Conceptual Project Schedule*

project schedule green line

Definition of Alternatives/ Alternatives Retained January 2004 - April 2005 January 2004 - April 2006 for Detailed Study

Alternatives Analysis/ Draft Environmental Impact June 2004 - January 2007 June 2004 - January 2008 Statement Public Hearings

Preliminary Engineering January 2006 - November 2008 November 2006 - November 2009

Final Environmental April 2007 - April 2008 April 2008 - April 2009 Impact Statement (FEIS)

* This chart includes funded phases only.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, PLEASE:

 Visit the project website at www.baltimoreregiontransitplan.com

 Send an email to the [email protected] or [email protected]

Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr.  Or contact : Governor

Robert L. Flanagan Lorenzo Bryant, Project Manager MDOT Secretary Maryland Transit Administration 6 St. Paul Street Robert L. Smith , MD 21202 MTA Administrator (410) 767-3754

En Espanol: Jose M. Vazquez Maryland Transit Administration 8720 Georgia Avenue, Suite 904 Silver Spring, MD 20910 (301) 565-9665

Alternative formats available upon request.

MTA AUG 2004 10000 5 PRESORTED STANDARD U.S POSTAGE PAID BALTIMORE, MD PERMIT NO. 4176 Baltimore Red and Green Line Studies 6 St. Paul Street, 9th Floor Baltimore, MD 21202-1614

www.baltimoreregiontransitplan.com SEPTEMBER 2004 red and green line studies PROJECT NEWS

MARYLAND TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION connect Johns Hopkins Hospital to the Morgan State University/Good Samaritan EXPANDING TRANSIT IN BALTIMORE REGION - Hospital area. For detailed information STUDIES ACTIVE AND MOVING FORWARD about the Red and Green Lines, see descriptions on page 2. Studies look at providing service between Woodlawn The primary goal for both the Red Line and Patterson Park, and from Johns Hopkins Hospital to Morgan and Green Line is to improve mobility State University/Good Samaritan Hospital in the Baltimore metropolitan area. The lines will also: The Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) is continuing study on  Improve transit connections two priority corridors from the Baltimore Region Transit Plan: the Red Line and the Green Line. The Red Line would provide a direct con-  Support community revitalization plans nection from Woodlawn to Patterson Park and the Green Line would and help spur economic development  Hunt Valley Reduce traffic congestion and air pollution Pepper Road McCormick Road  Provide opportunities for transit Gilroy Road Warren Road oriented development Timonium Timonium Business Park Lutherville  Provide a transit option through heavily 95) ay (I-6 traveled corridors in the Baltimore area

Baltimore Beltw Owings Mills Falls Road Options being considered for the Red City Line Line are Enhanced Bus Service, Bus Old Court Mt. Washington Milford Mill Good Samaritan ille Rapid Transit, and . For the ryv ® Per Reisterstown Plaza to Cold Spring Lane Morgan State University Rogers Avenue Green Line, Enhanced Bus Service, West Cold Spring Northwood Woodberry Mondawmin Edgewood , and Metro Subway Coldstream North Avenue ® E. North Avenue Penn-North Penn Station are being considered. Both studies are Upton/ Madison Square Avenue Market UB/Mt. Royal er considering different route alternatives. ent Johns Hopkins tural C Edmondson Village treet Medical Campus West Baltimore Cul arket Hilton Parkway State Center/ tre S At this time, both projects are in the plan- Cultural Center Woodlawn Ros Cen Westview ington M Shot Tower/ emont Lex Marketplace ning stage. (See full Conceptual Project

Westside Charles CenterAquarium Inner Har e er Fel Pat ls Poin Schedule on page 5.) Construction activi- ent ter Convention Center son Par bor t klin SquarPoppleton East k ties are not scheduled for either project. University C Camden Yards

Hamburg Street Harlem Park/Fran W es tpor Legend Cherry Hill t Halethorpe Patapsco Priority Projects Bal timore Highlands Nursery Road Existing Rail Lines St. Denis Linthicum ® North Linthicum Existing Station TOPICS Page

Proposed Station Location Dorsey BWI Amtrak

Transfer Station 2 Ferndale Get Involved Cromwell Station/Glen Burnie Proposed Transfer Station 3 hington, D.C. Types of Transit BWI Business District to Was BWI Airport ® Odenton 2003 Scoping Meetings 4

hington, D.C. Was to Project Schedule 5 GET INVOLVED Public input will be a critical factor in developing transit alternatives

