BALTIMORE REGIONAL PARTNERSHIP Newsletter
Land Use and Transportation Issues Around the Region
October 3, 2003
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Contents:
*Job Openings: Partnership Seeks Grassroots Organizers
*Report Shows Congestion Avoided through Public Transit
*Federal Transportation Law Extended Five Months
*Officials Fault Ehrlich on ICC Funding
*Study Finds Region's Schools More Divided by Income
*CPHA Tours to Showcase Montgomery Co. Affordable Housing
*Report: Job Development Not Linked to Transit Access
*Arlington Reaps Rewards of Transit-Oriented Development
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JOB OPENINGS: PARTNERSHIP SEEKS GRASSROOTS ORGANIZERS
Following a 2001 Baltimore Regional Partnership report that found local
growth plans in the metropolitan area assume the loss of 82,000 acres of
open space outside growth areas by 2020, the Partnership is embarking on
an effort to support local rural preservation and planning efforts in
Harford and Carroll Counties. The Partnership is seeking two grassroots
organizers, each of whom would work in one of these rural, but
fast-growing, counties of the Baltimore region.
Job descriptions and application information available at:
http://www.balto-region-partners.org/job_openings.htm
For 2001 "Planning for Sprawl?" report, go to:
http://www.balto-region-partners.org/
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REPORT SHOWS CONGESTION AVOIDED THROUGH PUBLIC TRANSIT
The annual Urban Mobility Report put out by the Texas Transportation
Institute on October 1 for the first time factors the benefits of
transit and other transportation programs on traffic congestion levels
in the nations 74 largest metropolitan regions. For example, while the
report finds that Baltimore-area drivers sit in traffic an average of 22
hours per year, it also says that time would be one-third longer --
nearly 30 hours per year -- were it not for the region's transit system.
Transit advocates have long criticized the Texas institutes yearly
rankings of traffic congestion because they did not take into account
alternatives available in different regions, and they applauded the
change.
Details of the report:
http://mobility.tamu.edu/ums/
Surface Transportation Policy Project statement:
http://www.transact.org/news.asp?id=35
See also the Washington Post’s take on the report:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22448-2003Sep30.html
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FEDERAL TRANSPORTATION LAW EXTENDED FIVE MONTHS
Facing the expiration of federal transportation law on September 30,
both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate passed a
five-month extension, allowing work on transportation projects to
proceed until the end of February. The six-year Transportation Equity
Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), passed by Congress in 1998 authorized
federal transportation spending only through the last federal fiscal
year, which expired Tuesday night, but a shortage of federal
transportation funds has kept Congress from completing another six-year
authorization bill. The five-month extension authorizes a pro-rated
amount of funding for existing transportation programs for the new
fiscal year beginning October 1, providing $14.73 billion for highways
and $3.04 billion for transit.
For more information:
http://www.transact.org/news.asp?id=34
Washington Post story available at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14680-2003Sep28.html
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OFFICIALS FAULT EHRLICH ON ICC FUNDING
On September 23, Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley and other elected
officials took issue with Governor Robert Ehrlich's plan to fund the
Intercounty Connector highway project through bonds on 30 future years
of federal transportation funding, without addressing other
transportation needs. The Ehrlich administration has floated a proposal
under which the state of Maryland would pay $1.8 billion over the coming
30 years to obtain $1 billion in bonds toward building the ICC in the
near future. Speaking before the state Transportation Task Force
chaired by former state transportation secretary William Hellmann,
O'Malley cited Baltimore's significant road maintenance needs and the
Baltimore Regional Rail Plan as pressing needs not included in the
Ehrlich administration's current plans.
More information on O’Malley’s appearance in Annapolis:
http://www.sunspot.net/news/local/bal-md.icc24sep24.story
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STUDY FINDS REGION'S SCHOOLS MORE DIVIDED BY INCOME
When poor children attend school with students from wealthier
backgrounds, they perform much better on standardized tests, but
thousands of Baltimore-area children don't get that chance, according to
a new study of the region's schools. Increasingly, poor students are
trapped in schools without economic and racial diversity, says a new
report written for the Abell Foundation by economist and urban policy
authority David Rusk. In the declining number of schools with economic
diversity - poor children studying alongside wealthier children - Rusk
found a positive effect on academic performance, as measured by scores
on the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills.
