New Transportation Center Aims to Ease Commute for Thousands of APG Employees

Aberdeen Proving Ground officials are providing 20,000 base employees the resources to make getting to work easier while also reducing traffic congestion in Aberdeen. 

Dignitaries cut the ribbon on Tuesday on a new transportation center within the Chesapeake Science and Security Corridor. The center is an administrative office from which transportation coordinator Syreeta Gross hopes to encourage and help facilitate mass transit travel and increased ride-share programs.

"If you look around when you come on base, you'll notice that there are a lot of single people in those vehicles," Gross said. "That needs to stop." 

Gross acknowledged that traffic in and around the Proving Ground has progressively gotten worse throughout the Base Realignment and Closure initiative. Congestion has been a problem especially in Aberdeen neighborhoods around MD-22 and MD-715. 

It was U.S. Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, an outspoken advocate of BRAC, who cut the ribbon on the new transportation center, which is housed within the base's recreation center. He acknowledged that the transportation center was a way of "planning ahead." 

"If you're going to have growth, you have to make sure that you don't negatively impact the existing residential or business community. You need a good plan," Ruppersberger said.  "This project is about finding a way to deal with the issue of transportation. Whether it's getting more people in cars, whether it's using rail ... these all come together. There is a science to transportation [planning]." 

Enter Gross. 

The base currently employs 20,000 individuals, "8,500 of which were brought in by BRAC with another 5,000 hired contractors," she said. Daily commuters are coming in from as far as New Jersey and Northern Virginia. 

By the numbers: 

• 43 people use a subscription bus from NJ
• 16 people use commuter train
• 20 van pools leave from as far as NJ, VA, Baltimore, Cecil County and Delaware

Gross said she wants to get those numbers up by helping federal employees apply for a $245 monthly transportation credit subsidy, educating commuters about the Guaranteed Ride program, and creating a database of commuters to build a comprehensive ride-share program. 

"We have money covered. We have emergencies covered. And I'm here to help people wade through the weeds to figure out how exactly to make it happen," said Gross, who started her new position on Feb. 18.

Her immediate goal is to increase the number of federal employees who take advantage of a $245 public transportation credit by 20 percent. Currently, about 350 federal employees take advantage of the subsidy, according to Karen Holt, BRAC Manager in the Chesapeake Science and Security Corridor. 

Gross said long-term goal is to get more drivers to sign-up for commuter programs sponsored through Harford County. She refered to the website APGyourrideishere.com, which also launched Tueday. 

"We believe this will put us in a good position for the future mission and growth," James Richardson, director of the Harford County Office of Economic Development. 

Gross plans on being mobile in her new position so she can meet one-on-one with individuals seeking to decrease the daily wear and tear on their personal automobile. 

Additionally the transportation center will help align the base's goals of reducing energy consumption, APG Public Affairs Office Kelly Luster said in a news release. 

Col. Gregory McClinton, U.S. Army Garrison Commander, said that all offices on base as well as APG South would be soliciting feedback from employees regarding commuter programs, as well. 

"We're looking to do more in the future. ... We're here on the APG footprint, but this doesn't mean that we're not supporting APG South down in Edgewood," McClinton said. "I have engaged the CSSC team and I never let them walk away without having a conversation about how we're going to improve transportation demand support at Edgewood. ... It's one comprehensive installation." 

The transportation center initiative is funded by a grant secured over the last seven years through the Office of Economic Adjustment. To date, the Chesapeake Science and Secuirty Cooridor has been awarded $8 million to address BRAC growth, according to a release.