Our Comments on the FY2024-2029 Capital Budget

Today Bikemore provided testimony to the Baltimore City Planning Commission on the FY2024-2029 Baltimore City Department of Transportation Capital Budget. You can check out the budget yourself by clicking here. Our formal remarks are pasted in their entirety below, and we will update this post with answers to additional questions we sent in as they are answered.

Chairman Davis and members of the Planning Commission:

Over the years Bikemore has testified in CIP hearings critiquing Baltimore City Department of Transportation’s spending priorities and ability to execute, while also advocating that despite this, they need more money. 

Last year Bikemore worked with fellow transportation advocates, MACo, Baltimore City, and peer jurisdictions to advocate for increased Highway User Revenue shares for the city. One critique we heard in Annapolis was a fear that Baltimore City would ultimately redirect increased funds away from transportation. Despite this critique, we were successful, and DOT is supposed to be armed with significantly increased funds to spend on the massive backlog of deferred needs presented by Interim Director Johnson today.

Yet Finance is not issuing bonds this year for Baltimore City Department of Transportation, and are allocating Highway User Revenues for non-transportation purposes, ultimately resulting in a budget decrease over prior year. We urge the Planning Commission to condemn this approach. We can't stress this enough: this is money for transportation and the city is poised to completely embarrass itself in Annapolis by doing exactly what critics claimed it would do with these increased funds in diverting them elsewhere.

Looking at this year’s CIP, as in years past, we are concerned that legacy streetscaping and bridge division projects may be overbuilt and require subsequent extensive safety retrofit once constructed. The opportunity is now to fix those things before these projects go in, or even consider canceling projects that we can't fix and directing those funds to better projects. Retrofits of Harford Road and Central Avenue were expensive, and had our stated concerns been incorporated during 15, 30, 60, or 90% design, these concerns could have been addressed more affordably.

We are also concerned that the Baltimore City Department of Transportation continues to bear the burden of all ADA retrofits in the city, which is in part a product of their own unfortunate street cuts policies and franchise agreements. 

But largely, we are impressed with this CIP. It continues a trend of shifting investments toward ADA, Transit, and other critical complete streets safety retrofits. It preps us for large scale, transformative infrastructure changes on some of our most dangerous corridors that are barriers between disinvested neighborhoods and parks, jobs, and opportunity, with the existing Reconnecting Communities Grant Application and planning projects in the CIP for a subsequent application for Druid Park Lake Drive. We encourage the commission to prioritize these complete streets projects in ranking, specifically those advancing transit.

This brings us to the matter of execution. This year's departures of the BCDOT Director Steve Sharkey, Chief of Staff Adrea Turner, Data Analyst Brian Seel, Capital Planning Chief Lysh Lorber, Complete Streets Manager Graham Young, Lead Bike Planner Matt Hendrickson, and Interim Transit Bureau Chief and Shared Mobility Coordinator Meg Young are deeply concerning, and many of these departures are related to the lack of political will to execute projects. The short summary is, we're at a tipping point. There's a lot of good here. But will it be executed? 

We’ll give an example. The Eutaw Place separated bike lane is in this year's CIP. Funds have been banked for this project in the CIP for years. It was in the 2017 Separated Bike Lane Network Plan adopted by this commission, at the time slated for priority install within two years. Today, four years after it was supposed to be installed, we're finally at the finish line with a funded project for installation as soon as the weather warms.

Yet this week we've learned it's on indefinite hold–despite broad community support–over concerns from a vocal minority about mild parking loss, something that can't even legally be prioritized under our Complete Streets Ordinance. This decision may force us to return Maryland Bikeways grant funding, and affect millions of dollars in potential future awards. 

We fear transit projects that will require significant parking sacrifices to be truly transformative, like our North-South and East-West RTP corridors, could suffer a similar fate, negatively impacting hundreds of thousands of transit riders. 

This example shows we have a choice to tip forward, but it looks like we may tip backward. Even if we fix the money problem, we need real leadership and adherence to our laws to see these projects cross the finish line. 

Thanks for the opportunity to comment.

Sincerely,

Jed Weeks
Interim Executive Director

Go Vote Tomorrow!

Tomorrow is the general election! We have endorsed Wes Moore for governor in the general election, and retain all of our primary endorsements. You can see those above.

Go vote! You can find your polling place here.

If you are not registered to vote, or you have not updated your address for a new residence, you can register to vote at your polling place or update your address at the polling place for your new address. Bring a document that proves where you live: a license, ID card, change of address card, paycheck, bank statement, utility bill, or another government document with your name or address.

Bring your friends!

Curbside Commercial Policy Open for Comment

Baltimore City Department of Transportation is seeking comment on a proposed policy to make curbside commercial (like outdoor dining parklets) permanent. These installations in Baltimore were first approved under a temporary permit during the state of emergency, and a formal program must now be created if they are going to remain.

We are grateful for the department proposing a formal program, but have a number of concerns about the proposed policy, and are asking you to submit comments during the formal comment period that ends November 14th.

Fill out the form below to submit our suggested comments, and feel free to edit them as you see fit.

Bikemore Appoints New Director of Development

Sonya Thomas, a native from Toledo, Ohio has been named the director of development at Bikemore. In her role, Thomas will be responsible for raising funds and awareness for Bikemore through community events, grants, and advocacy education.

The cycling enthusiast said she is looking forward to connecting with area businesses, community leaders, and bike groups to gather information and insight about Baltimore’s biking infrastructure, and the social and economic bike culture here.

