Red Line (Baltimore)

The Red Line is a proposed east-west mass transit light rail line for Baltimore, Maryland. It is still in the planning stages and has been granted federal approval to enter the preliminary engineering phase. The line's construction is estimated to begin in 2015, subject to funding.^[2]

Background

In 2001, then-Secretary of Transportation John Porcari appointed a 23-member independent commission, the Baltimore Region Rail System Plan Advisory Committee, to make suggestions for new rail lines and expansions of existing lines. The proposals used a unified branding scheme for the existing lines and the proposed new lines, identifying each line by a color, as the Washington Metro and many other transit agencies do.^[4]

The suggested system was composed of six color-coded lines with an overall length of 109 miles (175 km) and 122 stations, including Baltimore's existing Metro Subway and Light Rail lines. In the commission's report, the Red Line was an east-west line that would begin at the Social Security Administration offices in Woodlawn in Baltimore County; travel through West Baltimore, with an intermodal stop at the West Baltimore MARC station; pass through downtown, where it would intersect the existing Metro Subway and Light Rail lines; and passing through East Baltimore, with stops in the newly gentrifying neighborhoods of Fells Point, Canton, and the area around Patterson Park. The Red Line was designated by the commission as the starting component for new work on the 6-line system.^[5]

Of the commission's proposals, the Red Line was taken up with the most enthusiasm by area officials. Progress was slowed by a debate between state Secretary of Transportation Robert Flanagan and the Baltimore city government and Congressional delegation over the mode: Flanagan favored a bus rapid transit (BRT) solution with separate right-of-way components, like Boston's Silver Line; the other officials favored a light rail rapid transit line or heavy rail, insisting that both modes of rail transit be included in studies.^[6][7][8]

Heavy rail was dismissed by Flanagan as an alternative, due to an estimated cost of $2.2 billion to $2.6 billion. With ridership of only 45,000 on Baltimore's existing Metro system at the time of his appointment, he did not expect the Red Line to reach the 140,000 to 150,000 ridership level necessary to attract federal funding for a new heavy rail line.^[6][9]

Red Line alternatives

• TSM: Transportation System Management^[10]
• BRT: Bus Rapid Transit
• LRT: Light Rail Transit

Source:^[11]

Modified alternative 4C selected by governor

In August 2009, Governor O'Malley selected a modified version of the Light Rail Alternative 4C, which became known as the "Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA)."^[12] The modification eliminated two stations and a small parking lot from the original Alternative 4C plans, but included an expansion of parking at the West Baltimore MARC station.^[13]

Two features of the original Alternative 4C plan, considered important by the Citizens Advisory Council, remained part of the Locally Preferred Alternative:

• Much of the proposed route through West Baltimore runs generally along U.S. Route 40, including the depressed freeway section left over from the cancellation of Interstates 70 and 170 within the city limits. This freeway section was built to accommodate a transit line in the median, and the Red Line would most likely use this route to achieve grade separation though the area.

• The current LPA provides for the line to go underground along Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard and to surface on Boston Street near the Can Company in Canton, bypassing downtown Baltimore's narrow streets and crowded traffic conditions. Another tunnel bypasses Cooks Lane, but the original LPA version reduced the tunnel to a single track alignment.^[13] Adjustments to the LPA were later made to allow a second track in the Cooks Lane tunnel.^[2]

The necessary federal funding for construction of the Red Line is not yet secured. Plans currently call for a final environmental impact statement to be issued by 2011, with construction beginning in 2013 and service expected to start by 2016.^[14]

With the Federal Transit Administration's approval in June 2011 to start preliminary engineering, the project made its first step beyond the concept stage. However, the FTA estimated daily ridership for the completed system at 57,000 and expected it to cost a total of $2.2 billion with inflation included. Henry Kay, MTA's deputy administrator, estimated the cost of preliminary engineering at $65 million. The state will have to pay preliminary engineering costs, but Kay said that these and other upfront costs would be eligible for federal reimbursement.^[15]

Proposed route and stations

The alignment for the Red Line follows an east–west path. Starting from the west, the proposed stations are as follows^[1]:

• NOTE: qb40 will either be replaced or eliminated when the Red Line begins service.