For more info, see this article:
http://www.sunspot.net/news/education/bal-md.rusk28sep28,0,7380389.story
The Abell Foundation report can be found here:
http://www.abell.org/pubsitems/arn903.pdf
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CPHA TOURS TO SHOWCASE MONTGOMERY CO. AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Since 1974 Montgomery County has produced over 11,000 affordable housing
units scattered across the county in one of the nation's best school
districts, rather than clustered together in vulnerable communities. On
October 18, 23, and 28, the Citizens Planning and Housing Association
(CPHA) will offer bus tours where interested citizens and officials from
the Baltimore region can see the results of this innovative policy for
themselves. Neighborhoods toured include those with detached
single-family houses, neo-traditional communities, town homes,
condominiums, and apartments. in ways that have strengthened, rather
than undermined, neighborhoods and schools. The tours are free, a box
lunch is included, and buses are wheelchair lift-equipped. Pick-up and
drop-off will be at the Southwest Park and Ride, I-95 Exit 47B, just
outside 695 near UMBC.
The three dates are:
Saturday, October 18th, 9am-2pm
Thursday, October 23rd, 9am-2pm
Tuesday, October 28th, 12pm-5pm
For more information or to reserve a seat, please contact CPHA Housing
Director Amy Menzer at 410 539-1369 x202 or amym@cphabaltimore.org.
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REPORT: JOB DEVELOPMENT NOT LINKED TO TRANSIT ACCESS
At the 2003 Rail-volution conference on September 11, Good Jobs First
released a report titled “Missing the Bus: How States Fail to Connect
Economic Development with Public Transit.” The report noted that not a
single state coordinates economic development with public transportation
policy. By not linking the two, according to the report, states are
wasting resources by subsidizing jobs in outer-ring suburbs that are
inaccessible to low-income metropolitan residents. Although states have
more than 1,500 economic development subsidy programs and states and
cities spend more than $50 billion a year for economic development, none
encourages or requires companies that receive the subsidies to locate at
transit-accessible places. The study recommends Location Efficient
Incentives, or using development subsidies as a “carrot” to get
companies to locate jobs where they are accessible by public
transit.
The full report can be accessed here:
http://www.goodjobsfirst.org/bus_release.htm
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ARLINGTON REAPS REWARDS OF TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT
In a forthcoming book, “The New Transit Town,” Hank Dittmar argues that
transit can benefit both auto commuters and transit riders and uses as
his example Arlington County. For 30 years, the county has pursued a
program of focusing commercial development and multifamily housing
within walking distance of the Rosslyn-Ballston Metrorail Corridor. The
Center for Transit-Oriented Development determined that while new
housing units have boomed and Metro ridership has increased by more than
50%, neighborhood traffic has not increased commensurate with the
development around the stations. 73% of Rosslyn-Ballston patrons walk to
Metro versus 57% for other Orange line stations, alleviating the need
for costly parking spaces. While the area only represents 7.6% of
Virginia’s land area, it generates 32.8% of the county’s real estate tax
revenue. Because of this, Arlington County residents pay the lowest real
estate property tax rates of any county in Northern Virginia, and thus
every resident, whether they live near or use MetroRail, benefits
because of it.
For more information, see this article:
http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2003/08/25/editorial3.html
To read the complete report on the Rosslyn-Ballston Metrorail Corridor,
see:
http://www.reconnectingamerica.org/html/TOD/case_studies.htm
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ABOUT THE BALTIMORE REGIONAL PARTNERSHIP AND NEWSLETTER
The Baltimore Regional Partnership is an alliance of five civic,
environmental, and anti-sprawl groups:1000 Friends of Maryland
(www.friendsofmd.org), Baltimore Urban
League (www.bul.org), Chesapeake
Bay Foundation ( www.savethebay.cbf.org),
Citizens Planning and Housing
Association (www.CPHARallyForTheRegion.org),
and Environmental Defense
(www.environmentaldefense.org).
This newsletter explores current issues, recent and upcoming events, and
ongoing deliberations that affect the region's quality of life through
transportation, economic development, and land use policy and planning.
We hope to link citizens in the region who are working to fight sprawl,
promote clean and efficient transportation, protect valuable farm and
forest lands, and revitalize urban areas, older suburbs, and historic
towns. You can view past issues at
http://www.balto-region-partners.org/news.htm.
Has this newsletter been forwarded to you, and you would like to receive
it yourself? Go to
http://www.balto-region-partners.org/news.htm to sign up.
Send us information, too. Let us know about your
work on land use and
transportation decisions that are affecting the Baltimore region. Email
information to Irene Lin at irene@balto-region-partners.org.
Visit the
Baltimore Regional Partnership website at
http://www.balto-region-partners.org.
