Transportation Planning

Background

Adequate transportation for Harford County requires exceptional planning. Planning is done basically independently in too many organizations against conflicting rules and timelines. Transportation planning affecting Harford County is accomplished at federal, state and local levels, and includes highway and, to a more limited degree, mass transit. Long range, mid-range and short range planning is accomplished. By the tiome we get to year of execution, mass transit programs are only unfunded dreams. We will summarize the agencies and their plans below. Follow closely, it gets confusing.

The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) is responsible for building, operating, and maintaining a safe and seamless transportation network that links Maryland both internally, and with the rest of the country and the world. To accomplish this:

The above planning process governs all projects receiving state funding. The following planning organizations and process is quasi-independent of the above, using different planning horizons, and running on a different schedule. (Don't ask. I did at a high level and got a bureaucratic non-answer.)

The Baltimore Metropolitan Council (BMC) is an organization of the Baltimore region’s elected executives, representing Baltimore City and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford and Howard counties, formed to collaborate on strategies, plans and programs to improve the quality of life and economic vitality in the Baltimore region. One of their functions is regional transportation planning, which is accomplished through the Baltimore Regional Transportation Board (see next paragraph).

The Baltimore Regional Transportation Board (BRTB) is the federally recognized Metropolitan Planning Organization for transportation planning in the Baltimore region. Members of the BMC Board serve on the BRTB. The Mayor of Annapolis and representatives of the Maryland Departments of Transportation, the Environment and Planning also serve on the BRTB. BMC provides technical and staff support to the BRTB. the BRTB is directly responsible for making sure that any money spent on existing and future transportation projects and programs is based on a continuing, cooperative and comprehensive (3-C) planning process. All transportation projects and programs that receive federal funding in our region go through this planning process. Friends of Harford is a member of the Citizens Advisory Council to the BRTB.

Current BRTB products include:

Maryland Transportation Authority is an independent agency responsible for managing, operating and improving the State's toll facilities. Planning for I-95 north of the harbor tunnels was given to them. Their plan, of course, is to add limited access, toll lanes. Interstate 95 Section 200, still awaiting decision, is the designation for the part of I-95 that will run through Harford County. Section 100, just below us is under construction. It will have 2 toll lanes and 4 general access lanes in each direction. Toll lanes will have separate entrances and exits at each jnterchange, that is an 8-leafed clover. Here is a drawing of what is well under construction for the interchange of I-95 and I-695. Friends of Harford had a membership on the I-95 Section 200 Focus Group.

Friends of Harford Perspective

Friends of Harford is in favor of focusing transportation improvements where needed and not using them as opportunities to expand housing development outside the Development Envelope. We favor enhancing mass transit options.

Transportation Outlook 2035: Little attention was paid to the numerous citizen comments and recommendations for this plan. There is little long range vision in it, especially pertaining to mass transit options. It contains primarily "more of the same" highway capacity expansion. If you don’t like the "blueprint" your County has in mind for your neighborhood, you should tell them. You may phone the Baltimore Regional Transportation Board at 410-732-0500, call your County Executive, David Craig, at 410-638-3350 or call The MD Department of Transportation Secretary, John Porcari, at 410-865-1275. Better yet, call them all.

Interstate 95 Section 200 See this page for discussion.

Published Plans, Reports and Links