February 15, 2012 | Author: John Fineran
Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley has come out with his long-anticipated proposal to increase transportation investment, and his proposal is consistent with a recently-issued Blue Ribbon Panel report that highlighted Maryland's gaping shortfall in transportation funding. O'Malley's proposal would raise an additional $613 million a year in dedicated transportation funds, by applying Maryland's existing 6% sales tax to gasoline sales at the wholesale level. These new funds will be used for critical local projects in our area: The Purple Line, Corridor Cities Transitway, improvements to Route 1, 4 and 5, and a long list...regional poll of 800 residents in Maryland, DC and Virginia support:
Read MoreJanuary 30, 2012 | Author:MoveMDweb
As reported in the Washington Post, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley recently renewed his commitment to introduce a transportation funding bill in this session of the Maryland General Assembly. This is very good news. Transportation advocates have been pushing for an increase of $850 million or more, consistent with the recommendations of an earlier Blue Ribbon Commission report for several years, to address the precipitous decline in transportation investment that has occurred over the past two decades. Governor O'Malley correctly assessed the situation when he said: “Doing nothing doesn’t seem to be a responsible option.” ...regional poll of 800 residents in Maryland, DC and Virginia support:
Read MoreNovember 22, 2011 | Author: John Fineran
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="SMTA Teams Prepare for "ICC Challenge" "][/caption] Today the long-awaited Inter County Connector opened to the public, performing exactly as traffic models predicted according to an informal "challenge" SMTA members offered to the media. In today's ICC Challenge, SMTA Chair Doug Duncan and several Board members invited local media outlets to join us as we split into teams to travel from Gaithersburg to Laurel, with some taking the new ICC, some traveling south on I-270 to the Beltway then out I-95, and some taking parallel local roads...regional poll of 800 residents in Maryland, DC and Virginia support:
Read MoreNovember 17, 2011 | Author:MoveMDweb
Peters to Succeed Longtime State Highway Administrator Neil Pedersen It's true: Great things happen to great people. ICC Project Manager Melinda Peters has won nothing but praise for her leadership on one of the largest and most complex "mega-projects" in recent Maryland history, the $2.6 billion Inter County Connector. Now her good work is being noticed in a big way with her promotion, announced today, to be Maryland's next State Highway Admnistrator. See today's Baltimore Sun for details. As fate would have it, Peters will be on hand to accept...regional poll of 800 residents in Maryland, DC and Virginia support:
Read MoreOctober 27, 2011 | Author: John Fineran
Maryland's Blue Ribbon Commission on Transportation Funding, appointed by Governor Martin O'Malley, approved a package of recommendations this week, calling for $870 million in new transportation investment to fix crumbling roads and address the nation's worst congestion. The Commission is recommending a constitutional amendment to protect the Transportation Trust Fund from future diversions of funds to non-transportation purposes -- a welcome change from our standpoint. New revenues, including a 15-cent increase in the Maryland gas tax, phased in over three years, increased vehicle registration fees and transit fare hikes are also recommended. Read more on the Blue Ribbon Commission website. Current Costs of Congestion and Deteriorating Facilities FAR...regional poll of 800 residents in Maryland, DC and Virginia support:
Read MoreOctober 20, 2011 | Author:MoveMDweb
The SMTA Board was briefed recently on two efforts to expand bus-rapid-transit service, also known as "BRT" (or the more appealing acronym "RTV" for "Rapid-Transit-Vehicle"). RTV systems are seen as a cost-effective alternative to either single-occupancy-vehicle automobile travel or more expensive fixed-rail transit systems. The first is being pursued in Montgomery County by County Executive Ike Leggett's Transit Implementation Task Force, which is looking at a county-wide system covering as many as 18 routes. The system under consideration would be the region's first "gold" level RTV system, meaning its vehicles would move in their own dedicated lanes and provide...regional poll of 800 residents in Maryland, DC and Virginia support:
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