Streetcars once ran along Baltimore's Edmondson Avenue. (Photo by Edward S. Miller, via the city's Red Line website.)

by JAMIE KENDRICK

The past few months of the debate over Baltimore’s Red Line transit project has felt a lot like the past few weeks of debate over President Obama’s health care plan: generally shedding more heat than light on a complex subject.

Boisterous rallies and allegations of “death trap tunnels” by Red Line opponents have drowned out the hard work of community and civic leaders and government officials to forge a consensus over the Baltimore region’s next major transit investment.

Just as it is easy for opponents of the health care plan to pick one paragraph from the thousand-page health care bill and hold it up as evidence of government-led “death panels,” it is equally easy for Red Line opponents to falsely claim that hundreds of homes will be “taken” to make way for the transit line.  Neither claim is true, but both make for easy organizing of an already skeptical public.

((Another cup of commentary on our menu today: “Baltimore’s Red Line? Better for Developers than transit riders,” by Nathaniel Payer, vice president of the Transit Riders Action Council.))

It has taken nearly seven years to arrive at a “locally preferred alternative” for the Red Line.  The duration of planning and analysis for the Red Line is a testament not only to the rigorous application process for federal funding, but also the rigorous environmental and cost standards that must be met for a project of this magnitude.

With more than $1.5 billion in federal and state funds about to be set in motion to design and construct this important project, let’s take deep breath and separate myth from fact when it comes to Red Line Alternative 4C.

Myth: Hundreds of homes will be taken along Edmondson Avenue to make way for the Red Line.

Fact: Not a single home will be taken for the Red Line.  State law now prohibits any “involuntary displacement” – although none were ever really needed or considered for the project.  Many properties will be affected – up to 18 inches may be required from some front lawns, but property owners will be fully compensated.

Myth: There hasn’t been any real public input into the Red Line.  Alternatives have been offered by the public, but not analyzed by MTA.

Fact: The 2002 Baltimore Region Rail System Plan laid the groundwork for the Red Line; it established a general corridor for the project and dozens of different alternatives were evaluated.  Some proposals made by citizens didn’t fit into the framework of the system plan and were rejected; others were given preliminary evaluation but not carried through to a full analysis because they didn’t come close to meeting the federal funding guidelines.  City and MTA staff sat in living rooms and stood outside of grocery stores asking for input and participation.  In all, there were more than 250 public meetings on the Red Line over the seven-year study period, including open houses, community working groups, presentations to neighborhood associations, and formal public hearings.

Myth: The light rail killed Howard Street and will do the same to Boston Street.  Property values will decline dramatically.

Fact: It’s sad to say, but Howard Street was “dead” long before the light rail was even under consideration.  Most of the department stores had left in the 1970s through the mid-1980s.  Since the light rail was constructed, property values in the Howard Street corridor have increased.  There is no evidence anywhere in the country that property values decline due to the presence of light rail, whether you are 10 feet or 2 blocks away.  In real estate, access equals value.

Myth: The Red Line misses connections to our existing transit lines.

Fact: The Red Line will connect directly to the Central Light Rail (Blue Line) at the intersection of Howard and Lombard Streets.  The Red Line will connect directly to the MARC Train at West Baltimore station.  The Red Line will connect directly to the Metro (Green Line) at Charles Center.  At Charles Center, an underground, moving walkway will connect the two lines at a distance of about 600 feet.  That’s less than most people walk when parking their car at a Metro station and walking to the entrance.

Myth: MTA is planning a “death trap” tunnel under Cooks Lane, never tried anywhere in the world.

Fact: There have been many single track tunnels built around the world, often because funds did not permit and operations did not require that a second-track be built.  MTA operated a light-rail system with many single track sections for many years without ever having a head-on collision.  Many rail transit agencies operate single-tube tunnels without ever the slightest hint of a problem.  Those who think that MTA would purposely design an unsafe tunnel must also believe that President Obama’s health care plan explicitly calls for the creation of “death panels” to decide who will live and who will die.

Myth: Boston Street and Edmondson Avenue weren’t designed to carry rail cars.

Fact: Until it stopped running in 1953, a double-track trolley ran right down the middle of Edmondson Avenue.  Until the mid 1980s, Boston Street had freight trains running down the middle.

So, as summer comes to an end, and Congress returns to debate health care in a more rational and focused manner, let’s resolve to sit down together and do the same on the Red Line.  As with a health care bill, the Red Line is going to move forward; so, we had better all figure out a way to make it work for us.

Jamie Kendrick is Deputy Director of the Baltimore City Department of Transportation.