This article was republished with permission from 海角精品黑料’s news partners at .聽Sign up for today.
This content was republished with permission from 海角精品黑料鈥檚 news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for today.
As he travels the state with top administrators from the Maryland Department of Transportation, Secretary Pete K. Rahn hears a frequent plea from business leaders, environmentalists and the public 鈥� expand bus and rail options, so travelers don鈥檛 have to be so dependent on their cars.
Rahn has a ready response for transit advocates: Under Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R), Maryland is spending more on transit than at any other time.
鈥淲e鈥檙e at 42 percent of the state [transportation] trust fund going to transit already, with 3 percent of the revenues coming from transit,鈥� Rahn told a reporter in Prince George鈥檚 County, following the MDOT鈥檚 capital budget briefing there on Friday.
Indeed, Hogan鈥檚 decision to green-light the Purple Line early in his first term and his push to give the Washington, D.C., area鈥檚 Metro system the first-ever dedicated source of funding in its history earned him widespread praise.
But in talking with county, state and municipal officials from Prince George鈥檚 County at Friday鈥檚 鈥渞oad show鈥� presentation in Upper Marlboro, Rahn offered another reason why the state won鈥檛 be providing all the funding transit advocates might want.
Asked by County Council Chairman Todd M. Turner (D) about on the possibility of 鈥渁dditional revenue,鈥� Rahn said, 鈥淕ov. Hogan has said we are not going to be raising taxes, we鈥檙e not going to raise fees. I think for us realistically 鈥� if we鈥檙e going to take on some of these larger projects that remain 鈥� it鈥檚 going to take a healthy federal program.鈥�
Rahn鈥檚 statement reflected a reality that Turner and other officials understand, even if they don鈥檛 like it. Hogan scored an upset win the 2014 race for governor by tapping into the public鈥檚 frustration with taxes, and as he proceeds through his second term with robust job-approval numbers, he鈥檚 not turning back.
Despite the secretary鈥檚 candor, local officials and members of the public who testified at the hearing on the state鈥檚 rolling transportation plan 鈥� the FY 2020-2025 Consolidated Transportation Program 鈥� peppered him with requests for expanded rail and bus service:
鈥� Sen. Malcolm Augustine (D-Prince George鈥檚) expressed concern about the state鈥檚 decision not to include dedicated bus lanes in its planned widening of the Capital Beltway.
Transit options were dropped from further study 鈥渂ecause they could not pay for themselves鈥� because we have no additional resources to pay for things that need to be subsidized,鈥� Rahn told the lawmaker.
He also noted that MDOT has decided to allow bus rapid transit service to use the express toll lanes that the state is seeking to add. That, he said, would allow commuters to travel between 45 and 55 miles an hour, a speed that would have them zooming past motorists who frequently endure delays on that road at rush hour.
鈥� Greenbelt Mayor Emmett V. Jordan said city officials were 鈥渧ery disappointed鈥� that the state removed funding to complete the interchange that carries traffic from the Capital Beltway to and from the Greenbelt Metro Station, an area he called 鈥減rime for development.鈥�
Rahn told the mayor the funding was removed when the FBI dropped plans to build a new headquarters somewhere in the Washington, D.C., suburbs. Greenbelt had been one of three finalists for the construction.
鈥� When Councilmember Mel Franklin (D) made a pitch for a new bus rapid transit from Southern Maryland to the D.C. area, Rahn again referenced the state鈥檚 limited ability to finance expansion.
鈥淭o my knowledge, there is not a transit system in the United States that pays for itself. It just means that if transit is wanted, there has to be a long-term plan for it,鈥� he said.
MDOT鈥檚 statewide tour takes Rahn and his team to the state鈥檚 23 counties and the City of Baltimore every year. Even as he touts the state鈥檚 record investments, he has been repeatedly urged to boost transit funding even further.
On Monday the CTP 鈥渞oad show鈥� reaches Montgomery County, where state and local officials are expressing anger with the state鈥檚 decision to offload responsibility for the long-planned Corridor Cities Transitway onto the county. Advocates for that project, an upcounty bus rapid transit line that would connect Montgomery鈥檚 burgeoning biotech communities, are expected to press Rahn to partner with with the county on the CCT going forward.
They should not expect good news.
鈥淲e have a major issue,鈥� Rahn said Friday after his briefing in neighboring Prince George鈥檚. 鈥淭ransit is becoming unsustainable within the [state transportation] trust fund and maintaining a highway system that 82 percent of Marylanders use.鈥�
