Transportation, air quality, BaltimoreLink, and the cancellation of the Red Line are interconnected
Transportation is a major source of greenhouse gases and air pollution. According to a 2016 report from the Maryland Department of the Environment, 36% of the total greenhouse gases produced in Maryland come from transportation.
A fleet built on diesel technology is harmful to human health.
These new diesel buses will further increase noxious exhaust gases and particulate emissions for pedestrians, cyclists, transit riders, drivers, and residents on every bus route, as well as increase the bus system’s emission of greenhouse gases. This is disappointing when hybrid technology is proven to reduce not only greenhouse gases but also other gases and particulate matter that are linked to cardiovascular disease, cancer, and asthma.
BaltimoreLink will concentrate air emissions and worsen local air quality.
BaltimoreLink is designed to increase the frequency and concentration of diesel buses in the downtown core, which will have the effect of concentrating emissions in the area with the most pedestrians and cyclists on the streets and the least dispersion of air through wind, leading to worse local air quality for thousands of Baltimore residents and workers. This is especially concerning when we compare the BaltimoreLink to the Red Line Light Rail Project (Red Line), which would have been electric and therefore would have reduced air pollution - in East Baltimore, West Baltimore, and the downtown core.
BaltimoreLink will concentrate air emissions and worsen local air quality.
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Hogan's Lexus Lane Plan: Bad for Drivers, Transit Riders & Taxpayers
From the Maryland Transit Opportunities Coalition (MTOC)
The Lexus lane plan proposed by Governor Larry Hogan yesterday (September 21, 2017) offers no help to travelers stuck in traffic jams while promising exorbitant tolls and higher taxes.
"The cost of this plan will be many times higher than the $9 billion number that was thrown out yesterday," MTOC chair Ben Ross said. "Last year Governor Hogan's own transportation secretary told us that just one piece of the plan -- I-270 north of Shady Grove and the American Legion Bridge -- would cost more than $8 billion by itself.
When the State Highway Administration last studied this idea in 2004, it determined that some or all of the new lanes would have to be elevated above the existing highway. And most Montgomery and Prince George's commuters wouldn't be able to use them even if they could afford the high tolls. Drivers would be allowed to enter the Lexus lanes only at a few exits -- flyover ramps are much too expensive to build at every interchange.
"Few drivers will pay the high tolls," commented MTOC vice-chair Sharonlee Vogel of Howard County, "and the taxpayers will be stuck with the bills. Bus riders and Chevy drivers will pay for Lexus lanes."
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Governor Hogan cancelled the Red Line
The Red Line was a planned east-west mass transit light rail line for Baltimore, Maryland. Although it had been granted federal approval to enter the preliminary engineering phase, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan declared on June 25, 2015 that he would not provide state funds for the project. The line's construction had been estimated to begin in late 2015–early 2016, subject to funding, with a completion date set for late 2021–early 2022.
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Hogan Vetoes MTA Oversight Board
Governor Hogan vetoed legislation that would have created a citizen panel with oversight of the MTA. Most major transit agencies in the country have an oversight board that includes transit riders. Hogan derided the MTA oversight bill as "sophomoric."
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Hogan Vetoed Transportation Scorecard
Governor Hogan vetoed a bill to require greater transparency in why certain road projects are funded. Despite Hogan calling the bill the "Road Kill Bill" all this bill would have done is require that the administration report to the public the rationale behind transportation projects. It mandated that the administration create a ranking system and provide an explanation if a low rank project is given priority over a higher one.
This bill would not have mandated that only high scoring projects be funded - it merely provided an opportunity for public accountability and transparency. He used exaggerated and false rhetoric against the bill, pretending that it would have prevented him from funding projects in western Maryland and the Eastern Shore.
Ultimately, the legislature overrode his veto, although it was further weakened in 2017 after significant lobbying by the administration.
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