Election Season

I had the opportunity to speak directly to Robert Erhlich today about the future of transportation in Maryland.

I asked him what he would do to improve public transit, or if he would take a traditional Republican approach and just try to build more roads.

His answer said had both positive and negative elements.

He said he wants to fix MARC, to get the equipment in a state of good repair, before considering expanded service. I liked that answer.

He did not seem to have much interest in the Red line or the Purple line, and he hinted at bus rapid transit for the purple line. I did not like that answer.

I closed the question by reminding him that although bus transit is cheaper in the short term, it is more dependent on fuel prices.

Don't worry too much about those answers, absent a major change in public sentiment/large error in polling, he's most likely going to lose that race.

And no matter who is in charge, it's getting pretty dang hard to build any new rail related infrastructure what with the ridiculous price tags per mile. I can't even imagine how much the Red Line is going to end up costing, especially if the tunnel through Canton is built. The Red Line is needed, no doubt, and the tunnel through Canton is a good thing in my mind, but even surface only lines on abandoned railroad ROWs are running over $100 million per mile. Governor Glendenning's philosophy of economy (and his determination) is the only thing that got the original line built as cheaply as it was.

Someone should talk to the folks down at the Baltimore Streetcar Museum. They'll tell you how to build a light rail like cheaply...vehicles too. Hell, some of their more "economy" models don't even have power brakes.

I operated one of those "economy models" during my brief stay in Baltimore. Those folks at the streetcar museum are a truly dedicated group of individuals. Now, if they could just get some more visbility. That location in the valley, though delightful for the MA&PA history buffs, is almost invisible to the average tourist or resident.