Maryland approved ambitious plans for public transit expansion around Baltimore in 2002, but almost none of it became a reality. With a new plan in the works, transit boosters assess the loss of a generation's worth of progress.
Josh Kurtz performs a post-mortem on the recent history of transit planning in the state of Maryland—almost all of which never came to fruition.
In 2002, Maryland transportation planners put the finishing touches on a proposal to dramatically expand mass transit in the state. The plan envisioned six new or improved transit lines, with 122 new transit station stops built over 40 years.
Today, only the Purple Line, a light rail project linking New Carrollton to Bethesda, survives. The Red Line, an east-west transit project in Baltimore, came close to final federal approval, but Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) pulled the plug on the project in 2015.
The final nail in the coffin for those grand ambitions came in September when Maryland Governor Larry Hogan's administration announced that it would no longer prioritize the Corridor Cities Transitway, a bus rapid transit line in Montgomery County.
This post-mortem is set against the backdrop of a new transit planning study in the state, however: the Regional Transit Plan for Central Maryland. A draft plan is expected to be complete in a year, so the Greater Baltimore Committee and the Greater Washington Partnership recently held a public discussion on the future of transit in Maryland, but those in attendance couldn't avoid the past and the future.
As noted by Kurtz, several additional public forums on the Regional Transit Plan for Central Maryland are scheduled through the rest of the month.
FULL STORY: On Transit, Pondering What Might Be and Lamenting What Might Have Been
Central Maryland Regional Transit Plan: First Regional Transit Plan for Baltimore Since 2002
Transit planners in the Baltimore area are working on plans for a more reliable, useful regional transit system.
Maryland to Restart Planning for East-West Transit Line Through Baltimore
A plan for the Red Line, an east-west light rail line notoriously canceled by former-Governor Larry Hogan in 2015, is back on the table in Baltimore.
Monorail Study Moves Forward in Maryland
A plan to widen Interstate 270 in Maryland was approved earlier this year under the condition that the state also study a plan to build a monorail along the route.
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
Google Maps Introduces New Transit, EV Features
It will now be easier to find electric car charging stations and transit options.
Ohio Lawmakers Propose Incentivizing Housing Production
A proposed bill would take a carrot approach to stimulating housing production through a grant program that would reward cities that implement pro-housing policies.
Chicago Awarded $2M Reconnecting Communities Grant
Community advocates say the city’s plan may not do enough to reverse the negative impacts of a major expressway.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Town of Zionsville
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
