Neighborhood Advocates Take Case Against Intermodal Facility to Internet

To protect their neighborhood from the freight transfer facility they believe will destroy it, greater Elkridge residents have . Now, one man has created an interactive web site, elkridgeqol.org, which he hopes will serve as a model for community activists around the country.

In March, CSX and the Maryland Department of Transportation announced they were evaluating a site on Hanover and Race Roads for an intermodal facility. The station would be a hub for transferring cargo containers between trains and trucks using electric cranes, an activity that officials said would run 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Citing concerns about noise, bright lights, safety, traffic, the environment, a potential nearby and , residents have fought the idea of such a facility coming to their neighborhood. 

Conversations about the train project span several platforms, including e-mail, fliers, Facebook, petitions, signs and a Wiki page, said Mitch Buchman, who lives in Patapsco Ridge and put together the information page.

“We had tools for pushing information out to residents, but…it was one-way,” said Buchman. “Not only could they not reach out to us, but even if they did, there was no way to have a conversation.”

He purchased a domain name and created a site with forums to pave the way for more free-flowing conversation, he said.

On May 16, he unveiled elkridgeqol.org, which he said he hopes can be a portal for residents interested in taking action to protect their quality of life (qol).

“My intent is not to supplant any other resources,” said Buchman. Instead, he said he wants elkridgeqol.org to facilitate conversations about various issues facing the community. This is a test site, he said, which he hopes to use as a model for other “qol.org” sites around the country.

“Whether it’s in this community or other communities, people have lots of good ideas,” he said. “If there’s a way to bring them together so they can leverage each other, that’s a positive thing.”

Elkridgeqol.org is “a chance to learn and find out what pieces work well and what pieces don’t,” said Buchman. He hopes to fine-tune the programming to tailor communications to each user. If a person were interested in youth sports, he explained, then the site could direct the user to forums or newsletters about that topic.

“I believe there are things that are technically challenging for people to set up, but if you set them up then it’s easy to replicate for other people to use. If the discussion forums and e-mail mechanisms are useful,” said Buchman, then other communities may be interested in being part of the qol.org family. Currently, he’s looking into making qol.org a nonprofit organization.

“It is very much a growing and learning project,” said Buchman, an engineer by trade.

For now, he’s turning his attention to organizing a demonstration May 18 outside the , where Rep. John Sarbanes, D-MD, will provide a legislative update to constituents. For information about the event, see elkridgeqol.org.

Buchman also organized a demonstration outside the Wilde Lake Community Center last month in Columbia. A photo of participants with “STOP INTERMODAL NOW” signs of The Daily Record.