Greater Baltimore Exec Discusses Aberdeen Commuting Challenge

With the completion in November of the Department of Defense's Base Closure and Realignment, better known as BRAC, Aberdeen Proving Ground has become an East Coast version of Silicon Valley for technology development and jobs.

In an article that appeared on the Center Maryland website, Don Fry, president and CEO of The Greater Baltimore Committee, wrote about a conversation he had with Jim Richardson, Harford County’s executive director of economic development, concerning APG's role as Maryland's newest economic powerhouse. The Greater Baltimore Committee is an organization of business and civic leaders.

"How dramatic is the impact of all of this? Prior to BRAC, the base generated $3.5 billion in economic activity annually. Now, the base generates $20 billion in economic impact," Fry wrote.

Fry and Richardson also touched on how the thousands of additional daily commuters are clogging nearby highways.

"The State Highway Administration committed $43 million to upgrades of MD 714 and U.S. 40. However, more than $100 million in needed construction at other priority intersections remain unfunded," Fry wrote.

"Also, Maryland needs better rail connections between northeast Maryland, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C.," Fry continued. "Richardson suggests that the limited MARC rail commuter service between Aberdeen and Baltimore dampened what could have been a larger influx of residents to the city, where only 2.5 percent of workers whose jobs relocated to APG decided to live."

Fry wrote that Richardson said, “We could have put a lot more people into Canton (in Baltimore) if we had more trains to Aberdeen.”

Do the pros outweigh the cons with the expansion of Aberdeen Proving Ground? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section.