BTA Updates - October 23, 2006

What a Difference a Year Makes: Draft MDOT Capital Budget Shows Commitment to System Preservation, Continues Rail Plan Implementation

The Maryland Department of Transportation has reached the half-way mark on its annual "tour" to present the draft six-year capital budget to county officials. At just under $9 billion the budget is large by historical standards, reflecting the infusion of funding that followed the 2004 increases to vehicle registration fees. Six-year funding for MTA and Washington area transit programs totals $2.6 billion. In contrast to last year where transit funding fell dramatically in the draft budget but then rose in the final budget following a BTA critique, transit funding is now up 4% including a $53 million increase in "system preservation." Most of the balance of the increase for transit is for two projects: the Silver Spring Transit Center in Montgomery County and purchase of a Locust Point rail yard to be used for MARC Train maintenance. The Red and Green Line projects, components of the Baltimore Region Rail System Plan, are funded at last year's levels.

On a rainy Saturday in late September community leaders and elected officials took time to explore both realized and unrealized development opportunities around Metro Subway and Light Rail stations in Baltimore. The tour, organized by the Citizens Planning and Housing Association, the Baltimore Neighborhood Collaborative, and the Greater Baltimore Committee, included projects at differing scales and stages of development. Participants saw garages under construction at Owings Mills, soon-to-be-developed parking lots at State Center, the completed Symphony Center, and nearly complete Clipper Mill. At each stop local developers, community representatives, or public officials offered insights about the projects and how to best realize their full potential. Elected official participants included Senator Lisa Gladden, Delegate Sandy Rosenberg, Delegate Adrienne Jones, as well as representatives of Baltimore City Council President Sheila Dixon and Councilwoman Helen Holton.

An extension to MetroLink, the light rail line serving metropolitan St. Louis, opened for service on August 26. The extension adds eight miles and nine new stations to the existing 38-mile system which runs from St. Louis-Lambert International Airport in Missouri to Scott Air Force Base in Illinois. The $676 million cost of the project was paid entirely with local funding derived from a sales tax increase approved by voters in 1994. The extension is apparently well-received: ridership in September increased 31% compared to the prior year and now tops 75,000 per average weekday.

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