Changing tracks: Could a new approach to TODs succeed?

Maryland has realized limited success with creating vibrant communities and robust services near transportation hubs. However, highway congestion, limited transit services, the housing shortage, climate change legislation, the push for smart growth and the need for new drivers of economic development have convinced some public officials and private developers that Maryland needs to embark on a new, vigorous TOD effort. “Maryland has probably the greatest TOD potential of any state that I have seen. That’s due to a variety of reasons, including the relative compactness of its transit systems and the under-developed nature of many sites,” said Jon Laria, a lawyer with Ballard Spahr who chaired the Smart Growth working group for the Moore-Miller transition team. “The opportunities for TOD in Maryland are so plentiful but it has been so undervalued and under-pursued.”