West Baltimore residents push to extend Red Line further East, link to job sites
BALTIMORE - A community activist wants the revived Red Line project to extend further east into Baltimore County to offer a wider pool of private sector jobs to West end residents.
The Maryland Transit Administration is hosting a series of meetings between July 26 to Aug. 1 to hear feedback from the public about the Red Line project.
More: Maryland officials hold public meetings on the future of Baltimore's Red Line project
The open house-style meetings show options for transit modes, including bus rapid transit and light rail transit.
"This project has 10 years of public outreach, input, engineering work and environmental analysis work that was done between Woodlawn and Bayview, so that's our initial focus but we're also recognizing that the region needs a regional system, so it doesn't start and stop at this project," Deputy Administrator for MTA Kate Sylvester said.
The proposal aims to close a gap in east-west transit services, but community activist Linda Dorsey-Walker said one would still exist if the eastbound end stop is at Bayview and instead wants to see Sparrows Point in the picture.
"I have no stake in Tradepoint Atlantic, I have no family that works there. All I want is for folks to have access to those high-paying, private sector jobs," Dorsey-Walker said.
Once a steel mill, Tradepoint Atlantic is now the site of logistics, distribution, manufacturing and retail space with companies such as Amazon, McCormick and Home Depot operating there.
Due to the growing job center, MTA said bus service has recently been increased to Tradepoint Atlantic, and more access to eastern Baltimore County could be in the works.
"We're going to be launching another project later this year that will look at extending premium transit out to the east side of Baltimore County," said Sylvester.
The last open house in this series of public meetings along the project corridor will be on Aug. 1 from 3 p.m. - 7 p.m. at Hampstead Hill Academy.