Red Line system features

Source: ^[1]

Citizens' Advisory Council

Establishment of Council

The "Citizens' Advisory Council for the Baltimore Corridor Transit Study - Red Line" was established by the Maryland General Assembly in 2006.^[16][17]

Governor Robert Erlich vetoed the bills which originally created the Citizens' Advisory Council on May 26, 2006, and replaced it with the "Red Line Community Advisory Council." This 15-member Council was appointed entirely by the Governor.^[18][19]

At a Special Session in June 2006, the Legislature overrode the Governor's veto.^[16][17] The Council established by the Legislature also had 15 members, but only two could be appointed by the Governor. Five of the other Council members are appointed by the Senate President, five by the Speaker of the House, two by the Baltimore City Mayor and one by the Baltimore County Executive. Two co-chairs for the Council could be chosen by the Governor or the Maryland Transit Administrator from up to four nominees selected by the Senate President and Speaker of the House.^[20]

On July 30, 2007, an executive order by Governor Martin O'Malley restored the name originally selected by the Legislature.^[21]

First annual report to General Assembly

On September 9, 2008, the Red Line Citizens' Advisory Council voted unanimously to adopt its first report to the General Assembly, which included the statement that "Preparation of a SDEIS [Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement] should begin now, as a collaborative effort between the MTA and the public in finding the best ways to invest over a billion dollars in Baltimore's transportation infrastructure in keeping with the vision of the 2002 Plan."^[22]

Council dispute over Alternative 4C

A recommendation for Alternative 4C (light rail with a downtown tunnel and a Cooks Lane tunnel) was approved by a vote of five to two at the Citizens' Advisory Council meeting on December 11, 2008. Two of the nine members present abstained.^[23]

Red Line Community Compact

This document, signed by city and state officials, and 72 leaders of community organizations on September 12, 2008, describes how they intend to build and operate the Red Line for the benefit of Baltimore and its communities.^[24] The Community Compact emphasizes four main points:

• Put Baltimore to work on the Red Line: encourage and promote local and minority contract participation.

• Make the Red Line green: include green space and environmental improvements into the project.

• Community-centered station design, development and stewardship

• Reduce impact of construction on communities

Mayor Sheila Dixon appointed leaders from city government, non-profit and citizen groups, and the business community to a 40 member steering committee to implement each part of the Community Compact. The Red Line Community Compact Steering Committee held their first meeting on February 19, 2009; the group is scheduled to meet quarterly throughout the life of the project.

The decision at the meeting on December 11, 2008 was disputed at another Advisory Council meeting on July 9, 2009, where 11 members were present. A six to five vote favored rescinding the previous decision for Alternative 4C. Council Chair Angela Bethea-Spearman ruled that the motion to rescind failed, because the vote was less than a 2/3 majority. She cited "Robert's Rules" as the criteria for requiring a 2/3 majority and denying the rescision.^[25]

Community opposition to Alternative 4C

Since late 2008, Baltimore City has favored the "4C Alternative" selected by Governor O'Malley in 2009, which was endorsed by Mayor Sheila Dixon.^[1] However, the 2008 Citizens Advisory Council annual report commented on the opposition of community groups to surface rail alignments through residential neighborhoods.^[26]

A letter from the Allendale Community Association, read at a meeting of the Citizens Advisory Council on December 11, 2008, expressed the Association's opposition to Alternative 4C and any surface rail construction along Edmondson Avenue.^[27]

The West-East Coalition (WEC) Against Red Line Alternative 4C, established in June 2009, represents community associations, homeowners groups, businesses and religious groups opposed to the Alternative 4C. Its website explains that the organization considers the proposed light rail alignment to be a detriment to communities on both the East and West sides of Baltimore.^[28]

In a letter to Governor Martin O'Malley, Senator Barbara Mikulski, Senator Benjamin Cardin, Congressman Elijah Cummings, Congressman John P. Sarbanes, and Mayor Sheila Dixon on July 13, 2009, the WEC described concerns about the effects of double-tracked surface rail, traffic congestion, and safety concerns.^[28]

In 2009, the WEC circulated a petition against the surface Red Line in the Canton neighborhood. It delivered 1,350 signed cards to Governor O'Malley on July 31, 2009.^[29]

Support for Red Line and Political Action Committee

In the summer of 2011 the Red Line Now Political Action Committee(PAC) was established to voice the support of residents of Baltimore City for the funding and construction of Alternative 4C. Its website states that the organization is staffed on a volunteer basis and plans to support local politicians that support the construction of the Red Line. ^[30]

Red Line Now PAC is governed by a nine-member board of directors who are citizen volunteers who live and/or work along the Red Line corridor. The board members represent the Midtown, Edmondson, Canton, Fells Point, Patterson Park, and Greektown communities.

See also

• Green Line - a proposed rail line in Baltimore from Johns Hopkins Hospital to Morgan State University.
• Yellow Line - a proposed rail line from Hunt Valley to Columbia Town Center.
• Charles Street Trolley - a proposed trolley line in northern Baltimore, backed by a non-MTA group.

References

External links

• Official Project Website For a virtual tour of the Red Line, click on Ride the Line Video at the MTA's Red Line website.
• Mayor's Red Line Website
• West-East Coalition Against Red Line Alternative 4C www.baltimoreredlineunderground.org
• Red Line Political Action Committee