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.
Read the full story: Light Rail Chosen Over Buses For Baltimore's Red Line Transit Project
Civil Rights Activists Target Baltimore Red Line Cancellation
A complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Transportation alleges that Maryland Gov. Hogan's decision to cancel the long-planned Red Line rail project violates the Civil Rights Act.
Op-Ed: Maryland Governor Is No Friend to Transit
According to this editorial, Governor Larry Hogan's decision to halt a planned $2.9 billion light rail line betrays a politically-motivated preference for roads.
Feds Pause Baltimore Red Line Permits
The MTA says it is committed to continuing work on the light rail project, but the pause signals a potential shift in federal funding for the east-west line.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Chicago breaks ground on $3 billion megadevelopment
The new neighborhood, titled Foundry Park, will one day host 3,700 residences.
Satanic Place Names
From streams and lakes to valleys and canyons, I mapped more than 1,000 places named after the Devil.
California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO resigns after $600,000 scandal
Under Ian Choudri, the authority used taxpayer dollars to fund first class flights and trips to nightclubs.
Want to study the Missouri River? Soon, you may need unanimous approval from 10 states
Legislation would require 10 governors’ permission to study or build projects moving water outside the basin.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority