Gov. Moore announces plan to bring back Baltimore transit project
Governor Wes Moore is joined by public safety officials and others to announce the state’s plans for public safety initiatives and investments during a news conference this morning at the State House in Annapolis, Md., Thursday, June 15, 2023. (Barbara Haddock Taylor/Baltimore Sun via AP)
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland Gov. Wes Moore emphatically pledged Thursday to get an east-west transit project back on track in Baltimore, nearly eight years after his predecessor pulled the plug on the Red Line.
Moore, who campaigned on restarting the project to help better connect the city’s residents to jobs, made the announcement during a news conference at a MARC train station in west Baltimore with federal, state and local officials.
“To everyone who’s out there who’s been waiting and waiting, I say to you this: This is going to happen,” Moore said.
While the initial idea was for a light rail project, it remains unclear how a revised Red Line project will take shape, whether as a light rail, a rapid bus system or a combination of mass transit options.
The Democratic governor noted how his Republican predecessor’s decision to shift a greater focus to roads and bridges sent back nearly $1 billion in federal funds that had been green-lighted for the Red Line. Moore also said that about $700 million that was intended for the light-rail ended up going to state roads outside of the city.
“Government left the city of Baltimore, and the Baltimore region and the dreams of the people here behind,” Moore said. “Well, today I stand here to say that right now our state is ready to do big things again.”
Moore’s predecessor, Larry Hogan, angered Baltimore officials in June 2015 during his first year in office when he announced he wasn’t moving forward with what was estimated at the time to be a $2.64 billion plan. While Hogan moved ahead with the Purple Line light rail plan in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, he criticized the planning for the Red Line.
“We’re not opposed to mass transit, but we do oppose wasteful and irresponsible spending on poorly conceived projects that waste taxpayers’ money,” Hogan said at the time.
The Moore administration says the Maryland Transit Administration will request entry into the federal Capital Investment Grants program in 2024, which requires Federal Transit Administration oversight and would make significant federal financial assistance available to advance the project to full implementation.
Sen. Ben Cardin noted how he and Sen. Chris Van Hollen put a provision in the federal infrastructure law to give greater consideration to inactive projects that have had earlier evaluations.
“We are bullish about the prospects of moving this project forward,” Van Hollen said. “You know, it’s been said but it is worth repeating that we might have been here today gathered to actually celebrate the launch of the Red Line — but for the fact that the previous governor pulled the plug on the Red Line and pulled the plug on a major investment program for the people of Baltimore.”
While the state will use previous planning for the project moving forward, Moore said the state will also apply adjustments “that need to be made to account for some very meaningful societal shifts.”
“And so all Baltimoreans, now is the time to leave your mark on this project to help redefine the trajectory of this city and this region,” Moore said.
The state also will study a future phase to extend the Red Line to job centers in eastern Baltimore County, Moore said, and the state will take steps this year to start limited-stop bus service to speed up travel across the east-west corridor.
The Moore administration is planning to start gathering community input for the project this summer. The first public engagement period is expected to begin in mid-July and continue through mid-August 2023.