The Red Line, a 14-mi light rail line, currently in preliminary engineering phase, is much more than a transportation project. It will be a driver for community and neighborhood development, a way to improve the environment across Baltimore City, and a model for responsiveness and civic engagement. The Red Line will bring more employment opportunities, business ventures, and local investments to keep the city moving forward. It will connect the region’s largest employers to the downtown business and residential communities of Baltimore City. Woodlawn is home to the headquarters of two federal agencies and more than 12,500 government workers. The Red Line project creates quick, efficient transit along a congested, transit-deficient route. Public participation is key to implementation. The train’s route is roughly the same as the uncompleted end of Interstate 70, which was defeated by a “freeway revolt” in the 1970s. Hundreds of homes were taken by eminent domain and residents relocated. Scars from this contentious period remain today in the form of two disjointed highway stubs and a lingering distrust for large projects. Baltimore City’s Red Line Community Compact defines the success of the project and requires early public participation and engagement, beginning at the planning stage through construction. Baltimore City Department of Transportation in coordination with the Maryland Transportation Administration has engaged community leaders, businesses, institutions, and organizations in a conversation about how to maximize the benefits of the Red Line. Some of the accomplishments as identified in the Community Compact include getting a state law passed that prohibits the involuntarily taking of homes for construction of the Red Line, a job study that identifies the type of education, training, and skills necessary for the Red Line construction, and the creation of an Economic Empowerment Office to create a pipeline for job training, contractors, and entrepreneurs.
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