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Central Maryland Transportation Alliance
The Central Maryland Transportation Alliance (CMTA) is a coalition of Baltimore area business, civic and nonprofit leaders intent on improving travel efficiency within Central Maryland, which consists of Baltimore City and the surrounding jurisdictions of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford and Howard Counties. The group’s objectives are to reduce congestion, limit sprawl, increase opportunity and make it easier, faster and more efficient for anyone to travel within Central Maryland.

The coalition represents Maryland’s most comprehensive regional alliance focused on transportation issues. Its board consists of advocates, business leaders and representatives of civic and non-profit institutions. The board is led by James L. Shea, chair of the law firm Venable LLP. CMTA’s President and CEO is Otis Rolley III.

CMTA advocates for the development and implementation of a comprehensive and innovative regional transportation plan. It acts as a convener of diverse interests; as an adviser to city, county, state and federal officials, and as a coordinator of advocacy efforts for short-term and long-term strategies to improve transportation in Central Maryland.

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History
''' CMTA’s predecessor organization, the Baltimore Transit Alliance, began life in April 2004 as part of the Greater Baltimore Committee, the region’s largest business group. BTA was formed to push for funds for a proposed Baltimore Regional Rail System. Organizers included Bank of America, Veolia Transportation, the Goldseker Foundation, the Baltimore Community Foundation, the Anne E Casey Foundation, Citizens Planning and Housing Association, and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

Henry M. Kay, a longtime official of the Maryland Transit Administration, served as director of the BTA for three years. He returned to the MTA in 2007 as a Deputy Administrator. BTA accomplishments during that time included major funding for planning and design of the region’s first east-west route, known as the Red Line; authorization of federal funding for the Red Line and extension of the existing Green Line; new funding for transit system maintenance, and a community-oriented planning process for the Red Line.

In early 2007, BTA’s board of directors decided the organization should separate from the GBC and operate as a standalone group so it could become more regional in scope and more aggressive in educating decision makers on the need for innovative transportation solutions. In October 2007, the Central Maryland Transportation Alliance was formally unveiled with Otis Rolley III, Mayor Sheila Dixon’s former Chief of Staff and city Planning Director under former Mayor Martin O'Malley, serving as President and CEO.

Sponsors of CMTA include The Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Baltimore Community Foundation, the Goldseker Foundation, Bank of America, M&T Bank, Mercy Medical Center, Assocated Black Charities, the Baltimore Ravens, Clayton Baker Trust, H & S Properties, Lockhart Vaughn Foundation, Monumental Life, Otis Warren & Company, PNC Bank, the Rauch Foundation, Southern Management Corporation, Struever Brothers, Eccles & Rouse, the Surdna Foundation, Venable, LLP and the William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund.

Other groups represented on the Board of Directors are the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore, the BWI Partnership, Veolia Transportation, the Urban League of Greater Baltimore, ULI Baltimore, Citizens Planning & Housing Association, Colliers Pinkard, Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore, 1000 Friends of Maryland, Baltimore City Public School System, LS Consulting, Inc., and the Baltimore Washington Corridor Chamber. '''

Activities
''' CMTA’s belief is that by taking coordinated action now, Central Maryland still has time to create a vibrant transportation future before it faces the kind of gridlock other cities around the globe have encountered. The long-term CMTA goal is to create a world-class transportation system for Central Maryland by 2030. The group’s near-term goal is to build public understanding and support for its 2030 objectives while implementing immediate improvements to existing regional transportation systems.

In Central Maryland, traffic gridlock has become a way of life: The Texas Transportation Institute ranks metropolitan Baltimore as the 17th most congested region of the country based on wasted fuel, annual hours of delay and congestion costs. CMTA aims to create a thriving metropolitan Baltimore that boasts an array of transportation options – including a coordinated system of highways and interconnected mass transit options that allow citizens to move smoothly, efficiently and inexpensively throughout the region. The group has established a decision matrix, abbreviated as R3=E3, to determine which projects to support. Projects must be regional, rapid, and reliable transit and transportation initiatives (the 3 Rs) that result in economic growth, equitable access, and environmental protection (the 3 Es).

CMTA has been especially active in promoting the proposed 14-mile Red Line for Baltimore, extending from the federal government office complexes in Woodlawn in western Baltimore County, through the downtown business district to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Campus on the city’s eastern edge.

The group co-sponsored “Transit around the Nation,” a set of tours by community and civic representatives to cities with Light Rail projects under construction. In August 2008, CMTA held a meeting during the Democratic National Convention in Denver for members of the Maryland delegation to hear from leaders of Denver’s Regional Transportation District about political and fiscal challenges of building a Light Rail line.

CMTA held a series of press conferences to announce support for a preferred alternative route for the Red Line. These media events featured business leaders, union leaders, education and medical officials and political leaders from Baltimore City and from the surrounding counties endorsing Alternative 4C. CMTA also participated in outreach meetings with other constituencies to explain the importance of this east-west line. In October 2008, CMTA’s board of directors announced its endorsement of Alternative 4C for the Red Line. This Light Rail route includes two tunnel alignments to avoid community opposition and downtown disruptions.

CMTA also took the lead in advocating for Alternative 4C during the public hearings on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Red Line in November 2008 and during the 90-day comment period, ending Jan. 5, 2009.

In January 2009, CMTA launched its “Culture of Transit” campaign. The first phase is a baseline study of residents’ attitudes and awareness of regional public transportation. A telephone survey and an intercept survey were conducted in March. Eleven focus groups were conducted in Central Maryland in April. A report will be issued during the summer of 2009 and will be used to build a marketing and awareness campaign that promotes greater support for public transportation, which CMTA sees as a key to achieving its objectives.

On Feb. 24, 2009, CMTA sponsored the second annual Regional Transit Oriented Development Summit at the University of Baltimore where Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith and others emphasized the economic and environmental benefits successful TODs could bring to the region. CMTA also has retained Reconnecting America, a national transportation and community development organization, to identify TOD opportunities and challenges in Central Maryland as a means to advance TOD initiatives in the region.

Throughout 2009 CMTA intends to work on expanding the use of carsharing in Greater Baltimore; conduct a marketing analysis of current and potential transit riders; draft a report detailing the current and potential economic impact of mass transit on the region’s economy, and work with MTA to advance a number of system enhancements.