A new group has formed in Maryland to urge legislators to find new revenue options to fund transportation projects.
The group — Get Maryland Moving — is comprised of various advocacy organizations, including Purple Line Now and the Red Line Now PAC in Baltimore, Coalition for Smarter Growth, and the Maryland League of Women Voters and the Greater Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce, amongst others.
The group is asking Gov. Martin O’Malley and the Maryland General Assembly to make transportation funding a priority in this legislative session.
O’Malley used part of his annual State of the State speech last month to talk about Maryland’s “worst traffic congestion in the country” and the need for money for the near-bankrupt Transportation Trust Fund but offered no details. An O’Malley spokeswoman said he is working with the legislature to work out a plan.
Maryland’s Transportation Trust Fund pays for road and bridge maintenance, as well as other projects such as light rail, including the proposed Purple and Red lines. The fund has enough money to pay only for current maintenance and is projected to run out of cash by 2018.
Photo courtesy of AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana