Tying Together our Urban Crescent: President Obama’s $8 Billion High Speed Rail Plan
COALITION FOR SMARTER GROWTH, 1000 FRIENDS OF MARYLAND, PARTNERSHIP FOR SMARTER GROWTH, VIRGINIA CHAPTER OF THE SIERRA CLUB, VIRGINIA CONSERVATION NETWORK
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: Contact:
April 16, 2009 Stewart Schwartz, Coalition for Smarter Growth
202-244-4408 ext 121
Dru Schmidt-Perkins, 1000 Friends of MD,
(410) 385-2910
Tying Together our Urban Crescent
President Obama’s $8 Billion High Speed Rail Plan
Offers Opportunity for Maryland/DC/Virginia Rail Corridor
Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia fall within the Northeast and Southeast rail corridors identified today by the Obama Administration as eligible for competitive high speed rail grants. “This is a unique opportunity to knit together the urban crescent between Baltimore, Washington, Fredericksburg, Richmond and Hampton Roads,” said Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth. “This corridor encompasses the vast majority of the population and annual economic output of the three jurisdictions and also the area where there is the greatest need for high-speed, efficient alternatives to growing traffic congestion.”
“Maryland has plans for significant rail upgrades. This new high speed rail program can be the catalyst we need to make critical investments in our Amtrak corridor,” said Dru Schmidt-Perkins, Executive Director for 1000 Friends of Maryland.
In Virginia plans have been moving forward for upgrades in the corridor between Richmond and Washington. Some $60 million in completed improvements resulted in significant service improvements north of Fredericksburg.
“Higher speed rail in the mid-Atlantic would offer a critical alternative to traffic choked I-95 and the long-delays involved with air travel. It would reduce energy consumption and fight climate change for a region which has one of the coastal environments most at risk from sea level rise,” said Roger Diedrich of the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club.
“This is a real positive for Richmond and I’m sure it will be for Baltimore as well,” said Nathan Lott, Executive Director for the Virginia Conservation Network. “It would increase economic competitiveness by improving business connections, offer an efficient work environment while traveling, and support compact, walkable transit-oriented communities and downtown economic success.”
The Obama Administration has made it very clear that building a world class transportation system is a top priority and that it plans to continue to make significant investments in high-speed rail in subsequent federal budgets. “We cannot afford to miss this opportunity and urge DC, Maryland and Virginia to compete vigorously for the high speed rail investment that will tie together the dynamic economy of our urban crescent,” concluded Schwartz.
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