Save the Red Line and Purple Line

Let's act now to save the Baltimore Red Line from possibly being cut out of the State of Maryland's Transportation Budget by Governor-Elect, Larry Hogan. This also includes the similarly proposed Purple Line for Montgomery County/Prince George County areas of Maryland.

Millions of dollars have already been allocated to fund this project and 10 years of studies and planning have already been used to bring into reality a much needed new public rail transportation system for the Baltimore area.

My only concern about the elections is that the new regime not try to cut out the Red Line, Purple Line or any other public transportation project that we so desperately need since Baltimore & MD in general lag waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyy behind other regions that are far more progressive than we are in this area.

We have to find a way to change the mindset of Baltimore & MD in general to understand that we once had over 400 miles of rail transportation in Baltimore, that the 1st electric trolleys started in Baltimore in the 1880's & that passenger rail transportation started at Camden Yards.

Not enough people understand that public transportation is vital to any major city, so for Baltimore to have only one subway system for the last 30 yrs & one light rail line for the last 21 yrs is ridiculous.

I talked to a co-worker who told me that it takes her 2-1/2 hours one way to travel from her home on Kent Island by car, to a commuter bus, to the light rail & then finally to the subway to our jobsite here in Northwest Baltimore.

Another co-worker spends 1-1/2 hours to travel one way by car in White Marsh to a Park-N-Ride lot to take a commuter bus from there to Downtown Baltimore to the subway to our jobsite here in Northwest Baltimore.

This is a highly ridiculous amount of travel time.

Another concern is what is being done to review, revise as necessary & begin serious talks about implementing other public transportation rail and/or bus systems in & around Baltimore based on the 2002 Baltimore Regional Rail Transit Plan outside of the current Bus Network Improvement Plan -

http://mta.maryland.gov/sites/default/files/brreportfinal.pdf.

Baltimore & Washington DC were in the running bid to try & host the Summer Olympic Games in 2012 but lost out to London England, and maybe it was partially because even though we already have some of the venues in place to host the games, we don't have an adequate public transportation infrastructure necessary to accommodate a large influx of people for such an event as The Olympics.

I understand that we may be in the running again for the 2025 Olympic Games but if the Red Line is cut out from the budget from what is supposed to be a 7 yr (2015 - 2022) construction-to-revenue operation track, then we can just bow out now because we definitely cannot achieve in 3 years what is supposed to take 7 years to accomplish. Now, if we have the Red Line in place by 2022 for a potential 2024 Summer Olympic Games event, then the kind of money that the Baltimore/DC/VA region would reap from such an event could definitely be used to pay for any pending near-future projects such as the Red & Purple Lines including any proposed extensions of those lines that may or may not be connected to the 2002 Baltimore Regional Rail Transit Plan.

From Wikipedia -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Summer_Olympics

Washington D.C. USA United States Olympic Committee Potential bid On 5 August 2012, it was reported that Dan Knise, President and CEO of the Washington-Baltimore 2012 Regional Coalition, which bid unsuccessfully for the 2012 Summer Games that were won by London, was scoping the level of interest for a joint DC-Baltimore bid for the 2024 Summer Games. According to the Baltimore Sun, Knise believes that "there's a little bit of a spark" for another attempt at securing the bid. The Sun also quoted John Moag Jr., a previous chairman of the Maryland Stadium Authority, in stating that the Baltimore-Washington area has "the largest sports infrastructure in a 40-mile radius". On 27 August 2013, Bob Sweeney, President of the non-profit group D.C. 2024, announced that the group will put together a bid for Washington, D.C. to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. DC 2024 boasts that the area has "more sporting facilities in a 40-mile radius than any other city in the U.S." and "more than 100,000 hotel rooms". Sweeney said the events would stretch from Baltimore to Richmond, Virginia, but would be mostly concentrated around D.C. In September 2014, an official website was released for the bid highlighting the goals of an Olympics in Washington as well as disclosing the key members of the team backing it. A logo for the bid was also revealed at the same time the website was announced.

There are still plenty of abandoned rails throughout out MD that can serve as a conduit of some sort for even a small transportation system, but there has to be a group or groups that will actively work together on a regular basis to investigate those options, similar to what the meetings for the Red Line & Purple Line are doing, so if the proposed construction start date of 2015 gets cut by the new governor's administration then other ways can be found to implement those systems.

You can see info about the Baltimore Red Line here -

http://www.baltimoreredline.com/ and here - Red Line NOW: Baltimoreans for the Red Line - http://www.red-line-now.com/index.html#home

You can see info about the Purple Line here - http://www.purplelinemd.com/en/

Please see the two email notifications below that were sent to me dated for 11/05/2014 & 11/10/2014 that address the uncertainty of the Baltimore Red Line's future.

Let's do what we can to keep the Red & Purple Lines going forward for 2015.

Logan Mitchell Sr

Baltimore Electric Rail Society

http://sites.google.com/site/baltimorelectricrailsociety

From: info@red-line-now.com

To: info@red-line-now.com

Subject: Red Line Now Statement on Last Night's Election

Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2014 11:15:12 -0700

Dear Friends,

If you are struggling to process the implications of the yesterday's election, you are not alone. The Red Line's future is cast into doubt, but also that of the Purple Line, and generally speaking, public transit and the smart land use policies for which many of us have been fighting.

Right now, the leaders of our region are dusting off contingency plans and surveying a new landscape. Red Line Now trusts our region's leadership to find a way forward, and hopes you will join us in aiding their efforts. To this end, please look for a forthcoming invitation from Red Line Now to join us for a town hall over the next few weeks to discuss the status of the Red Line and the efforts to ensure that it is built as proposed and on schedule.

It's always been clear that the Red Line is about the vitality of the Baltimore region. But the outcome of the election may pose a broader question -- can a state neglect its urban areas, including fundamental public investment in transit infrastructure, and be competitive in the 21st century?

We hope you are ready to stand with us for the good of Maryland, its thriving urban areas, and the international port city of Baltimore.

Please stay in touch as details and alliances emerge, and send your thoughts, suggestions, or questions in a reply to this email,

info@red-line-now.com.

Sincerely,

Red Line Now

================================================================

Subject: Keep the Red Line in Baltimore!

From: info@red-line-now.com

To: ProwlerRaven32@hotmail.com

Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 18:21:50 +0000