Transportation Projects

Attempting to break a years-long stalemate over transportation revenue, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller intends to introduce legislation that would allow local governments and regional authorities to raise money for roads and mass transit. Members of Miller's staff said the bill, which is still being drafted, is likely to include some familiar forms of transportation revenue, including a gas tax increase. But it also would include creation of new regional authorities to carry out transit projects and permission for local jurisdictions to impose their own taxes for local road projects.

The governor of Virginia has thrown a new wrinkle into a Maryland debate by calling for abolition of the commonwealth's gas tax and increasing the sales tax to pay for roads and transit - a move that would alter the competitive balance between the two states. This week's proposal by Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Republican, is part of a five-year $3.1 billion plan that seeks to address that state's lack of money for transportation projects - which parallels a similar shortfall in Maryland - by shifting from a dwindling revenue source to one with the potential to grow with inflation.

The new year brings a new session of the General Assembly in Annapolis, and we already know that gun control and transportation will be the major issues in the upcoming session. I read more and more about Montgomery and Prince George's counties teaming up to ensure that transportation projects for the D.C. suburbs are funded by the state. But what are the local governments in Baltimore City and Baltimore County doing to ensure that this region gets the transportation and infrastructure funding it needs?

It is not surprising that people such as Prince George's County Executive Rushern L. Baker III are calling again for an increase in the gas tax ("Calls for new road and transit funding," Dec. 13). Look around at all the other transportation projects that no one except the politicians wanted: the Intercounty Connector (billions of dollars), the Interstate 95 express toll lanes (billions more), the construction at I-95 and Route 24 (millions on top of that). It goes on and on. The politicians seem to think taxpayers are an endless supply of funds, yet if you look at what they are doing at White Marsh Boulevard and have done at Route 24, they've put in more traffic signals which will cause us to waste more gas. It is ridiculous, and I am hoping the taxpayers recognize the politicians seem to no longer have the taxpayers' best interests in mind but some other interests.

Business leaders and county officials are urging the governor and General Assembly to increase Maryland's gas tax or find another way to raise hundreds of millions of dollars for road and transit projects — even in the face of public opposition. More than 100 people packed a hearing room in Annapolis on Wednesday to discuss strategies. They want to persuade legislators to raise the money needed to develop major new transportation projects, not just maintain what the state already has. Prince George's County Executive Rushern L. Baker III said the General Assembly needs to act in the legislative session that begins next month, not "kick the can down the road.

It is time for a real jobs agenda for Maryland. Too many citizens in our state are unemployed or under-employed and are struggling to make ends meet. Notwithstanding recent job losses, we have a stronger economy than many states in the nation, which gives us incredible opportunities to change this. Maryland needs a clear jobs agenda that connects the dots between transportation, public works, housing and workforce development. This jobs agenda should focus on building clear employment pathways and expanding opportunity in Maryland's niche and growing sectors - from bioscience to information technology to transportation.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid recently said aloud what many Americans must be thinking these days - that at least some Republicans in Congress would like to see the U.S. economy worsen in order to boost their chances of success in the November election. The evidence? The GOP's continued resistance to approving a multiyear transportation authorization bill. Senator Reid told The Hill that he's heard House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is leading the charge to delay the Senate bill - and the tens of thousands of jobs it would create.

Kick the can down the road. Kick the can down the road. The game is getting old in Maryland, and The Sun is absolutely right to point out that, for the second time in a matter of weeks, the Maryland General Assembly is wrapping up its business without yet tackling the absolutely critical issue of fixing our state transportation funding crisis ("Unfinished business," May 16). Maryland's transportation trust fund has been severely depleted in recent years, with multiple raids on the fund to help offset operating budget deficits.

Not long after the Maryland General Assembly last adjourned back in mid-April, gasoline prices were approaching $4 a gallon. Currently, a price-conscious shopper can purchase a gallon of regular unleaded in the Baltimore area for as little as $3.50. That's a 50-cent swing in prices, essentially a 12.5 percent discount from just one month ago. So, Mr. and Mrs. Average Maryland Consumer, has this drop in prices had a huge impact on your life? Has it revived the economy? Put the unemployed back to work?

Former Gov. Parris N. Glendening's proposal to let voters decide whether to build transportation projects ignores the long history of disconnect between the state's plans and outcomes, which cannot be resolved by a simple yes or no by voters ("Voters will support transportation projects," April 22). This goes back at least as far as the 1960s, when voters rejected a second parallel span for the Bay Bridge - and the state built it anyway. In the 1990s, even Gov. William Donald Schaefer got conned by his own Department of Transportation's promises regarding light rail.