Re: (rshsdepot) Laurel, MD

["James Kelling" <james.kelling_@_nara.gov>]

The Laurel, Maryland station (built for the B&O by E. F. Baldwin in
1884) is hardly "crumbling."  In fact, it's in excellent shape, though
unstaffed and closed to waiting MARC passengers.  It's on the National
Register of Historic Places and cannot be altered significantly, so
perhaps a new shelter should be built instead.  There is plenty of space
for one just south of the building, though some parking spaces may be
displaced.
 
J. Kelling
Greenbelt, MD

>>> brwagenblast_@_comcast.net 2/5/2009 5:49:09 PM >>>

From The Washington Times.

Original article and photo at:
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/feb/05/biden-wants-upgrades-md-train-st
ation/ 

Bernie Wagenblast

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Biden: Upgrade Md. train station

Christina Bellantoni

LAUREL | Ramping up rhetoric and local pressure for the economic
stimulus
package, the White House deployed Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.
and the
Republican transportation secretary to a suburban Maryland train
station
Thursday to call for swift action to get people to work. 

Like the president has lately, Mr. Biden took a sharper tone against
his
former Senate colleagues. 

"There are some in Washington who still haven't gotten the message,"
he
said. "Maybe they don't understand that America has lost almost 2
million
jobs in the past four months. Maybe they don't understand that the
American
people voted for and want change now, not tomorrow." 

Mr. Biden joined Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley and Sen. Ben Cardin on
the
chilly platform to say that rail would be a priority for the
administration,
though he did not take the train himself. 

"We cannot wait another two weeks, three weeks, four weeks" to pass
the
nearly $900 billion stimulus plan that is being debated in the Senate,
Mr.
Biden said. 

"Laurel is one of the thousands of rail and commuter stations all over
the
country where we need to make these improvements, creating jobs and
creating
a better transportation system for the 21st century," the vice
president
said, adding the MARC train station is "typical of the sort of work we
need
to be doing in this country to rebuild the infrastructure and restart
our
economy." 

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said he has asked each state's
transportation secretary to huddle with him Wednesday in Washington to
come
up with the best list of projects and accountability standards so the
money
can get moving right away. 

Mr. LaHood said the plan aims to "jump-start the economy by getting
money
out the door for projects that are ready to go, projects that have met
the
environmental standards, projects that have gone through all the
necessary
paperwork, so that people can begin working this spring, summer and
fall." 

He also announced a "TIGER Team - Transportation Investment Generating
Economic Recovery" to develop accountability and reporting standards
for
highway, road, bridge and rail investments in the bill. 

"Just like this new rail project in Laurel, there are critical
transportation projects all over the country that are just waiting for
funding," he said. "While we create jobs today, we are also laying the
foundation for sustained economic growth and a better quality of life
through passenger, freight, and high-speed rail and transit systems
that
ease congestion on the roads and in the air and through the airports,
and
also other important projects." 

Mr. Biden repeated Mr. Obama's deadline of President's Day this
weekend. 

"The economic policies of the past eight years are proven failures,"
he
said. "The nation's economy is hurting - hurting. It needs action now.
And
we can't think small. We can't stand by and do nothing, and we can't
repeat
the failures of the past." 

Mr. O'Malley said the measure is "one of the most important pieces of
legislation in a generation" and would bring 20,000 new jobs to
Maryland
while sustaining another 70,000. 

The White House has supplied similar state-by-state figures to
pressure
congressional holdouts to support the plan. 

"If we truly want to see the end of this recession, if we truly want
America's economy to recover, then we must make investments today that
will
bring our economy back," the Democratic governor said. 

Mr. Cardin, a Democrat, said the MARC train station here, the most used
on
the Camden line, is an excellent example of crumbling infrastructure
because
it was built in 1884 and "in desperate need of change." 

He added the stimulus plan "may even save some health dollars, because
we
have people literally fall through the platforms here, causing health
care
costs." 

Mr. Cardin, a Democrat, used the three keywords that critics of the
massive
stimulus plan have said it needs: "targeted, timely and temporary." 

"It is targeted, targeted to the types of investments that America
needs in
order for our economy to be able to compete internationally. It is
timely,
in that it will create jobs now that are desperately needed for our
economy.
And it's temporary, because we know we need to restore fiscal
discipline in
Washington," he said.

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End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #1845
********************************

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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org