"Hope is one thing, delusion another"

Those were the words with which Senator Mikulski commented the hope of MDOT Secretary Rahn of finding federal funds to improve the area transit system.

The meeting with over 40 elected officials and representatives who had signed a protest letter to the Maryland Secretary of Transportation Pete Rahn and his boss, Governor Hogan, went as anybody could have guessed. No real new information and no promise of money.

In spite of all the daylight in this room on the lower level of MDOT there
was no new light shed on the situation of transit in  the metro area
(BBJ from the first 5 minutes when the press was allowed)

The Hogan administration considers its approach to transportation balanced (see also Republican Delegate Flannigan's commentary in the SUN paper today), because it did not kill both transit project but kept the Purple Line on life support.

There is talk about bus efficiency and giving Baltimore a better bus system. And then the famous 90 days until some rabbit will come out of some hat.

Rahn had wanted to propose something a bit more developed by today, but things aren't as easy and even bus improvements require public meetings and some more preparation.

Rahn in an interview with WBAL Radio explained after the meeting that this wasn't about an alternative to the Red Line but about improving the "transit system".  He announced that there will be two more retinas with the same group he met today. 

More about bus improvements on the Dan Rodricks Show tomorrow at noon.

A checklist that was apparently distributed at today's meeting (from a tweet by Bill Ferguson)

Klaus Philipsen, FAIA

Updated: 8/10/15 22:25h

See my other articles on the matter:

Regional Consensus on Transit: We got that!
With the eyes wide open: Full steam into the distant past
Transit- Losing by not Investing


Baltimore Business Journal article about today's meeting

SUN: City officials blast Hogan's decision to kill Red Line

http://bsun.md/1IZG7Aq

SUN Editorial: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bs-ed-red-line-20150810-story.html

WBAL Radio: http://www.wbal.com/article/119191/3/city-officials-demand-answers-from-hogan-on-transit

Senator Bill Ferguson did not really like the Red Line but he may see now that it was an all or nothing proposition.  Whatever his new insights, at least, now he gives us tweets with great quotes  from closed meetings.