Three city lawmakers back Red Line
Three Baltimore legislators from a district along the route of the proposed Red Line will not support any attempt to scuttle the project in Annapolis, one of them said today.
Del. Sandy Rosenberg said he and two district colleagues, Del. Jill Carter and Sen. Lisa Gladden "will not support any legislation that would jeopardize or delay funding for the Red Line." The fourth member of that delegation, Del. Nathaniel Oaks, has not yet weighed in on the matter.
The 41st District delegation had previously publicly supported an alternative light rail plan that would have run trains in tunnels under Edmondson Ave. and Boston St. But after Maryland Transit Administration studies showed that the cost of that plan would have exceeded federal funding guidelines, Gov. Martin O'Malley decided to support a plan that would keep trains on the surface on those streets.
Rosenberg said he and his two colleagues regretted that the federal guidelines prompted that decision but did not blame O'Malley for reaching the conclusion he did. Rosenberg pointed to earlier concessions won by lawmakers, including a guarantee that the project would not displace anyone from their homes and a tunnel under narrow Cooks Lane in West Baltimore.
No residential displacements were in the MTA's plans for the Red Line but the lawmakers' success in writing that guarantee into law has immense significance in West Baltimore, where many residents have vivid memories of being ousted from their homes to make way for eventually aborted highway projects.
Rosenberg noted that Mayor Sheila Dixon and School Superintendent Andres Alonso have pledged to develop a new career and technology curriculum at the Edmondson High School and Westside Skills Center on the Red Line.
"This is a direct result of our request for job training for residents along the Red Line. Transit-oriented development along the Edmondson Ave. corridor will also provide jobs and community development," Rosenberg wrote.
Gladden's support for the Red Line, along with that of 44th District Sen. Verna Jones mean that two of the three city senators whose districts are most affected by the transit line would line up in favor of it. Sen. George Della, who represents the Boston Street corridor, is opposed.
The city's other three senators have yet to be heard from but their constituents would have far less reason to object than those of the others.
Any members of the Baltimore city delegation who want to contact Getting There to make their positions known are invited to do so.
Comments
I lived in the Hunting Ridge neighborhood for 30+ years. In fact, our home was on Edmondson Avenue (4800 block). Right across the street is an area known as Ten Hills. These were two of the finest areas in Baltimore City for many, many years. They actually were summer homes for the wealthy who lived more downtown in the winter and St. William of York Church was built as a chapel for the residents of Ten Hills.
Now, they are planning on running a train right in front of the homes. These people pay high taxes and thru the years, they have never had a tree or other plantings in the median strip in the 4700 and 4800 blocks of Edmondson Avenue, but farther east in the city, they have planted lovely trees and other shrubs in front of houses that are boarded up or have have gone into decline for lack of upkeep. What are the City Fathers thinking. This is going to devalue the homes along Edmondson Avenue and the homes on the side streets (Nottingham Road, Brookwood, Brinkwood, Winans Way, etc.). A lot of people will be moving out and the whole area will be a disaster. For years, they have promised to tear down Uplands Apartments and build a new little city with new homes, condominiums and a park-like setting. But they have never done that and now they are talking about the train. Do the City and State officials plan to give the people a tax break on their properties, plant some thick shrubbery to hide the trains or buy the homes from the owners. No mention of any of this, so I guess we will see these two neighborhoods, Hunting Ridge and Ten Hills, go down like the rest of West Baltimore. What a shame - these homes were built in the early 1900's and have some wonderful features (breakfast rooms, hardwood floors, marble bathrooms, plaster walls, slate roofs, and brass doorknobs throughout the home). I feel real bad for those who still live there and maintain their homes so well.
Posted by: M. S. Leonard | August 10, 2009 4:34 PM
Those of you who are afraid of the proposed Red Line because of neighborhood interference by the trains running on surface track should check out the new generation of light rail technology.
If you think they are noisy, you will be surprised at how quiet they are. If you think think they are ugly, you will be surprised at how aesthetically pleasing they are .
You can see and hear for yourself. Go to YouTube, and call up this item: Linie 11 Dresden - Zschertnitz.
I teach regularly in Dresden, Germany, and they operate the most recent generation light rail technology on surface lines. It is such a pleasure to see and ride these vehicles. How snazzy they will look on Baltimore avenues.
Posted by: Herx | August 11, 2009 5:33 PM