Input On What Types
of Projects Should or Shouldn't be Funded
|
|
 Congress and the Obama
Administration are drafting a federal stimulus package, and they're moving fast.
The bill could include as much as $1 trillion, and how our share is spent will
shape our communities for decades to come.
The Coalition for Smarter Growth has recently joined with the U.S. Conference
of Mayors to submit a list of projects.
What projects would you fund using the stimulus in your community? Do you
agree with the priorities already outlined for your city?
>> Share your recommendations with the Coalition
>> Find out what's been recommended for your city or town |
| FREE
DOWNTOWN CIRCULATOR NEEDS A NAME |
| "Your Name. Your
Ride." Contest
Runs Through February 6 |
 The City of Baltimore
recently announced a month-long contest for the public to name the City's new
free Downtown shuttle bus system that will begin in the summer of 2009.
Plans call for 18, clean-energy buses operating on three routes in-and-around
Downtown Baltimore. The City Department of Transportation will create transit
priority mechanisms in the system's service area to maintain a 10 minute wait.
If successful, routes could be expanded, or additional routes could be added, to
better connect the Downtown Shuttle Bus to additional residential neighborhoods.
From now through February 6 you can
submit your ideas online, cast your vote at entry boxes placed throughout
Downtown Baltimore, including Live Baltimore on 343 N. Charles Street, fax a
ballot to 410-547-1036, or mail your ballot to "Your Name. Your Ride." 417 E.
Fayette St. Room 623, Baltimore, MD 21202.
>> Visit YourNameYourRide.com for more info or to submit your idea |
| BALTIMORE CITY SEEKS COMMENTS ON SUSTAINABILITY
PLAN |
| Public
Comment Period Runs Through January 30 |
 The Baltimore Office of
Sustainability is pleased to announce that the Draft Sustainability Plan is now
available for public comment through January 30, 2009.
The Plan is
designed to lay out a broad, inclusive, and community-responsive sustainability
agenda to complement Baltimore's existing Comprehensive Master Plan.
|
| MARYLAND
BICYCLE SYMPOSIUM SET FOR FEBRUARY 4 |
| Event
Offers Opportunity To Learn About Bicycling In MD, Meet Legislators
|
 The 12th annual Maryland
Bicycle Symposium is designed as an opportunity for people to meet and share
information with advocates, planners, state and local officials, and community
leaders who want more bike lanes, wider sidewalks, better trails and a
statewide Complete Streets policy. There will be educational exhibits and
presentations throughout the day.
The Bicycle Symposium is FREE and open to the public.
|
MAKE IT A DAY ON... NOT A DAY OFF!
|
| Volunteer
Opportunities Available Throughout the Baltimore Region |
 During the 1950s and
'60s, civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. recognized the power of
service to strengthen communities and achieve common goals.
Initiated by
Congress in 1994, King Day of Service builds on that legacy by transforming the
federal holiday honoring Dr. King into a national day of community service
grounded in his teachings of nonviolence and social justice. The aim is to make
the holiday a day ON, where people of all ages and backgrounds come together to
improve lives, bridge social barriers, and move our nation closer to the
"Beloved Community" that Dr. King envisioned.
|
| IN THE NEWS |
| Recent
Articles and Links of Interest |
-
 MTA Offering Additional Bus Service For Inauguration Day
(MD Transit Administration web site)
-
MARC trains sold out for Inauguration Day
(Baltimore Sun - January 13, 2009)
-
Fewer teen drivers causing serious accidents
(Baltimore Examiner - January 7, 2009)
-
E-ZPass, Truck Costs May Rise
(Washington Post - January 6, 2009)
-
Raise gasoline tax by 10 cents, Congress urged
(MSNBC.com - January 2, 2009)
-
Cash-Strapped States Weigh Selling Roads, Parks
(ABC News - December 27, 2008)
-
Maryland Launches GreenPrint Land Conservation Map
(MD Office of the Governor web site, December 3, 2008)
| |
|
|
|
 |
Monica Haines
Baltimore Metropolitan Council
410-732-0500 x1047
mhaines@baltometro.org
|
 |
| Baltimore Metropolitan Council | 2700
Lighthouse Point East, Suite 310 | Baltimore | MD | 21224 | | |
| |