November 11, 2004 

New Administrator for MTA; Smith Replaced with MDOT Assistant Secretary Dickerson

Continuing a rolling wave of personnel changes, MDOT Secretary Robert Flanagan announced on October 29 the appointment of Lisa Dickerson as the Acting Transit Administrator. Dickerson, formerly the Assistant Secretary for Economic Opportunity and Empowerment for the department, replaces Robert Smith who was at the helm at MTA less than two years. According to an MDOT press release, prior to her MDOT position Dickerson was CEO of a company that operated airport parking shuttles and helped to establish the paratransit program in Washington . Leaving with Smith was John Gowland who occupied the number two slot as General Manager. Smith was a member of the BTA Board of Advisors, and the offer will be extended to Dickerson. Following her appointment, GBC President Donald Fry contacted Dickerson to familiarize her with the BTA and offered to assist her.

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MTA Completes Red Line Open Houses; 300 Attend

This week MTA wrapped up a series of seven public workshops on Red Line alternatives. The workshops were lightly attended, with an average of 40 people at each. Attendees were invited to listen to a structured presentation, and to comment and ask questions. Generally, attendee comments included concern about the effectiveness of options that travel along existing streets or in traffic; concern by residents of center city communities that the focus was more about serving the commuting needs of suburban residents; and support for developing a real transit "system" in the region. MTA will use the public comments and additional technical analysis to winnow down the alignment options to a few "preferred alternatives" to be presented next Spring.

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Record Number of Transit Funding Referenda Pass

Voters around the U.S. approved a record number of ballot initiatives that fund transit this year according to analysis by the Center for Transportation Excellence. Of the 28 measures that included funding for public transit up for a vote on November 2, 22 were approved. In Denver , voters approved a $4.7 billion package to expand light rail and commuter rail lines to reach additional city and suburban communities and the airport. It will also fund a new rapid bus service and an 80 percent increase in capacity at park-and-ride facilities. The initiative will be funded with a local sales tax increase from 0.6 percent to 1 percent (4 cents/per $10). In Phoenix , voters passed a measure to extend the half-cent sales tax dedicated to transportation in Maricopa County . The revenue will fund a $16 billion plan to improve the county's freeway and bus systems, and add 27 additional miles to the light rail system now under construction. Finally, San Diegans are waiting for the absentee ballot count to know whether voters provided the supermajority of 67 percent needed to pass a $14 billion initiative to extend an existing half-cent sales tax to fund regional transportation improvements. The funding would be split equally between highway, transit and local road projects.

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New FTA Report Shows Potential For Development at Transit Stations Nationally and in Baltimore Region

A new report by the Federal Transit Administration and the Center for Transit-Oriented Development estimates that between now and 2025, more than 25% of households could be looking for housing within a half-mile of an existing or proposed transit station. The estimated 14.6 million households to be seeking such housing is more than double the number of housing units in these areas today. The report notes that "...the amount of new TOD housing has the potential to significantly change development patterns and increase transit usage." Most of the demand will occur in the five regions with extensive transit systems (New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, and Philadelphia), but the Baltimore region is characterized as having an "emerging" TOD market with the potential for transit zone households to grow from 70,000 today to nearly 180,000 in 2025. That equals an average of 1,420 new housing units for each of the 77 existing stations in the region. This number is surprisingly high, and both CPHA and state planners are working with the authors of the study to conduct a more detailed analysis for the Baltimore region.

To see the entire report, click here.

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