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Better Regional Planning
The Partnership works to change both the process and the results of
planning in the Baltimore region:
 | Ensure that transportation funds are channeled to projects that
support walking, biking and transit; |
| Encourage investment in established communities; |
| Stop subsidizing automobile-dependent development and sprawl; |
| Ensure greater equity in public investments -- especially to provide
mobility and to enhance the quality of life for low income people. |
While land use planning is still retained entirely at the
county and city level in the Baltimore region, the following are some of
the key elements of current transportation planning, along with related
resources and examples of Partnership recommendations to improve it.
Baltimore Regional Transportation Board
This panel, composed of Anne
Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll,
Harford, and Howard
Counties, as well as Baltimore
City, Annapolis and the Maryland
Department of Transportation is the federally-certified metropolitan
planning organization (MPO) for the Baltimore region. Hosted on the
internet and staffed by the Baltimore
Metropolitan Council, the Baltimore Regional Transportation
Board (BRTB) is responsible for transportation planning in the
region. It approves the region's long-range, 20-year
plan and the region's shorter-term, five-year "Transportation
Improvement Program." In order to maintain its federal
certification, the BRTB must follow requirements for MPOs in federal
transportation law (see resources below). In order for the Baltimore
region to qualify for federal transportation funds for its projects, the
BRTB must demonstrate that its plans are in "conformity"
with the region's plans to meet air quality health standards under the
federal Clean Air Act.
Related resources:
Recent recommendations to the Baltimore Regional Transportation
Board/Transportation Steering Committee (name changed July 2000):
20-Year Baltimore Regional Transportation Plan (BRTP)
This is the 20-year, long-range plan that guides transportation
investments in the Baltimore region. It must be updated every three years
and must achieve "conformity" with the
region's plan for meeting federal clean air standards by 2005. Right
now the Baltimore Regional Transportation Board is considering a draft
2001 Baltimore Regional Transportation Plan to replace the current 1998
plan. The Board anticipates approving the $21 billion plan at its
monthly meeting on October 23. Currently separate from that regional
plan, the Maryland Transportation Authority (MdTA) is conducting a Master
Plan Study for I-95 north of Baltimore City. Partnership comments on
both draft plans are available below.
5-Year Transportation Improvement Program (TIP)
This document is a shorter-term, five-year list of projects from the
long range plan (BRTP cited above). The TIP must also achieve "conformity"
with the region's plan for meeting federal clean air standards by 2005.
The state-funded portion of the first year of the TIP matches that year's
capital transportation budget for the region passed by the Maryland
General Assembly. The TIP and its conformity determination enable the
state and region to qualify for matching funds from the federal
government.
Air Quality Conformity
This process is designed to ensure that the Baltimore region's long
range plan (BRTP described above) and short-term program (TIP, also
described above) conform to the region's plan for achieving the federal
health standards for ozone smog air pollution by 2005. Automobiles and
other vehicles are a substantial contributor to our region's severe air
pollution problem, and the region's transportation plan must be in concert
with the region's overall plan under the federal Clean Air Act.
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