Transportation Priorities
Action Committee for Transit (ACT) was formed 26 years ago precisely to advocate for a transit line connecting Bethesda and Silver Spring. Since then, the project has become the Purple Line — which would be the region’s first light rail project, with 60,000 daily boardings, connecting two counties, bringing economic opportunities, while reducing gridlock and improving the environment.
The Purple Line passed its first Federal hurdle and is moving ahead with preliminary engineering. However, we are fast approaching the Record of Decision. At the completion of the PE/FEIS process a "Record of Decision" (ROD) will be sought from the Federal Transit Administration. The ROD formally transitions a project from the planning and environmental process into design and construction. If Maryland cannot come up with its 50-percent of the construction funds (close to $1 billion), or convince the Feds that our money is "coming in the pipeline", we'll have spent 26 years moving forward on the Purple Line with nothing to show. The finish line is in sight — let's not walk away now.
Therefore, our number one message tonight is to plead with you, members of the Montgomery County Delegation, to work with your colleagues in other counties to pass SOME sort of transportation funding. Our current funding relies on a fixed gas tax that was passed some 20 years ago. This funding is not adequate to maintain existing roads and bridges, much less build new transit systems. A new funding source must be approved — whether it means applying the 6-percent sales tax to gasoline, or some other mechanism.
While we need to boost revenue, trying to get all counties on board seems unlikely to work — Western Maryland and the Eastern Shore aren't going to vote for new transportation revenues, no matter what. But they are the minority in the legislature. Instead, we’d suggest our delegation partner with Prince George's, Baltimore City, Charles, Howard and Anne Arundel counties to forge a revenue package that targets the transportation needs of the state's urbanized areas. If such a package passes, the result will be an increase in the transportation trust fund.
While people rarely “volunteer” to tax themselves, we should be clear about what such a tax would bring. Baltimore City wants the Red Line, Prince Georges wants the Purple Line, Charles County wants light rail connecting to the Branch Avenue Metro (the majority of its workers commute to DC), MARC’s Growth and Investment plan will benefit Howard County and other commuters in the state. All these counties would reap rewards from increased state transportation revenues. And if the rural counties have bridges that are way overdue for maintenance, they'll benefit as well (even if they didn't vote for it). We ask you to forge the partnerships necessary to accomplish this.