2nd possible maglev route opposed
Arundel, P.G. lawmakers ask state to reject proposal to use Amtrak corridor
ARUNDEL DIGEST State lawmakers from Anne Arundel and Prince George’s counties asked Maryland Transportation Secretary Pete Rahn on Tuesday to reject a second proposed route alignment for the proposed high-speed magnetic-levitation train route between Baltimore and Washington.
The state already had dropped a proposed alignment along the Washington, Baltimore & Annapolis Trail amid opposition from Bowie residents, the two state senators and five delegates noted in a letter.
The letter asked the state to cancel plans to run the train along Amtrak’s Penn Line corridor.
“As you know, we and many of our constituents strongly oppose the proposed MAGLEV routes which would disrupt our neighborhoods with little or no value to local residents,” said the letter, signed by senators Jim Rosapepe and Joanne Benson, and delegates Barbara Frush, Joseline Peña-Melnyk, Ben Barnes, Erek Barron and Jazz Lewis.
“We appreciate that you have dropped the WB&A route. We urge you to drop the Amtrak route promptly and identify and mitigate any community impacts of underground routes,” they wrote.
Both the state and Baltimore-Washington Rapid Rail, the company seeking to build the train using Japanese magnetic levitation technology, said they’ve already withdrawn support for the proposed Amtrak alignment, though the lawmakers and opponents say they’ve seen no official notification.
The high-speed transit project, expected to cost between $10 billion and $12 billion, is in the first year of a federally funded $27.8 million environmental review that is expected to be complete in summer 2019.
Much of any of the train’s alignments would be in tunnels bored underground, the company has said, with above-ground sections running on suspended viaducts.
Maryland Department of Transportation spokeswoman Erin Henson said the state already has been working with the Federal Railroad Administration to eliminate the Amtrak alignment and “closely examine remaining potential routes to guard against any possible harm to local communities.” Canceling the Amtrak route option leaves two remaining alignment proposals, on the east and west sides of the Baltimore- Washington Parkway.
Henson provided an Oct. 14 letter from Rahn that she said was distributed at open houses this fall, pledging that the state would not allow any alignment that “would harm local communities or affect the quality of life of the citizens along the proposed path.”
“If there is not a proposed route that ultimately meets this criteria,” Henson wrote, “the administration reserves the right to support a ‘no build’ outcome.”
Dennis Brady, head of a Bowie-based opposition group called Citizens Against This Superconducting Maglev, said he’d heard that the state was weighing canceling the Amtrak route, but he hadn’t seen anything official. Brady’s group is pushing the state to reject the whole project.
“If they drop the Amtrak line, that’s four of the six [proposed alignments] that are dropped, so we’ll be two-thirds of the way there,” he said.
The Federal Railroad Administration, which received a copy of the letter, did not respond to a request for comment.
County schools collect $45,000 for Houston Anne Arundel County Public Schools has a $45,000 present for the Houston Independent School District about 1,400 miles away.
In August, Hurricane Harvey caused major flooding in the city, and that month Anne Arundel schools launched a campaign, #HelpHouston, to gather relief funds. During September, parents, students, staff and others made donations at the county’s schools and central office, and many also donated online.
The #HelpHouston campaign raised $39,000, and the school system is adding $6,000 in kitchen supplies provided by the Division of Food and Nutrition Services, officials said Tuesday.
The donation was made Dec. 19.
Houston Independent School District Superintendent Richard Carranza said in a statement that Houston is grateful for Anne Arundel’s generosity.
“Our students are still trying to return to normalcy, and the kindness we continue to receive from around the country is encouraging,”
Carranza said.
Help is still needed, said Anne Arundel County Public Schools Communication Specialist Marvin Edwards, a Houston native. Edwards went home to visit family about a week and a half ago, and said the area is still struggling.
“I saw it for myself,” Edwards said.
“Some communities have totally rebuilt and others have barely started, so there’s still a lot of work to be done.”
— Rachael Pacella, Baltimore Sun Media Group
The state already had dropped a proposed alignment along the Washington, Baltimore & Annapolis Trail amid opposition from Bowie residents, the two state senators and five delegates noted in a letter.
The letter asked the state to cancel plans to run the train along Amtrak’s Penn Line corridor.
“As you know, we and many of our constituents strongly oppose the proposed MAGLEV routes which would disrupt our neighborhoods with little or no value to local residents,” said the letter, signed by senators Jim Rosapepe and Joanne Benson, and delegates Barbara Frush, Joseline Peña-Melnyk, Ben Barnes, Erek Barron and Jazz Lewis.
“We appreciate that you have dropped the WB&A route. We urge you to drop the Amtrak route promptly and identify and mitigate any community impacts of underground routes,” they wrote.
Both the state and Baltimore-Washington Rapid Rail, the company seeking to build the train using Japanese magnetic levitation technology, said they’ve already withdrawn support for the proposed Amtrak alignment, though the lawmakers and opponents say they’ve seen no official notification.
The high-speed transit project, expected to cost between $10 billion and $12 billion, is in the first year of a federally funded $27.8 million environmental review that is expected to be complete in summer 2019.
Much of any of the train’s alignments would be in tunnels bored underground, the company has said, with above-ground sections running on suspended viaducts.
Maryland Department of Transportation spokeswoman Erin Henson said the state already has been working with the Federal Railroad Administration to eliminate the Amtrak alignment and “closely examine remaining potential routes to guard against any possible harm to local communities.” Canceling the Amtrak route option leaves two remaining alignment proposals, on the east and west sides of the Baltimore- Washington Parkway.
Henson provided an Oct. 14 letter from Rahn that she said was distributed at open houses this fall, pledging that the state would not allow any alignment that “would harm local communities or affect the quality of life of the citizens along the proposed path.”
“If there is not a proposed route that ultimately meets this criteria,” Henson wrote, “the administration reserves the right to support a ‘no build’ outcome.”
Dennis Brady, head of a Bowie-based opposition group called Citizens Against This Superconducting Maglev, said he’d heard that the state was weighing canceling the Amtrak route, but he hadn’t seen anything official. Brady’s group is pushing the state to reject the whole project.
“If they drop the Amtrak line, that’s four of the six [proposed alignments] that are dropped, so we’ll be two-thirds of the way there,” he said.
The Federal Railroad Administration, which received a copy of the letter, did not respond to a request for comment.
County schools collect $45,000 for Houston Anne Arundel County Public Schools has a $45,000 present for the Houston Independent School District about 1,400 miles away.
In August, Hurricane Harvey caused major flooding in the city, and that month Anne Arundel schools launched a campaign, #HelpHouston, to gather relief funds. During September, parents, students, staff and others made donations at the county’s schools and central office, and many also donated online.
The #HelpHouston campaign raised $39,000, and the school system is adding $6,000 in kitchen supplies provided by the Division of Food and Nutrition Services, officials said Tuesday.
The donation was made Dec. 19.
Houston Independent School District Superintendent Richard Carranza said in a statement that Houston is grateful for Anne Arundel’s generosity.
“Our students are still trying to return to normalcy, and the kindness we continue to receive from around the country is encouraging,”
Carranza said.
Help is still needed, said Anne Arundel County Public Schools Communication Specialist Marvin Edwards, a Houston native. Edwards went home to visit family about a week and a half ago, and said the area is still struggling.
“I saw it for myself,” Edwards said.
“Some communities have totally rebuilt and others have barely started, so there’s still a lot of work to be done.”
— Rachael Pacella, Baltimore Sun Media Group
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