Baltimore elected officials send letter asking Hogan to reconsider Red Line decision

Written by Mischa Wanek-Libman, editor
image description
Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake with other Red Line supporters.
Red Line Now Facebook

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, along with elected leaders of Baltimore City at the local, state and federal level sent a joint letter to Maryland Governor Larry Hogan urging him to reconsider the decision to cancel the construction of the the city's Red Line.

 

In their letter, the Baltimore leaders wrote, “The Red Line has the potential to be a transformative project for Baltimore. In the immediate term, the construction of the Red Line would create significant new employment opportunities in the city… Over the longer term, once built, the Red Line would provide a much-needed economic investment in a City that faces deep and systemic economic challenges. The Red Line would spur development along its entire corridor and particularly around its 19 planned stations.”

The leaders wrote that that project would be catalyst for development by providing an efficient transit option to some of Baltimore’s most economically depressed communities, where lack of transit options has prevented access to jobs.

The leaders also requested a meeting with Gov. Hogan to discuss the project, writing, “The Red Line has been advanced by the administrations of Governors Glendening, Ehrlich and O’Malley and years of extensive study have demonstrated how beneficial the project would be to Baltimore. However, you concluded after just five months in office that ‘The Red Line as currently proposed is not the best way to bring jobs and opportunity to the city.’ We would like to understand how you reached this conclusion. What changes do you believe should be made to the Red Line to enable the project to bring jobs and opportunity to the city? What specific project(s) will your administration support to strengthen links between the east and west sides of Baltimore and between Baltimore and the surrounding region and how will these projects bring more jobs and opportunities than the Red Line is projected to bring?”

Red Line plans called for a 14.1-mile east-west light-rail route, but on Friday, June 26, Gov. Hogan said the existing project would not proceed, as its estimated $2.9 billion cost is not justified by the estimated ridership of the line.

The governor said his decision regarding the Red Line was not to be seen as a decision against transportation, but rather against “wasteful boondoggles.”

Tags: