Baltimore 2050 Transportation Plan Perpetuates Auto-Centric Planning

In a commentary published in The Baltimore Sun, Samuel Jordan, Eric Norton, and Michael Scepaniak excoriate Baltimore’s new regional transportation plan, known as Resilience 2050, which the authors argue “represents the same business-as-usual, automobile-centric approach Maryland has largely been taking for the past 70 years.”

According to the article, “the plan calls for almost $7 billion, the majority of system expansion spending, to go toward expanding roads and highways.” And while the plan includes almost $5 billion for new transit projects, “any progress on transit expansion would be swamped by the additional miles of new road lanes.”

As the authors point out, “History has proved that trying to build our way out of congestion with more lane miles is a failed strategy.” Now, “It’s time to plan for a transportation system that works for everyone and every community in our region — urban, suburban or rural. We need a system that gives us choices, grows the economy, is safe for everyone (including cyclists, pedestrians and people with disabilities), and helps us reduce carbon emissions.”