#IBikeIVote 2018
Voting local is the single most important thing you can do to make Baltimore a more livable city.
Information on who can vote, how to register, and how to vote early is listed below. Feel free to download these images to share online or print as posters!
2018 Primary Election #IBikeIVote Campaign
#IBikeIVote Video: Elizabeth Embry
Lieutenant Governor candidate and Bikemore Board Member Elizabeth Embry, running on the Rushern Baker gubernatorial ticket, on the importance of getting out the vote in Baltimore and its relation to improving our transit infrastructure.
#IBikeIVote Video: Down Ballot Races
State Central Committee Candidates Steve Holt (43) and Eric Stephenson (44a) on the importance of voting in down ballot races.
More coming soon!
Candidate Response Averages
Bikemore put out a candidate questionnaire to all primary candidates, asking about their priorities and visions for transportation in Baltimore. Overall, responding candidates were favorable to the #IBikeIVote agenda. Some highlights:
Nearly all candidates supported ending any subsidy for greenfield development and agreed that further incentives are needed for infill development.
Nearly all candidates agree that historically, transportation planning in Maryland has been structurally racist, that a study to document the history of this racist planning should be conducted, and that racial equity should be a main outcome in regional planning to undo the disparity identified by this study.
Nearly all candidates agree that expanding roads induces demand, and that Maryland should stop expanding roads, and instead divert that money to proven methods of shifting mode away from private automobile use.
A majority of candidates support increased density, removed parking minimums, unbundling parking from rent, mandating parking cash-out, and multifamily conversions in urbanized areas.
Candidate Response by District or Office
The I Bike, I Vote Platform
In the 2016 Primary Election, Bikemore announced a simple 4-point platform at a rally attended by every major mayoral and city council candidate running for office. Subsequently, Bikemore's platform was incorporated into several official mayoral and city council candidate platforms. Many of these candidates won their primaries.
We are building on that success in 2018 with our 501(c)(4) advocacy arm, Bikemore in Action, which allows us to endorse legislation, actively lobby, and endorse, grade, or even donate to candidates.
We support candidates who understand that access to reliable transportation affects social mobility as much as crime, educational test scores, or percentages of two-parent families. We support candidates that understand a third of Baltimore lacks access to a car, and that improving access to public and active transportation is an essential part of the path to upward mobility for Baltimore's poor.
We support candidates who will hold public agencies accountable so bicycle infrastructure is built on time and to spec the first time by competent contractors, and are subsequently maintained with a regular maintenance plan. We support candidates who have a plan for agency coordination that will prevent bike and pedestrian facilities from being erased from the streets to prioritize automobile traffic during road or adjacent building construction.
We support candidates who understand that difficult decisions like lowering speed limits, removing parking or vehicular travel lanes, and implementing comprehensive traffic calming measures to downsize dangerous major thoroughfares are a necessary step toward improving the vibrancy and safety of our neighborhoods and business districts.
We support candidates who believe that City-led improvements to bicycle and pedestrian safety and access are something from which all neighborhoods should benefit.
