Comment on crossing

The last chance to affect the choices of the Bay Bridge Tier 1 Study is upon us. There is only one item on the agenda — where will a new bridge be built, nothing else.

The study, done on the cheap, short-circuited the process by mainly considering how many cars per hour could be directed from one end of the bridge to the other. If this is the only significant item in the “Purpose and Need” portion of this study (the P&N sets a project’s objectives for everybody, including funders like the federal government), don’t be surprised at what we will have to sacrifice beyond the bridge boundaries to achieve that goal.

The recommendation is to use the current Bay Bridge corridor. Once this decision is ratified, no other corridor will be looked at, even if things get messy/ expensive in the Tier 2 detail study. Most importantly, relying on a single corridor to reach the Eastern Shore from the most populated portion of Maryland is not a good purpose or need!

If you believe the goal of a massive restructuring of central Anne Arundel County to cater to more single occupancy traffic is misguided, contact your representatives in the Maryland General Assembly, County Executive Steuart Pittman, federal elected officials from Maryland and present your testimony by phone on April 14 and 15, and in-person on April 21 in Annapolis and April 22 in Stevensville. To register, visit baycrossingstudy.com. Written opinion can be submitted as well.

There is a “No Build” option. With commuter work patterns in doubt, digital toll collection and automated lane control coming, the future bridge “Need” is becoming less clear. We can also insist that the study be halted until the Purpose and Need study is comprehensively restructured.

Until the items normally addressed for each potential corridor are answered, there is not enough information to make a smart choice. This selection process should be stopped until there is an ability to make a smart choice.

Britt Griswold, Annapolis