Baltimore Red Line Underground

Did they fudge it?

MTA uses math tricks to fudge the federal formula.

Governor O’Malley completed the state’s expected pantomime Tuesday, choosing the $1.6 billion-plus Red Line Alternative 4C as the Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA). It was chosen partially because it’s the most “viable,” meaning that it’s closest to meeting preferred cost standards for Federal money. Their numbers have improved 24% since than the last time the project was formally evaluated.

But you have to wonder – what did the MTA do to 4C to approach that preferred standard?

One way was to cut corners on the project. Making a single-track “Death Trap tunnel” under Cooks Lane is reckoned to save perhaps $70 million. But single tracking is an option the MTA rejected before because it causes, in their own words, “Longer travel times – this is due to the need to wait for trains in the opposing direction; Less frequent service – resulting in a less convenient, attractive service; Lower passenger capacity due to less frequent service, not allowing for future ridership growth, and overall operational and maintenance flexibility.”

What all that means is that the system is less reliable and slower. The end-to-end travel time has now increased to a sluggish 44 minutes, an average speed of 19mph.
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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.

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More than 1500 signed cards tell Governor O’Malley what real residents want.

Canton Residents Deliver 1350 signed cards to Governor O'Malley's Office

Press Release [pdf]: The Canton contingent of the West-East Coalition against Red Line Alternative 4C presented Governor O’Malley’s office with 1350 signed cards opposing surface trains through Canton’s residential neighborhoods. Hundreds more have been collected since.

The cards were delivered to Governor O’Malley’s Executive Director for Community Initiatives Izzy Patoka on Friday 7/31 in response to a campaign carried out by a marketing organization posing as a grassroots group in Canton.

The sham group was hired by the Central Maryland Transit Alliance (CMTA), a spin-off from the Greater Baltimore Council, which supports Alternative 4C.

Canton volunteers working part-time collected twice as many postcards as the hired marketers in half the time.

“We wanted the Governor to hear the real opinion of Canton residents on the Red Line, not a marketing campaign paid for by business interests,” said Canton Community Association President Darryl Jurkiewicz. “Canton residents support responsible, effective mass transit, but Alternative 4C isn’t it. Alternative 4C is expensive, slow, and low capacity, without a connection to existing systems.”

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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?

DC Metro Crash "Worst Disaster in Metro History" kills 9. Image from WJLA, Washington, June '09.

The MTA has  scrambled to cut costs for the Red Line Alternative 4C to make the project qualify for Federal funds. One controversial plan would put a single-track tunnel under Cooks Lane. Edward Cohen, a member of the Red Line CAC and of TRAC, recently wrote a letter to Congressman Cummings expressing his opposition to this tunnel for reasons of safety (click to read). It is shocking how dangerous this tunnel would be.

Mr. Cohen explained that this is a “death trap tunnel” with three blind corners and trains coming from both directions at speeds of 50mph. This creates the possibility of a 100-mph collision and a multiple train pileup! No other rail in the U.S. has seen fit to build such a risky tunnel.

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A vote by a citizen’s transportation advisory council to oppose Red Line Alternative 4C was shut down on a technicality by the State appointed chair.

On July 9th, 2009, The Red Line Citizens’ Advisory Council (CAC) met at the Holy Rosary Church. On the agenda was a vote to rescind the CAC’s December 11 recommendation of Alternative 4C.

A majority of 6 members voted to rescind the recommendation. However, because of a technicality, a majority was not enough to pass the vote.

The discussion was put on the agenda at the previous meeting without a formal motion. Under those conditions, a 2/3 majority was required to rescind, according to Robert’s Rules of Order . The CAC Chair Ms. Angela Bethea-Spearman, who supports 4C, ruled that the motion to rescind failed. The CAC canceled its August monthly meeting, staving off the vote once again.

The CAC was formed by Maryland law in 2007 amid controversy to involve communities in planning stages of projects that would effect them. Public meetings are held monthly. The Council includes community members, officials from Baltimore City Departments of Transportation and Planning, and an official from Baltimore County.

Opposition to 4C has increased exponentially, said one CAC member. Community members of the CAC said that to continue to block the vote was to ignore the public’s voice to the MTA.

A "portal" where the train enters a tunnel

Boston Street and Edmondson Avenue are both landscaped urban boulevards, with wide medians, sidewalks grass and trees. We have tried to collect pictures from other parts of the country of projects similar to if the proposed Red Line.

Unfortunately, we can’t. Now city in the U.S. has tried to squeeze two tracks into such a tight, heavily trafficked space.

What other cities have done is to run trains in low-traffic areas away from residential streets.

And they are usually in places where cars have an alternate route. But that is not the case with Alternative 4C. For instance, Edmondson Avenue is the only truck route into Baltimore between Wilkins Avenue and Reisterstown Road, and Boston Street is the only truck route into East Baltimore south of US-40. There is no good alternative for either.

Our closest comparisons to Baltimore may be  Seattle’s MLK Jr. Way and Portland’s Burnside Street. These are still a far cry from Alternative 4C in Baltimore for the following reasons:

• These streets carry less traffic and there are alternate routes for vehicles
• The streets are wider, with few houses.  Most areas are industrial or low-density commercial
• The light’s rail right-of-way is wider: in both cases it measures 26-28 feet, where Edmonson is proposed at 22.5 feet and Boston 23-24 feet
• Traffic is farther from the trains. No light rail system including Baltimore’s Howard Street system has been built with cars and trains so close to each other or to vehicles.

Here are what the rails there look like:

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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.