The decision to go with light rail over bus rapid transit will be more expensive and take longer to complete, but proponents say it’s an investment in Baltimore’s economic future.
According to a Patch article by Megan VerHeist, Baltimore’s revived Red Line project will be a light rail system rather than bus rapid transit. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore made the announcement, which VerHeist reports “delivers on a key campaign promise made by Moore to revive the project canceled by former Gov. Larry Hogan.” The 14-mile, 19-station Red Line project will fill a gap in east-west transit service and link high-poverty neighborhoods along the proposed route to two key job hubs. It will be the first expansion of the city’s transit network in decades.
Critics of the project, including the former Gov. Hogan, who canceled the project in 2015, say it’s a waste of money. State officials estimate it will cost $3.2 to $7.2 billion to construct, and it will be years before they’ll be ready to break ground. The announcement also comes as “the state faces a major shortfall of transportation funding over the next five years, driven in part by the need to meet its obligations to Washington’s Metro system and to pay for the coming Purple Line in the D.C. suburbs,” an article in the Baltimore Banner reports.
FULL STORY: Light Rail Chosen Over Buses For Baltimore's Red Line Transit Project
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