Focusing development around rail and bus stops could help revitalize blighted neighborhoods in Baltimore while also easing the region's traffic congestion, said a report released yesterday.
But state and local officials need to do more to overcome obstacles that have slowed such transit-oriented development, according to the report by the MaryPIRG Foundation.
"These stations have tremendous potential for development, but it depends on coordination between state and city agencies," MaryPIRG's Chris Fick said during a news conference held at a MARC commuter stop in West Baltimore. The station is being studied as a stop for a proposed light rail or bus route linking the Social Security complex in Baltimore County with Fells Point in the city.
Pointing to commercial and residential developments around rail stations in places such as Arlington, Va., Portland, Ore., and Dallas, the report said Maryland officials have not similarly taken advantage of the state's transit networks. There are 31 light rail, Metro and commuter rail stops in Baltimore, with 33 in surrounding counties, the report noted.
Local officials need to ease parking requirements and revise zoning rules to encourage a mixture of shops, offices and homes within a short walk of rail stops, the report said.
Otis Rolley, Baltimore's director of planning and zoning who attended the news conference, said his office lacks the funds to hire a full-time coordinator for such transit projects, as MaryPIRG urged. But city officials are experimenting with relaxing parking requirements for redevelopment in the Mount Vernon area, which is served largely by buses.
State transportation officials said they have taken extensive steps to promote development around transit stops. The Maryland Transit Administration operates bus, light rail, Metro and commuter rail lines serving the Baltimore region.
State and city officials said they are working more closely since the fall, when state Transportation Secretary Robert L. Flanagan warned that the city had failed to capitalize on opportunities to rebuild the neighborhood around Penn Station.
Marsha Kaiser, the state transportation department's planning director, noted that they are cooperating next week in launching a redevelopment plan for the State Center area, the state government office complex served by Metro, light rail and buses. But Henry Kay, a transit advocate for the Greater Baltimore Committee business group, cautioned that development around transit stops such as the West Baltimore MARC station might hinge on the proposed east-west Red Line, which the state is studying.
