Ulman said the added money could be used for a variety of purposes, including mega-projects such as an extension of Baltimore's subway toward Morgan State University or improvements to the MARC commuter train system. And he said it also could pay for smaller but important projects such as the expansion of park-and-ride lots or creation of a new transit hub as part of the redevelopment of downtown Columbia.
The board said it will use a three-part process to seek public input on the specific projects to be added to the long-range plan. It will meet with its citizens advisory committee, which had pushed for larger transit investments, next Wednesday. It has also scheduled public workshops and hearings next month.
"It only makes sense to give citizens an opportunity to share not only their concerns but their suggestions for improving our transportation network at the beginning of the process," Ulman said.
The public comment period will be followed by four months during which the board will identify projects that could be funded with the added money. A second phase of public review will come early next year.
Ed Cohen, past president of the Transit Riders Action Council, said the money is not enough on its own to fund a large project such as a transit line. Transit advocates had asked the board to go further and to reallocate money from previously approved projects. But Cohen said the action was significant because it could foreshadow further changes the next time the long-term plan, which still allocates far more money to roads than transit, is redrafted.
"There's no question they listened to what the public said," Cohen said. "They said all of the $340 million, not three-quarters of it. That's a political statement."
The public comment period on transit projects to be funded begins Friday. Public workshops have been scheduled at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. Aug. 12, and the full board will meet at 9 a.m. Aug. 26 to hear public comments. Another public workshop will be held at 1 p.m. that day. The sessions will be held at the Baltimore Metropolitan Council offices at 2700 Lighthouse Point East, in the 2700 block of Boston St. in Canton.
michael.dresser@baltsun.com