If you are not already involved, MTA about important resources we encourage you to get involved. and issues concerning their com- And if you have been in touch with munities. Between November us, stay on board for an exciting 2002 and April 2003, 52 meetings ride. Your input is sought as the were held along the proposed Red study team evaluates: Line, and 40 along the proposed  Where will the transit routes be Green Line with more than 100 and how will they be built? people participating. These meet- ings helped MTA staff become  Where will the stations familiar with communities and be located? The next series of meetings for issues in the study areas. the Red Line will be held in the fall  What impacts and benefits The MTA will continue to collect of 2004. You are encouraged to could these projects have in information and solicit public input attend. We will send a notification my community? throughout the planning process of meeting dates to those on our Your input has been important to us in order to compare and evaluate project mailing list and place from the beginning. In preparation the potential alternatives. The notices in newspapers and on our for the Red and Green Line studies, information and the transportation staff from MTA's Planning Office and environmental impacts will continue on page 3 conducted a series of one-on-one be described and summarized and small group meetings with in a Draft Environmental Impact community, business, and organiza- Statement (DEIS), a public docu- tion leaders throughout the study ment required when major federal corridors. More than 300 letters funding is anticipated for a project. the green line were sent out and followed up by Public involvement is a required personal telephone calls, inviting component in the development of The proposed Green Line is a community leaders to talk to the this document. four mile corridor extending from the Johns Hopkins Metro Station to northeastern Baltimore City in the vicinity of Morgan State University/Good Samaritan the red line Hospital. The Green Line would provide service connecting to The proposed Red Line is a 10.5 mile east-west corridor connecting the Baltimore's existing transit system - Woodlawn area of Baltimore County, Edmondson Village in Baltimore City, Metro Subway, Light Rail and MARC West Baltimore communities, downtown Baltimore and the communities in lines. Enhanced access to the Johns the vicinity of the Inner Harbor East and Fells Point/Patterson Park. In addition, Hopkins Hospital, the proposed the Red Line would provide service connecting to Baltimore's existing transit East Baltimore Biotechnology Park system - Metro Subway, Light Rail and MARC lines and would serve major near Madison Square, and support employers such as the Social Security Administration, the Center for Medicaid for established city neighborhoods and Medicare Services (CMS), and the downtown Central Business District. would be provided. The southern The western portion of the Red Line study area consists of suburban type portion of the study area consists residential, shopping and office park land uses. The study area continues primarily of dense residential and through downtown and Fells Point/Patterson Park areas and includes institutional land use, while the Baltimore row-house communities, the downtown business district, and northern portion consists primarily the redeveloping residential and commercial areas in Inner Harbor East. of medium-density residential areas and institutional uses. 2 Environmental Impact get involved - continue from page 2 Statement Process (EIS) project website. In the meantime, the MTA welcomes your input and questions. Please visit our website at SCOPING www.baltimoreregiontransitplan.com to be included on the project mailing list, make comments or to get information MTA study team introduced the on the Red and Green Lines. You can also request to project and provided an opportunity have an MTA representative attend your community meeting for the public to comment on modes, to provide updates and answer questions regarding plans corridors and issues of concern. for the Red Line and Green Line.

DEVELOPMENT OF PRELIMINARY ALTERNATIVES Preliminary alternatives are currently being developed. The MTA plans to ALTERNATIVE TRANSIT conduct a series of workshops and MODES UNDER STUDY community meetings this fall to present alternatives and receive your input. Alternative modes being considered for the Red Line include Light Rail Transit (LRT), Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and Enhanced Bus Service. For the Green Line, Metro Subway, Bus Rapid Transit and Enhanced Bus Service modes are DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL being considered. The MTA is also required by the Federal IMPACT STATEMENT (DEIS) Transit Administration (FTA) to study a "No-build" alternative The DEIS will be presented in public in both the Red and Green Line corridors which allows the hearings where the MTA will receive agency to compare the proposed new transit alternatives to official comment and testimony. the option of not building a new transit project.

FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT (FEIS) BUS RAPID TRANSIT All comments on the DEIS will be addressed in a FEIS.  A transit mode that uses standard transit vehicles or advanced technology vehicles

 Combines stations, vehicles, RECORD OF DECISION (ROD) fare collection systems and traffic signals into The final step of study is for the an integrated system that improves vehicle Federal Transit Administration to travel time and reliability issue a Record of Decision (ROD) that  Operates on existing roads and/or exclusive identifies the selected alternative, the running ways rationale for its selection, and the mitigation measures proposed. 3 2003 SCOPING MEETINGS - LIGHT RAIL WHAT YOU HAD TO SAY

 Electric railway system that The public commented on the following operates on track as single issues during last year's Scoping process cars or short trains

 Rights-of-way can be at ground Potential traffic impacts, the importance of level, on aerial structures or in tunnels connecting existing transit with any new transit, and specific alignment choices were major  Can operate in mixed traffic, in the median of a comments expressed to the MTA by those who roadway, underground or on a separate right-of-way attended the Scoping meetings held in May and June of 2003. There were seven Scoping meetings held in various locations throughout the Red and Green Line study areas. The information presented at the Scoping meetings was provided on the website. Approximately METRO SUBWAY 300 people attended the public meetings. During the Scoping period, nearly 200 com-  Electric railway that operates ments were received through comment cards, at high speeds on track that e-mails and letters submitted to the MTA. is separated from cars and The Scoping meetings helped the MTA to pedestrians identify alternatives and issues that will need  Separation from cars and pedestrians is necessary to be considered such as community and neigh- because heavy rail transit gets its power from a borhood impacts, potential impacts to historic high-voltage rail along the track (third rail) structures, parklands and other environmentally sensitive concerns. MTA is continuing to identify  Built at ground level, in a tunnel, elevated on and better understand these issues. a bridge, or in the median of an expressway Listed are the major themes from the comments received.

 Schedule: Move ahead quickly with the projects to improve transit service in the Baltimore Region.

 Heavy Rail: Suggestions were made to ENHANCED BUS SERVICE include heavy rail (Metro Subway) as a mode alternative under study for the Red Line.

 Consists of improvements  Bus Rapid Transit (BRT): Comments were to the existing bus operations mixed, with some favoring BRT as a more and services in the corridor affordable alternative and others expressing such as more frequent service concern that BRT would not provide a high and improved bus stops quality service.

 Intended to be a lower cost set of service/  Local Traffic Impacts: Concerns were operational improvements expressed about potential traffic impacts at stations.

 Connectivity: The importance of good connections between the proposed lines and existing rail transit lines was emphasized. 4