Baltimore County gets $1.65M fed grant

Funds will be used to boost Towson Circulator project, a bus service to downtown

Baltimore County has received a $1.65 million federal grant for the proposed Towson Circulator, a free bus to connect areas of downtown Towson.

County officials have said previously that a pilot program for the circulator could be in place by 2021, and county spokesman Sean Naron said Thursday that service is expected to begin by late 2020.

Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr.’s administration requested the grant money from the U.S. Department of Transportation and was supported by the county’s congressional delegation. The federal grant will help pay for the purchase of buses, equipment and workforce development and related infrastructure for the pilot program, county officials said. Olszewski’s fiscal year 2020 budget includes $100,000 in planning money for the circulator.

The Towson Circulator was first studied by The Greater Towson Committee in 2015, and County Councilman David Marks, who represents the Towson area, has been supportive of the idea since then. The circulator is modeled after the Charm City Circulator in Baltimore.

“We need road resurfacing, but in Towson, there are simply no more roads without condemning businesses and homes,” Marks said Thursday. “You need fewer cars on the road, and to maximize traffic better.”

As proposed, the circulator would connect hubs in Towson, including Towson University, Goucher College, local hospitals and the Towson Town Center mall.

“The Towson Circulator will be a critical project that will better connect residents between where they live, work, study, and play,” Olszewski said in a statement.

Nancy Hafford, executive director of the Towson Chamber of Commerce, called the proposed Towson Circulator a boon for local economic development.

“We’re going to be a real new community in the next couple of years. It’s thriving, and I’m so excited,” Hafford said. “You can’t have development without having a better transportation system.”

Olszewski’s budget also includes plans to expand the circulator bus concept to other population centers in the county. Earlier estimates for the Towson program put the initial capital cost at $1.4 million to $2 million; the annual operating costs were estimated at $2.4 million to 3.4 million.

The grant was announced by U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen and U.S. Reps. Dutch Ruppersberger and John Sarbanes. All are Maryland Democrats.