The Central Maryland Transportation Alliance was formed in 2007 as a diverse coalition of corporate and civic leaders uniting business, philanthropic and institutional sectors around a common agenda: improving and expanding transportation options for the citizens and businesses of Central Maryland.  Our singular focus is to be a catalyst for improving the region’s transportation.

The Vision

The vision of the Transportation Alliance is a thriving metropolitan area which boasts an array of convenient transportation options, including a coordinated system of highways and interconnected mass transit options providing access and opportunity for employment, housing, education, services and entertainment. By elevating transportation as a critical element of achieving an economically equitable and vibrant region, the Transportation Alliance will be a catalyst for achieving a high quality of life in Central Maryland.

The Challenge

Transportation plays a critical role in every component of what makes for a high quality of life for residents, workers and visitors – options for and access to employment, housing, education, services and entertainment. But the Central Maryland region suffers from years of inadequate investment in transportation infrastructure, resulting in aging highways and bridges, highly congested roads and highways that have not kept pace with demand generated from growth in residential and commercial activity outside the urban core. The public transportation system in the region has not expanded to connect residential and employment centers and has been ineffective as a catalyst for development at transportation hubs. The result has been the lack of adequate, reliable and efficient public transportation options that are available to not only the region’s transit dependent population but also to those who would prefer to use public transportation rather than their personal vehicle.

The Solution

For the region to meet the environmental and socioeconomic challenges of the coming decades, it is critical that we invest in maintaining, improving and expanding the transportation infrastructure to provide the connections and access necessary to support a vibrant and economically healthy region.

Sources of revenue to replenish the State’s Transportation Trust Fund must be identified and dedicated to funding only Transportation projects. As importantly, due to the long-term horizon of many transportation projects, every opportunity to improve the existing transportation infrastructure in the near-term must be explored and aggressively pursued, from congestion mitigation programs to ease gridlock on major arteries to increasing efficiency and reliability of transit to pursing private investment that will expand capacity and improve existing rail service.

The Transportation Alliance will advocate for and support approval of revenue increases to replenish the Trust Fund while we work to improve and expand transportation options today.

The Central Maryland Transportation Alliance is an initiative of the Baltimore Community Foundation.