Baltimore Beefs Two recent articles have me pondering the glacial ways of government and how process has become more important than progress.

In early May, Mayor Dixon held a "summit" regarding the proposed Red Line rapid transit route in Baltimore. The Red Line would run from the Social Security headquarters on the east side of town, through downtown and Harbor East, to the Johns Hopkins Bayview campus. In the face of increased traffic and expected population growth from new jobs moving to the area because of BRAC, the project’s benefits were obvious even before gas prices hit $4 a gallon.

This project has been on the drawing board for years. Two years ago, I went to a community meeting in Canton where city and state transportation officials presented schematic drawings of possible routes and station locations. What caught my eye was the comment that construction on the project could begin by 2012 with completion in 2016 (subject to funding, the website is quick to note).

That is eight years from now!

Mayor Dixon stated that community involvement is crucial. That's fine and important; but it is hard to understand why that should take more than the two years it has already been going on. As for funding, yes, it won’t come cheap at around $1 billion (think of the jobs). Nevertheless, this ought to be a pretty high priority for our political leaders at both the state and local level.

A second article noted that the City Board of Estimates' approval of a PILOT for the Fitzgerald, a new apartment project and parking garage that will benefit the University of Baltimore, was delayed nearly three years after requests for proposals were submitted. The developer of the project noted that, had he been doing the project on his own, he could have broken ground a year ago. What was the cost of that delay?

Last year I went to an exhibit in New York on Robert Moses. Moses built parks, highways, bridges, playgrounds (658 of them), housing, tunnels, beaches, and civic centers; and he is largely credited (and criticized) for the New York City we all know today.

Moses was controversial and not all of his projects were considered successful. Like our Mayor Schaefer, he was a “get it done now” kind of leader who was impatient and disdained his critics. Moses famously said, “Those who can, build; those who can’t, criticize”.

We could use a little of that spirit in getting the City’s Red Line built a lot faster.

One cautionary note, however: Since I didn’t build it, I am going to criticize the new Hilton Hotel that now pollutes the view from beyond Camden Yards. The hotel may be necessary, but was it necessary to make it so ugly? Its presence detracts from the beauty of Oriole Park and will be a stain on Baltimore’s skyline for generations.

Note to Mayor Dixon, please get it done now, but make sure it looks nice. Generations of Baltimoreans will thank you.  11:15 AM •