Supporters and opponents of northern Anne Arundel’s light rail stops gathered for three separate rallies Saturday and pledged further action at the state and local level.
A rally organized by the Greater FernGlen Community Association at the Cromwell station from 8 a.m. to noon drew around 75 people advocating for the rerouting or closing of the Linthicum, Ferndale and Cromwell stations.
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A rally coordinated by an ad-hoc group, the Concerned Citizens of Linthicum, called for the closing of the Linthicum station and highlighted concerns over students who cross the tracks to walk to school. That rally, which started at 10 a.m., drew more than 80 people.
The competing rallies were both announced July 14, according to postings on their Facebook page. Residents from Ferndale and Linthicum, along with local elected officials, attended both rallies.
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A third rally of light rail supporters, held at 2 p.m. Saturday, drew about a dozen people who gathered on the sidewalk at the Cromwell station. The rally was organized on Thursday.
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At the morning Cromwell station rally in Glen Burnie, Greater FernGlen Community Association members urged attendees to sign three petitions. Along with a petition calling for the rerouting or permanent closure of the three stations, organizers also asked for signatures against illegal businesses the group says are operating along B&A Boulevard and another they said was a “pre-emptive” petition against putting a homeless shelter in the area.
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Residents say the light rail station, along with the presence of a blood plasma donation center, has contributed to the decline of the shopping center and an increase in petty crime in the area.
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Calls to close the stop entirely during official remarks drew cheers from the crowd, who carried signs calling for the closure of the stations and calling for more police officers.
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However, two light rail supporters joined the crowd to show their support for the stops.
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Tim Whitt, a Glen Burnie resident who doesn’t drive and is dependent on public transportation, showed up to protest the potential closure of the stop.
“I don’t know where these people come from thinking closing down public transportation can improve anything,” he said.
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He pointed to increased drug use and a need for increased enforcement and tougher crime sentences as the problem.
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Participants at the later rally walked from Linthicum Park to the light rail station and back to highlight their concerns about Linthicum Elementary and Middle School students who walk across the tracks and use the bike path to get to school.
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Politicians were invited to speak to the crowd at the Cromwell rally, while remarks at the Linthicum rally came solely from community leaders.
Liz Carll, spokesperson for the Concerned Citizens of Linthicum, said that petty crime has increased before urging attendees to take further action.
“This epidemic is not something we could not have foreseen,” she said. “So if there’s something that’s supposed to be for the community and work for the community that doesn’t work anymore, we’re standing up now and saying it doesn’t work. The circumstances have changed.”
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She called on people to sign an online petition calling on Gov. Larry Hogan to permanently close the Linthicum Light Rail station, to contact local elected officials and to “report any and all suspicious activity in the neighborhood.”
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Despite residents at both rallies claiming an increase in crime, numbers from Anne Arundel County police show otherwise. Since April, when police began patrolling the light rail system, they have issued 14 fare violations and made three arrests in boarding more than 1,000 trains.
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“I haven’t seen anyone present any data to show that transit does cause crime or there has been an increase,” said Eric Norton, director of policy and programs at the Central Maryland Transportation Alliance, a non-profit that advocates for more transportation in the central Baltimore region.
“If anything, we need to be expanding transit service to give people more access to services, not taking it away. So, we think shutting it down is really a step in the wrong direction.”
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Norton attended the afternoon rally of light rail supporters at the Cromwell station along with others from transportation organizations in the Greater Baltimore region demanding no reduction or stoppage of service, along with more state investment in additional public transportation. The afternoon event was organized by the Baltimore Transit Equity Coalition.
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Samuel Jordan, president of the coalition, said this was just the first step. “We’ll rally more. We’re going to communicate with the Department of Transportation and the governor’s office as well. We are going to remind them of the law.”
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Del. Pam Beidle, D-Linthicum, said she has been working to close the Linthicum station for 10 years without success.
“Quite frankly, I’m not real hopeful,” she said.
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She said the Maryland Transportation Authority would have to pay back the federal money that was used to build the light rail.
“There’s a drug addiction problem, there’s a homeless problem and then there’s crime from the light rail. It’s not just one issue,” she said.
County Councilman John Grasso, R- Glen Burnie, pointed to a lack of ongoing enforcement of riders who don’t buy a fare in calling the light rail the “free train” at the Cromwell rally.
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“The bottom line is, what is the common factor creating the problems? Everybody is using that train to create crime,” he said. “If the train is shut down, at least at those three stops, we know there will be three places they won’t be getting off and on.”
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Beidle and Grasso are both running for stat Senate in District 32.
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The rallies come in the midst of a service suspension along those portions of track after flooding caused severe erosion on July 21. The Maryland Transportation Authority estimates the repair would take two weeks, depending on weather conditions.
Originally Published: July 28, 2018 at 7:05 PM EDT
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