In a governor's race dominated by the issues of education, crime and the economy, transportation so far has taken a back seat. But in a state that slogs through some of the worst traffic congestion in the country, moving people and goods remains one of the most important functions of state government.
"A lot of key decisions are scheduled to be made in the next four years, and the outcome of those decisions could influence jobs and neighborhood investments and growth patterns for generations to come," said Dan Pontious, policy director for Baltimore's Citizens Planning and Housing Association.
The next administration will decide, for example, whether the state builds rail transit or rapid bus lanes in three important transportation corridors -- an east-west line in Baltimore and two lines in the Washington suburbs. The Ehrlich administration is clearly intrigued by Bus Rapid Transit -- using high-tech buses in dedicated lanes -- while O'Malley is an advocate for rail.
The next governor could also determine whether the state continues in the direction of financing major road projects with tolls, or turns to increases in taxes or fees. Ehrlich's transportation secretary, Robert L. Flanagan, prefers tolls to build and expand roads as well as to control congestion. O'Malley is scornful of toll projects, calling them "a move backward in our history."
The Ehrlich administration wants to keep spending more than $1 million a year over the next six years to make plans for a new crossing of the Chesapeake Bay -- a "third bridge" idea that has run into fierce resistance on the Eastern Shore. O'Malley opposes a new bay crossing and wants to explore a system of fast ferries.
Transportation played more of a central role in Ehrlich's 2002 campaign, in which he criticized Gov. Parris N. Glendening for canceling the proposed Inter-county Connector -- a highway connecting Interstates 95 and 270 in the Washington suburbs -- and underfunding road projects around the state.
To a large extent, Ehrlich has delivered on his promises, using his influence with the Bush administration to put the ICC on a fast track. The toll road received final federal approval earlier this year.
In 2004, the governor took on the politically delicate challenge of persuading the General Assembly to raise transportation revenues. Flanagan cobbled together a fragile coalition to approve a near-doubling of vehicle registration fees, winning a crucial victory for Ehrlich and bringing in $238 million a year.
