News & Notes

Governor O’Malley and Lt. Governor Anthony Brown announces improvement to Marc train Red Line by Brian K. Slack at Baltimore, MD. Photo (cc) Maryland Gov Pics.

The Baltimore Sun: O’Malley to announce $1.5 billion for Baltimore-area transportation projects

Gov. Martin O’Malley plans to announce $1.5 billion in new state funding for the Baltimore Red Line and more than a dozen other transportation projects in the area Wednesday, officials said, outlining for the first time how the state’s gas tax increase will be tapped to improve local infrastructure and mass transit here.

O’Malley also plans to discuss the state’s interest in attracting public-private partnerships to help fund the Red Line project, and a Dec. 7 start date for weekend MARC train service between Baltimore and Washington, which has never been offered before.

[Baltmore Mayor Stephanie] Rawlings-Blake said the new funding “says that the state is serious about being a partner with Baltimore” to improve connections between transportation options.

“They’re putting their money where their mouth is,” she said. “They’re recognizing that for the state to be strong, Baltimore has to be strong, and it has to be strong as a connected city.”

The Boston Globe: Menino pushes plan to boost housing

Mayor Thomas M. Menino is proposing to reach his ambitious goal of building 30,000 homes in Boston by allowing taller structures with smaller units, selling public land to developers at a discount, and using subsidies to spur development of more affordable housing, according to a blueprint to be released Monday.

Cap’n Transit: Car dependence is overdetermined

If everyone purely voted their interests regarding transportation, and transportation spending were proportional to population, we’d have no drivers in a few generations, because transit is so much cheaper than car infrastructure and subsidies. But car dependence persists, because there are a number of factors that skew the politics, and even if you can knock out one factor, the others often are strong enough to keep things skewed.

Greater Greater Washington: Bus Rapid Transit is a toolbox, not a package

Is Bus Rapid Transit a good idea? The answer depends what BRT means. At its best, BRT is a toolbox full of techniques that make buses faster and more convenient. At its worst, it’s an excuse for highway-building in places where rail transit is needed.

The Economist: Boots on the street

Philadelphia is a violent city, with a murder rate more than four times New York’s. To curb the mayhem, the police are resorting to an old-fashioned technique. Instead of insisting that officers cruise around in cars, the city is sending rookies out on foot. If they constantly patrol the same troubled neighbourhood, goes the theory, they will understand it better and keep it safer. The results are encouraging.