She has a passion for nonprofit work. She has managed marketing and fundraising initiatives for the American Heart Association, Girl Scouts of the U.S.A., St. Vincent dePaul, and Big Brothers Big Sisters – just to name few.  

She has also worked as a marketing professional at the University of Toledo in Ohio, and provided consulting services for several Fortune 500 companies headquartered in Ohio.

Thomas holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio and is the mother of two young-adult children.

When she is not working, she loves to travel, cycle, garden and explore farmer’s markets. She also loves to kayak, walk her dog, visit museums, and relax at the beach with her partner.

The Midwesterner said she is looking forward to learning more about the Mid Atlantic and all that it has to offer. So if you see her out in the community, make sure you give her a warm welcome.

Bikemore Endorsements for Governor, Comptroller, and State Delegates

Today Bikemore announces endorsements for Governor, State Comptroller, and in select State Delegate races.

Tom Perez - Governor

On Bikemore’s candidate questionnaire, at our Maryland Gubernatorial Transportation Forum, and in questionnaires from peer transportation and environmental advocacy groups, Tom Perez demonstrated a deep knowledge of the transportation challenges facing Baltimore City and the steps that need to be taken to advance public transit and expand access to opportunity across the region.

He is the only top-polling candidate to consistently commit to creation of a Baltimore Regional Transit Authority, a step we believe is necessary to bring Greater Baltimore in line with other successful, growing regions. And, he has demonstrated a clear commitment to ensuring that investments in both improving and electrifying public transportation will center Labor in every discussion.

Shannon Sneed’s legislative record on Baltimore City Council, her community knowledge and connections, and her dedication to this city make her an excellent candidate for Lieutenant Governor and as an advocate for Baltimore in the Perez administration.

Brooke Lierman - Comptroller

Brooke Lierman’s legislative record on transit speaks for itself. She helped found a transit caucus in Annapolis. She has successfully fought to bring millions of dollars of funding to the Maryland Transit Administration through the Transit Safety and Investment Act, forced the state to create its first Regional Transit Plan for the Baltimore region in nearly 20 years, and co-sponsored or voted for nearly every piece of legislation Bikemore has pushed in Annapolis.

Beyond her legislative work, Brooke Lierman has been a strong advocate for biking in Baltimore. She successfully lobbied Baltimore City to re-design the Central Avenue project to include protected bike lanes and has reliably supported other transit, walking, and biking investments in the 46th District.

The comptroller is a powerful position in state government, serving as a critical vote on the Board of Estimates. We appreciate her current opposition to the I-270/495 highway widening, and believe she will make decisions on funding that prioritize environmental justice and public transit.

Kathy Shulman - 40th District Delegate

Kathy Shulman reached out to Bikemore early to discuss her vision for increased access to opportunity through walking, biking, and public transit in the 40th District. If she can unseat Delegate Frank Conaway Jr, one of the only consistent opponents to reforms like dedicated bus lanes and complete streets in our city delegation, the 40th District and our delegation will be stronger for it.

Tony Bridges - 41st District Delegate

Delegate Tony Bridges sponsored legislation this year to create a commission to review and select an option for improved transit governance in Baltimore City. Despite Governor Hogan’s veto, his legislation, alongside with advocacy from the Transform Maryland Transportation Coalition and a ballot initiative from Baltimore Transit Equity Coalition, has ensured that a regional transit authority remains a top political issue. Delegate Bridges is a strong ally for transit, and has co-sponsored or voted for the majority of Bikemore’s legislative priorities in Annapolis.

Regina Boyce and Elizabeth Embry - 43A District Delegates

Delegate Regina Boyce has been a strong advocate for complete streets and transit funding in Annapolis, supporting colleagues in advancing legislation to enforce dedicated bus lanes, allow Baltimore to set its own speed limits, and attempt to restrict complete streets funding to DOT instead of police. She is a strong supporter of the Baltimore Greenway Trails Network, a regular attendee at Bikemore events, and a regular biker and public transit rider.

Elizabeth Embry is a former Bikemore board member and strong supporter of increased investments in public transit, biking, and walking. She has long been a supporter of the Baltimore Greenway Trails Network, and clearly understands the need to pair land use and transportation closely in any decision-making. Running on a slate with Delegate Boyce, we are confident that together they will make a strong team in Annapolis.

Mark Edelson and Robbyn Lewis - 46th District Delegates

Mark Edelson is unafraid to do what’s right. When Mayor Catherine Pugh threatened to remove the Potomac Street cycletrack based on an incorrect reading of the fire code, Mark stepped up and helped Bikemore sue the city, successfully winning what may be the only restraining order ever granted against removal of a piece of complete streets infrastructure. His support to help us negotiate a settlement with the city kept a separated bike lane on Potomac Street. Despite this political controversy, Mark went on to be elected president of the Canton Community Association, proving that he can build bridges and coalitions across a wide variety of interests. He is one of the few candidates running to focus time and resources on relationships in Brooklyn, Cherry Hill, Curtis Bay, and Westport—often overlooked parts of the 46th District that are in dire need of access to opportunity through more transportation options.

Delegate Robbyn Lewis is the only legislator in Annapolis who is car free by choice. Delegate Lewis has long been our region’s leading elected transportation advocate, unafraid to stand up for public transit, biking, and walking even when it may not be politically in her best interest with select demographics in her district. She has worked for years to pass critical legislation improving bus operations in Baltimore, including this session’s legislation to enforce dedicated bus lanes with cameras, as well as legislation to attempt to divert more transportation dollars to DOT and away from misuse within other agencies. Delegate Lewis’s successes will only grow with another advocate like Mark Edelson at her side.