Business Groups to Rally for Transportation Dollars

Last week, I wrote about how the will be pushing lawmakers to during the current legislative session.

The West County Chamber isn't the only one speaking out on this issue, as a coalition of business groups plans to rally in Annapolis on Thursday to bring attention to the issue.

The Statewide Alliance to Restore the Trust (START) is scheduled to gather from 2 to 4 p.m. Thursday at Lawyers Mall outside the State House in Annapolis.

The group includes about 90 different organizations and is calling for legislators to follow through on the Blue Ribbon Commission on Transportation Funding recommendation to raise more than $800 million in new money for transportation. This includes support for an increase in the gas tax.

The issue of transportation dollars has been a big one in Odenton and Severn, as the expansion of the workforce at Fort Meade is expected to strain local roadways.

According to a flier distributed by START, projects funded by the new transportation dollars will provide “thousands of jobs in the construction industry and associated sectors, which have been severely affected by the recession.”

This is the , which was formed at the start of last year’s legislative session. Lawmakers presented bills that would have raised new transportation money, but the legislature failed to pass them.