LEADERSHIP THAT WORKS: Ending Maryland’s Traffic Gridlock

Goals and Values for Ending Maryland’s Traffic Gridlock

Martin O’Malley and Anthony Brown believe that good transportation planning is the key to attracting new jobs, maintaining a high quality of life, protecting the environment and ensuring the health of neighborhoods and our residents. They believe that Maryland should help families spend more time together and less time in traffic, and that the solution to our transportation challenges lies in a comprehensive approach which includes smart growth, mass transit, and careful expansion of roadways. One road or one rail line will not solve the state’s transportation needs. Instead, we should use the best combination of all transportation options to end the state’s traffic gridlock nightmares.

Paths to Progress

As Maryland’s next Governor, Martin O’Malley will:

• Invest in Transit Across Maryland to Decrease Gridlock. Martin O’Malley will invest in mass transit options to allow more Marylanders to use light rail, buses and Metro rails as an alternative to cars. Expanding subway and rail in the Baltimore and Washington areas can reduce traffic on our roads. He will also study MARC and METRO expansion into new areas in order to stay ahead of future traffic dilemmas.
  
• End Raids on the State’s Transportation Trust Fund. Martin O’Malley will end the raiding of Maryland’s Transportation Trust Fund, ensuring that money meant for transportation will be used on our highest transportation priorities, instead of being diverted away. O’Malley will also ensure localities have the ability to make their own smart transportation investments.
  
• Promote Smarter Long Term Planning and Growth to Manage Development. Martin O’Malley will restore Bob Ehrlich’s cuts to the Office of Smart Growth and will direct the Department of Planning to ensure Maryland grows in smarter ways that depend less upon new highways and increased traffic. O’Malley will promote smart growth initiatives such as live-work-play communities, hiker/biker trails and urban redevelopment, all of which will reduce gridlock.
  
• Increase Telecommuting to Reduce Traffic. Martin O’Malley will encourage businesses to make use of telecommuting and other innovative planning measures to allow employees to spend less time and money commuting to work.

A Record of Progress

• Martin O’Malley and the people of Baltimore have invested over $300 million into a comprehensive capital infrastructure program for Baltimore, upgrading bridges and highways for business and commuter travel, while targeting neighborhoods for resurfacing and streetscape projects.
  
• In the face of state budget cuts to transit funding, Martin O’Malley championed the Baltimore Rail Plan and fought for improved bus service, especially for the elderly, the disabled, and the poor.
  
• Martin O’Malley testified before Congress in support of a high-speed train to connect Washington and Baltimore to increase jobs and security while reducing traffic and our dependency on foreign oil sources.
  
• Martin O’Malley made a $25 million investment in modernizing traffic signals to reduce traffic and increase safety. His red-light running prevention program reduced intersection collisions by 40%.
  
• Martin O’Malley produced the “City Rideshare Program,â€? which promotes commuting alternatives such as carpooling, bicycle paths, mass transportation and telecommuting. He also launched a pioneering program which offers parking discounts to hybrid car users.

Maryland Can Do Better

• The Ehrlich Administration has failed to improve traffic in the Baltimore and DC metro areas. In fact, according to the Texas Transportation Institute, commuting times for the Baltimore and Washington metro areas continue to increase, but Ehrlich’s “one road transportation planâ€? will not solve these problems. The average commute time in Maryland is the second longest in the nation and is 25% higher than the national average.
  
• After just a few days in office, Bob Ehrlich proposed raiding the state’s Transportation Fund, taking money from road and rail. To date, Ehrlich has raided $500 million from the state’s Transportation Trust Fund.
  
• Bob Ehrlich vetoed a plan to help improve traffic in Southern Maryland and a popular plan to establish a blue-ribbon transportation study.
  
• Bob Ehrlich supports a massive development project on the Eastern Shore – worsening traffic and the Eastern Shore quality of life. As governor, Ehrlich has supported the 3,200 new homes and a golf course abutting the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge near Cambridge, threatening water quality, quality of life and increased traffic.
  
• Bob Ehrlich wanted to “abolishâ€? Maryland’s Office of Smart Growth, putting at risk years of work and progress to reduce congestion.

Bob Ehrlich and Transportation – No Goals. Failed Leadership.
A Stronger Maryland Can Do Better.

Martin O'Malley and Anthony Brown –
Leadership That Works