We don’t have to tell you about the traffic in the urban and suburban regions of the state, or the potholes and crumbling bridges statewide.  You also know that Metro needs to finish fixing its aging tracks and to buy more rail cars and buses. Our growing state needs better rail and transit connections to reduce the demand on our roadways.  Unless we fix our aging infrastructure and invest in new, modern transit connections, we will be less competitive in attracting and keeping jobs and investment.

But there is a plan to Get Maryland Moving. Maryland has a plan to deal with transportation.  The state wants to build Baltimore’s Red Line, the Washington area’s Purple Line and Montgomery County’s Corridor Cities Transitway, as well as increase its investment in Metro, MARC, and other key priorities.  Increasingly, we are investing in smart growth, designing our cities and suburbs to be more walkable and connected, but that requires the supportive investments in transit and local street networks.

These projects can go a long way towards easing mobility, facilitating economic growth, and cutting back on pollution. The problem is that the state has no way to pay for them.