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baltimoresun.com
Scrapping of traffic-congestion plan urged - Proposal tilts too heavily toward highways, mass-transit advocates say
By Michael Dresser
Sun Reporter
August 29, 2007
A coalition of mass-transit advocates urged the Baltimore Regional Transportation Board yesterday to scrap its $8.7 billion draft plan for traffic congestion relief over the next 28 years, contending that the proposal is heavily skewed in favor of highway projects.
The advocates are attacking a potential blueprint for what the region's transportation system would look like in 2035. They say the draft Transportation Outlook 2035, prepared by local governments and the transportation board's staff, directs too much money to road projects, including many that would encourage sprawl and violate the state's Smart Growth policies.
At a public hearing last night, speakers almost unanimously turned thumbs down on a plan that critics described as lacking in regional vision.
Advocates demanded a roughly even split of the funds to finance a full regional rapid transit network and MARC system improvements.
The Greater Baltimore Committee expressed disappointment that the draft didn't include a Metro system extension to Morgan State University and Good Samaritan Hospital.
Gregory Schaffer, president of Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, asked why the East Baltimore campus, with more than 6,300 employees, had been left out of plans for a new transit line and a MARC system upgrade.
This report was commissioned by the Greater Baltimore Urban League (GBUL) to the Graduate Program in City and Regional Planning and the National Transportation Center at Morgan State University. The purpose of the report is to answer two broad research questions: (a) How does the public participation process in transportation reach, empower, and take into account low-income and minority communities and their needs, problems, and aspirations? And (b) how are equity and environmental justice data and concerns incorporated into the decision- making process? The research employed multiple methods. These included a literature review; qualitative interviews with transportation planners, practitioners and policymakers, and other stakeholders in transportation planning and policy; a focus group; and a survey. Our primary analytical framework was drawn from critical ethnography and studies of practice and discourse in public policy.
Environmental Justice in Transportation Planning and Policy: Some Evidence From Practice in the Baltimore-Washintgon DC Metropolitan Region.
Morgan State Univ., Baltimore, MD. National Transportation Center.
Product Type: Technical report
NTIS Order Number: PB2005-101330
Page Count: 56 pages
Date: Nov 2004
Author: S. Sen, L. M. Azonobi
The purpose of the report is to answer two broad research questions: (1) How is environmental justice in transportation addressed and implemented to take into account low-income populations and minority communities and their needs, problems, and aspirations; and (2) how are environmental justice data and concerns incorporated into the transportation decision-making process. The research employed multiple methods. These included a literature review; qualitative interviews with transportation planners, practitioners and policymakers, and other stakeholders in transportation planning and policy in the Baltimore-Washington D.C. metropolitan area; and a focus group in Baltimore. Our primary analytical framework was drawn from critical ethnography and studies of practices and discourse in public policy. Three different views of environmental justice emerged from this study of the Baltimore-Washington D.C. metropolitan area. Most private consulting firms in the area are engaged in environmental justice, because it's a source of job and contracts. Most public officials in the region are engaged in environmental justice and public participation because it's a federal regulation and requirement. However, most citizen and advocacy groups in the region environmental justice and its implementation as part of the agency's mission. The lack of uniform standards regarding environmental justice issues, coupled with scarcity of information as well as the complexity of the issues, are all obstacles to implementing and enforcing environmental justice principles. Access to information is an important issue for community organizations, advocacy groups, low income and minority groups. Public agencies often hold meetings at places that are not easily accessible, or at times difficult for transit dependent, low-income, and minority populations to attend. We recommend that transportation agencies in the Baltimore-Washington D.C. metropolitan area take a proactive stance in involving low-income and minority communities in the transportation policy and planning process.