Baltimore Red Line Underground

Opposition to Controversial Red Line Project Voiced — Loudly

Jon Hyman, Canton resident, and other members of the Canton and Edmondson communities protest the surface rail portions of the proposed Red Line at Tuesday announcement. Photo – The Daily Record.

Press Release [pdf]: Governor O’Malley’s support for a surface train line through Baltimore neighborhoods was loudly shouted down by Baltimore residents at his Tuesday Press Event held at the West Baltimore MARC station.

“The Governor has ignored our concerns about this project, if this is the only way to get him to hear us, this is what we will have to do,” said Jon Hyman, a member of the West-East Coalition, a volunteer citizen group supporting a properly designed mass transit system.

In his speech, the Governor spoke of jobs and Federal money the project would bring, but failed to mention that $1 billion would have to come from the state itself.

Read more…

We recently received a copy of Senator George Della’s recent letter to Governor O’Malley. Click here to read and enjoy. Senator Della – thank you for being a staunch and honest supporter of the community.

For those who prefer to read it in plain text, it’s copied below. Read more…

Governor Martin O’Malley has sent out an e-mail blast, telling constituents that budget cuts are coming, and that they won’t be pretty.

“It’s no secret that our nation is facing tough economic times. It’s time again for us to make tough choices and today, I’m presenting budget cuts totaling $280 million aimed at responsibly reducing the state’s costs.

 I won’t sugarcoat it – we’re making some painful choices that none of us wanted to make… and there are more serious cuts to come.” said the e-mail.

It also asks recipients to “take a moment to let me know what you think our top priorities should be,” with a link to a comment page.

This is a good opportunity to point out that the Red Line will cost the City and State at least $800 million to build: maybe it would be better to direct that money where it can do some good, like in our schools.

Please take a moment to click the link above and send the Governor a message, maybe something like:

Governor, let’s not waste money on a sub-standard mass transit project. I support mass transit, but the current Red Line plan spends lot of money for a poor result. Let’s not waste money on a half measure. If we can’t do it right, wouldn’t $800 million be better spent somewhere else? For instance on education?

Maryland Governor O’Malley with Paid Marketers from Fake Grassroots Group

At the end of June, a group calling itself The Central Maryland Transportation Alliance Grassroots Marketing Team, posed with Governor Martin O’Malley, handing over sacks of postcards claiming to represent support for train tracks down the middle of Boston Street.

What the Governor must not have known is that the people posing with him were paid marketers, not Canton Citizens, and they were misrepresenting just what the signatures they had collected in fact favored.

It is a common tactic known as “astroturfing,” fake grass roots movements named for the artificial grass used on playing fields.

Here’s how this astroturfing worked.

A team of young people hired by a marketing firm canvassed Canton for two weeks, asking people to sign cards supporting the Red Line. The cards were vague, stating only support of “the proposed Red Line project” and “alternative modes of transportation.” They never mentioned the $1.6 billion cost, or that Red Line trains would increase traffic tie ups and remove parking and green space from the residential streets where it is proposed to run.

People who questioned the project were told by the canvassers that taxes would go up if they didn’t back the Red Line, which is untrue. The marketers, apparently from a public relations group Illume Communications specializing in “gorilla marketing,” claimed to have collected 700 signatures through this subterfuge.

A press release was then sent out falsely claiming that the signatures specifically supported “the state’s preferred alternative,” surface rail, known as “Alternative 4C.”

The question this raises is why does The Central Maryland Transportation Alliance feel the need to resort to such nefarious tactics?

Simple. They must know that Alternative 4C is vastly is not the best choice. They know it will be vastly unpopular with the actual people in the West and East who would be affected by the rail line. The only choice left to force “the state’s preferred alternative” is to fabricate support.

The proof is that in only one week, Canton residents have collected 2500 signatures from real neighborhood residents who support mass transit, but are specifically against Alternative 4C.

We hope the Governor has the good sense to know the difference between the voice of the public and a phony public relations campaign.