Governor Hogan says he loves Baltimore. He said he wants Baltimore to be the economic engine of Maryland. Really?
At the same time, he says he won’t go forward with a program designed to give the city and surrounding counties the transportation system an economic engine needs. And then, the governor and his transportation secretary, Pete Rahn, announced 700 million or so for highways but none of it for the city.
No easing of the Red Line pain here. No suggested Red Line alternatives. Not even thinking about alternatives apparently.
Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford suggested a better solution for the city would be bus rapid transit. Errant musings? Random thoughts of no official significance? Who knows? Those three words were absent from the secretary’s briefing to legislators on Tuesday.
Recent reports from Annapolis suggest that Mr. Hogan will deal with political matters first. Baltimore didn’t vote for him. The counties and rural areas of the state did. So he’s spending all the available money on suburban and rural roads.
When Secretary Rahn finished, state Sen. Nathaniel McFadden asked if anything was left. No, he said.
It can’t be a surprise. Elections have consequences. But hey, it’s early in his term. Maybe he really does have something in mind for the city. If not, maybe he should throttle back on the “We love Baltimore” language.