CP would like to draw attention to a recent editorial in The Capital and to thank the editors for their willingness to remain open-minded and even positive about public transit. Herewith in full, their editorial:
TRANSIT GAP - An urban planner recently called the county's lack of a public transportation system "pitiful." We have to agree.
Klaus Philipsen, president of ArchPlan Inc. in Baltimore, told the Severn River Association that the county isn't doing enough to alleviate road congestion.
Buses, light rail trains and other forms of transportation can help take cars off the street, but no county executive has dared to get the county involved - simply because all these things would cost a lot. But the county at least needs to become more active in working with the state and the city of Annapolis to coordinate efforts.
The city, to its credit, has made significant efforts to establish a mass transit system, and has even attempted to extend its reach to Kent Island and south county. Unfortunately, when federal funds were cut, it had to withdraw from those areas.
Will any County Council or county executive dare to step into the breech?
TRANSIT GAP - An urban planner recently called the county's lack of a public transportation system "pitiful." We have to agree.
Klaus Philipsen, president of ArchPlan Inc. in Baltimore, told the Severn River Association that the county isn't doing enough to alleviate road congestion.
Buses, light rail trains and other forms of transportation can help take cars off the street, but no county executive has dared to get the county involved - simply because all these things would cost a lot. But the county at least needs to become more active in working with the state and the city of Annapolis to coordinate efforts.
The city, to its credit, has made significant efforts to establish a mass transit system, and has even attempted to extend its reach to Kent Island and south county. Unfortunately, when federal funds were cut, it had to withdraw from those areas.
Will any County Council or county executive dare to step into the breech?
If our own newspaper, a real Johnnie-come-lately to supporting transit can begin to see the light, there is hope for us all. For years, CP has been pounding the pro-transit message to Capital reporters and editors, peppering some of them with statistics, news articles and other sources of information to build this case. For a long time, The Capital was unabashedly anti-transit and went out of its way to bash transit.
Perhaps CP has played a small role in this new and positive development. CP has seen many signs that John Leopold is stepping into "the breech" and we need to encourage and support him in this regard. The Capital said nothing about the poorly managed Annapolis Transit which is barely overseen by The Mayor or City Council, but manages to limp along. So much more can be done and if the City and County will only get together..... It takes money, but foot-dragging will lead to more dragging in traffic and more costs in the future. THE TIME IS NOW!
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