Blog compares O'Malley, Ehrlich on roads, transit
Adam Pagnucco presents a fascinating comparison of transportation spending priorities under former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and Gov. Martin O'Malley on Maryland Politics Watch. Budget wonks will find the tables especially illuminating.
Clearly, if new roads are your thing, Ehrlich's the man. If it's transit you care about, O'Malley's the guy.
One factor to consider: While the MTA and WMATA figures capture almost all state spending on transit, the SHA totals don't include a large chunk of road spending accounted for through the toll-financed Maryland Transportation Authority. That includes much of the cost of the Inter-county Connector and the express toll lanes on Interstate 95. It's probably just as well, for political comparisons, because the authority's figures would show a lot of spending on those projects under O'Malley that was planned under Ehrlich. Don't conclude that road spending has ground to a halt. It's just that two projects are consuming a lot of dollars.
Comments
It was slanted pro-transit and gave readers the impression that the rail line only went through the country club which is only a small part of the bigger rail line.
Posted by: James | May 27, 2010 10:05 PM
Wow, the SHA totals don't include the toll facilities, of course not, toll facilities are owned and operated by MdTA, not SHA so they wouldn't be included. You seem to know very little about the set up of MDOT.
Posted by: Whatever it's not like your going to post this | May 28, 2010 7:54 AM
I would be pro-transit in many ways, if the MTA was not so fundamentally incompetent. The technology to support smart card payments has been out for over two decades, and $95 million with NOTHING to show is embarrassing.
If we can have parking meters that process credit card transactions, we can certainly have buses that do the same.
And don't get me started on how bad MTA drivers operate their buses. I particularly love the "two lane" block they pull when stopping at a bus stop. I love how they run the reds at Franklin and Eutaw, Saratoga and Paca, Fayette and MLK and on and on. Not to mention how they block the intersections at all those I listed above.
When the MTA starts operating like a competent organization, I might be pro-transit. But until there is an administration-wide enema, I will remain pro roads.
Posted by: Gunpowder Chronicle | May 28, 2010 9:37 AM