20061007 O’Malley questions Hampstead By-pass

O'Malley questions priorities by Justin Palk of the Carroll County Times

Posted by Kevin Dayhoff October 10^th, 2006

Last week, Carroll County Times writer, Justin Palk, picked up the story of the Democratic Maryland gubernatorial candidate criticizing the Hampstead by-pass.

It is a classic case of over-playing one’s hand. To be sure, there must be a road project or two that warrants some Monday-morning quarterbacking.

But the Hampstead by-pass ain’t it. Especially with appropriate land-use measures put into place to not facilitate sprawl in the future.

Quintessentially, this was economic and community infrastructure necessity as Hampstead was getting choked with standstill traffic every morning and evening and there was no way to widen the road through town…

The Hampstead by-pass has been discussed since the 1960s and under the leadership of Hampstead Mayor Haven Q. Shoemaker, his talented town councilmembers, the Carroll County Commissioners and the Carroll County Delegation to Annapolis - - and Governor Ehrlich; it is now finally happening.

In The Carroll Record on March 23, 1972, the by-pass was discussed.

Yes, you read that correctly – 1972.

An article that appeared in The Carroll Record said:

State Asked To Accelerate Route 30 By-pass — The County Commissioners have asked a one-year acceleration in right-of-way purchases for the proposed Route 30 by-pass around Manchester and Hampstead. In a request to the State Highway Administration, the commissioners asked that $198,000 be shifted from the 1973-77 projections for work on Route 32 and be designed for the Route 30 by-pass.Under its present 5-year plan, the state agency would spend $91,000 for preliminary engineering and $413,000 for right of ways, during fiscal 1973. In the following four years $328,000 and $163,000 is planned for right of ways. Construction funds are presently ear-marked for 1975 and 1976. (The Carroll Record, March 23, 1972.)

It is also important to remember, that Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich took office, the state budget had a huge shortfall, a structural deficit and the transportation trust fund was essentially depleted.

Getting around to all the transportation needs of the state took some time and some difficult prioritization decisions as very finite resources had to be allocated as best as possible.

My previous post about this matter can be found here.

Anyway, I have always appreciated Mr. Palk’s work and I was happy that he looked into this story.

I have pasted below, for your convenience, Mr. Palk’s complete story, but anytime you get a chance, go to the Carroll County Times on-line and take a additional moment to seek out his work…

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O’Malley questions priorities

By Justin Palk, Times Staff Writer

Saturday, October 07, 2006

Few people in the Hampstead area would argue against building the bypass now being constructed around the town, said Haven Shoemaker, the town's mayor.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Martin O'Malley, however, thinks it's an example of Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s lack of vision for transportation in Maryland, said Rick Abbruzzese, a spokesman for O'Malley's campaign.

Not that that means the bypass is a bad project, Abbruzzese said.

O'Malley included the bypass in a list of items Ehrlich had spent state transportation dollars on rather than Baltimore's Red Line for mass transit when responding to a questionnaire from the Baltimore Transit Alliance.

Also in the list were an expansion of I-95 and Ehrlich's using Transportation Trust Fund dollars for non-transportation projects.

If O'Malley doesn't believe that the Hampstead bypass is a necessary project, he should try sitting on Md. 30 during rush hour, Shoemaker said.

"I think we've thrown more than enough money at mass transit," he said. "I think it's high time we receive funding for projects like this, particularly given the fact that we've been waiting for 45 years."

The Hampstead bypass is an $85.2-million project that will divert traffic off Md. 30, which runs through downtown Hampstead and carried approximately 19,000 to 24,000 vehicles a day through town in 2004, according to the State Highway Administration.

Construction workers broke ground on the project this year, and it is scheduled to be completed by the fall of 2008.

The Red Line would be Baltimore's first east-west rail line, part of a comprehensive expansion of mass transit in Baltimore that has a total cost estimated at $10 billion, according to the Maryland Transit Administration.

The list was only intended to show Ehrlich's overemphasis on roads and a lack of a statewide transit plan, not to criticize any particular project, Abbruzzese said.

"[Transportation planning] needs to be more than one road in one county," he said.

In his fiscal year 2007 transportation plan, Ehrlich included $7 million for ongoing planning for the Red Line, and projected spending money on engineering and right-of-way acquisition in fiscal year 2008, with construction to start in 2010.

On his Web site, Ehrlich lists several road projects among his transportation accomplishments, but also cites planning for new transit lines in and around metropolitan Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, and laying additional tracks for light rail service in Baltimore.

In the remaining weeks before the election, Abbruzzese said, the O'Malley campaign will be releasing a comprehensive transportation plan for the state, although no details are available yet.

Reach staff writer Justin Palk at 410-751-5909 or jpalk@lcniofmd.com.