I think we can all agree in the field of mass transit, Baltimore blows. It's heartening to know that there are plans to update our transit. But it's also disheartening to see that in this era of global warming, one neighborhood's prejudices can disrupt better mass transit plans.
The MTA has a proposed East/West line that would run from Woodlawn to Bayview.
In order for the cost/benefit to work, it would be a light rail line that runs underground only through downtown and Fells Point. It would then come back above ground in Canton and run above ground along the extra wide Boston Street near the scenic Safeway and Starbucks and run out to Bayview.
The problem? Canton.
The community doesn't want an above ground light rail running through their neighborhood.
In fact, Canton would simply rather Baltimore not improve its mass transit at all rather than face a light rail in their neighborhood.
Darryl J. Jurkiewicz, president of the community group and a lifelong Canton resident, said running above-ground trains on Boston Street doesn't make sense. "We all agree we need more and better mass transit, but if you're not going to do it right, it shouldn't be done."
Ben Rosenberg, a lawyer who lives along the Canton waterfront, is convinced that Alternative 4-C would "debase" if not "destroy" his neighborhood.
"I have yet to find somebody [in Canton] who says they're in favor of this thing," he said. "The feeling in Canton is whatever you do, do it underground. ... If that breaks the bank, wait till the bank fills up."
Translation: "If you don't do it our way, then screw you, Baltimore."
There is also a racial element in all this. The mostly white, wealthy community of Canton can't get a tunnel in the east unless the less affluent, African-Community of Edmonson Ave. in the west gets one too.
Baltimore political leaders and transportation officials understand that favoring Canton over West Baltimore would hit a nerve in the city's African-American community, where people remember well that many black residents were displaced in the 1960s and 1970s to make way for a highway that ultimately wasn't built.
Henry Kay, the MTA's deputy administrator for planning, said the agency is acutely aware of that history. "We take that very seriously because we understand the legacy of those issues."
He also noted that federal law prohibits discrimination among communities on the basis of race or relative wealth. "If we study an expensive [alternative] like tunneling, we have to make sure it's going to be equitable."
It is also widely rumored that complaints from Canton residents about live music in bars in their neighborhood served as the catalyst for the new city live music bill proposal that would actually hobble our music and performing arts community.
So, should one wealthy city neighborhood be able to derail an entire
city's mass transit plans? To hold future rail development hostage?
Source.
