Reuben Crosland says the Baltimore Red Line will displace residents. (Photo by Amy Shelton)

Neighborhood Voices on the Red Line Route:
REUBEN CROSLAND

       When pressed, Reuben Crosland acknowledges that the proposed east-west light rail line may be good for the city (“it will mean jobs”) and that it may even be good for transit.

      But what the 72-year-old barber really wants to get across about the so-called Red Line is: almost none of that bounty will be shared by him and his primarily African-American neighbors.

      The Red Line, he says is for the suburbanites moving in to be closer to downtown Baltimore in order to  avoid long commutes and paying for lots of pricey gas.

“It won’t help the seniors. Taxes will go up. They won’t be able to afford to live here,” said Crosland, who was taking a break outside his Edmondson Village Shopping Center barbershop.
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