In a shift away from highways-first transportation policies, top elected officials in the Baltimore region have decided to direct about $340 million in previously unallocated revenue over 20 years entirely toward mass transit projects.
The action by the Baltimore Regional Transportation Board comes in response to protests from citizen advisers and transit advocates that its previous long-range plan, called Transportation Outlook 2035, was too heavily weighted in favor of road projects.
The board is recognized by the federal government as the chief planning body for transportation in the Baltimore metropolitan region. Its members include the mayors of Baltimore and Annapolis, the Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Harford and Howard county executives, the Carroll County commissioners and state transportation officials.
The money comes primarily from Gov. Martin O'Malley's 2007 package of revenue increases from such sources as the vehicle titling tax and corporate taxes. The added revenue from that package had not previously been factored into the regional board's long-range plans.
In a vote last week, the board determined that all of the added funds should go to short- and long-term transit projects, a shift in priorities that officials said reflects concerns about air pollution, gasoline prices and dependence on fossil fuels.
"People are really interested in taking mass transit," said Howard County Executive Ken Ulman, the board's chairman. Jack Cahalan, a spokesman for the state Transportation Department, said its representatives on the board supported the move at the direction of O'Malley and Secretary John D. Porcari.
"We support the BRTB's decision. It is a recognition of the region's need for better transit," Cahalan said. "It is a starting point, is what it comes down to."
Cahalan said the decision will add an average of $20 million per year to the money available for capital spending on transit projects. But he noted that state dollars can be used to leverage federal funds for transit projects. Ulman said that with the growing cost of road projects, the regional leaders decided to get "more bang for our buck" by focusing on transit projects.
He said the decision was supported by all of the region's jurisdictions, even those in which the impact of transit has traditionally been limited.
