Imagine an old-fashioned electric streetcar rumbling along Rowe Boulevard, then onto West Street and down Main Street to the City Dock - transporting residents and visitors and transforming the jewel of Annapolis' maritime heritage into a pedestrian mall and promenade.
It would be a striking change from the traffic-clogged arteries in and around the city.
That's the vision that Annapolis Alderman Samuel E. Shropshire, a mass transit proponent and environmentalist, is pushing to make a reality.
In a letter to the Baltimore Regional Transportation Board, which is trying to figure out what mass transit projects to fund with about $340 million in previously unallocated revenue over 20 years, Shropshire makes a pitch for the project.
"Please give that extra $340 million to Maryland's state capital, Annapolis, so we can build a street-car system - enabling people to live and work without cars," Shropshire wrote.
But Annapolis has stiff competition.
More than 150 ideas on how to use the revenue were submitted to the board, which will publicly unveil a draft plan Dec. 16, allowing time for public comment before the plan is to be adopted Feb. 4.
Howard County Executive Ken Ulman, the board's chairman, said that while he applauded Shropshire for "thinking big, for thinking progressively and pro-actively," it is highly unlikely that all of the funding would go to one project in a single jurisdiction.
Ulman said the board will look at short-term projects such as the expansion of Park 'N' Ride and more MARC trains and buses, and long-term projects such as the planned Red Line and Green Line additions to Baltimore's Metro system.
"The challenge is, even $340 million does not buy much these days," Ulman said. "With the cost of everything going up, we need long-term dedicated revenue systems funding transportation so we can really step up and get people out of their cars."
Ulman continued: "We're so backed up in the Baltimore region, I'd love to see mass transit connecting downtown Columbia, as well. We also need to remember the D.C. Metro has not yet connected to Dulles [International Airport]. These projects are incredibly expensive. And the federal government hasn't been a very good partner over the last eight years. But the important thing is we plan for them, and think big and think bold."
The board is recognized by the federal government as the chief planning body for transportation in the Baltimore metropolitan region. Its members include the mayors of Baltimore and Annapolis; the Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Harford and Howard county executives; the Carroll County commissioners and state transportation officials.
The board decided to use the money for mass transit projects after citizen groups and transit advocates complained that the group's long-term plans were too heavily weighted in favor of roads.
The additional funds, from Gov. Martin O'Malley's package of revenue increases, had not previously been factored into the regional board's long-range plans.
Shropshire said last week that he has looked at successful streetcar projects in Denver, Colo., and Portland, Ore., and wanted to emulate them in Annapolis. He said he has discussed the plan with Annapolis Mayor Ellen O. Moyer and the city transportation department director.
Both were on vacation yesterday and could not be reached for comment.
Shropshire said transportation experts say it would cost about $15 million a mile to create the system. He said he expects the city will seek federal and state funding for the project, which he plans to push during this year's city council session.
"Wouldn't it be great if Annapolis was a place people could live and work without a car?" Shropshire asked. "To be able to live without a car, a $1,000-a-month increase. No insurance. No gas. No maintenance. It's an incredible gift to the people of Annapolis - a streetcar system."
Last year, Shropshire persuaded the City Council to adopt a resolution asking the General Assembly to study the feasibility of expanding rail service in the Baltimore-Annapolis-Washington corridor.
Christopher Field, president of the Transit Riders Action Council, said the group has recommended to the board that half the money be used for MARC enhancements and the other half for bus system enhancements.
Declining to take a stance on a streetcar system in Annapolis, Field said: "The money available is nowhere enough for all the projects that are worthy."