Transportation Vision and Master Plan..,more than a day late and more than many pennies short on vision, short on masters, short on plan

Wow--finally, the much touted and long-awaited Transportation Vision and Master Plan is released. Despite my repeated request to various city officials for a year, all of whom ignored or stonewalled me, this thing is finally done. One can get a copy at www.annapolis.gov.
This report was supposed to really enhance city, county and state cooperation on regional roads, transit and other transportation concerns and help guide intergovernmental projects for years to come, but it has been beset with difficulties. I remember when County planners told me “If only we could get this study, it would really allow us to move forward regionally.” Well, we got the study and it’s, well, what is it? Hopefully I’ll soon find out and report here.
I was present at the “grip and grin” where Janet Owens, Ellen Moyer and John Porcari signed the agreement to do the study. I had to provide the same information over and over again at the request of the city’s P and Z folks. I had to sit in meetings where they then asked the same questions I just answered, and this went on…and finally the P and Z folks fired the first team from mega-consulting firms Parsons Brinckerhoff. As many readers know, such a study is expectedly beyond the scope and capabilities of our P and Z Dep’t, but so is just about everything else it seems. So, here it is years later and behind schedule and voila! We shall see, but now that it is so much older, is it outdated?
And now that the city’s mandated five-year Comprehensive Plan is underway, what does it all mean anyhow? I can just imagine--more delay, more hand wringing, more cars, more traffic…meanwhile our own transportation department, the singled-out subject of a stinging review when incoming Mayor Dean Johnson entered office in January, 1998 (when this writer took up residence as marketing specialist in that department) and was told to get an “overhaul” has never been overhauled or anything of the sort. In fact, all that has changed is that long-time number two transpocrat, has now become the long-time number one transpocrat at transportation, and this writer, who served for 7.5 years, was replaced by the daughter of the former long-time number one transpocrat (i.e. her father used to be boss over the person who now is boss) who was ousted by Johnson.

Miller and Busch Chit Chat on the Marc Steiner Show

I got to sit and listen to House Speaker Mike Busch and Senate President Mike Miller chit chat with WYPR’s Marc Steiner during a live session of his eponymous show at Phillip’s Crab House in Annapolis recently. Sorry to say--not a whole lot to report or rehash-you may have heard it all on the Steiner show, but perhaps not surprisingly, the ugly head of SLOTS is being raised again. Puuhleeeze Senator Miller (and Gov. O’Malley) can’t we put a bullet through this thing’s head and move on to a responsible way to run a government??

Thanks to Speaker Busch for his courageous and consistent stand against this ruinous, regressive form of taxation.

The most poignant part of the day was when an Annapolis High School teacher, with a handful of his “Legal Academy” students in tow, made an impassioned plea to the two leading lawmakers about the difficulty he and his wife face as public teachers trying to make it in their home in Annapolis--and on Clay Street, with its open air drug markets and all. Not many answers on that…everybody seems afraid to tackle the tough and interlocking issues of poverty, public housing, crime, drug dealing, housing affordability etc., etc. (Hey-would this be a good time to talk about Bloomsbury Square??? Aah, fuggedabout it…) The students got a chance to meet Senator Miller-which I am sure made their day. Miller, by the way, who joked that if he is going to hell, it is because he supported elected school boards, is hinting that this will be his last four-year term. Kudos to the teacher and his class for this effective use of part of their school day.

The most laughable part of the day came when an PR executive with Hardesty Capital Management queried the lawmakers about our state's supposed “anti-business” stance. Busch again repeated how our AAA bond status, our low unemployment, our strong high tech and educational attributes, our quality of life, etc. makes Maryland a good place to do business and asked the impoverished businessman what was anti-business? All the man could come up with was how a person moving to Maryland had to pay a %5 sales tax when bringing their car in for registration. Oh yeah--like that’s really so different from any other state? As if a $2500 bill on that new $50,000 Lexus would keep the XYZ Company’s $150k per year executive from moving here! The PR executive is probably the guy responsible for Hardesty’s brochure that shows a line-up of multi-million dollar, megayachts with the rhetorical caption, “Is it your money or theirs?”….hmmm, good question? Is that water you are floating on my Chesapeake--or yours? Is the diesel it’s burning Saudi Arabia’s or yours? Is the air it is polluting mine or yours? And finally, is the system that allowed you to get so rich, mine or yours??? All good questions….

On the good news front-both Busch and Miller spoke strongly in favor of passing the “Clean Car Bill” and bringing Maryland into line with many other states already working to reduce emissions at the state level. As Schaefer would say, “DO IT NOW!”