Describe your vision of a healthy, safe, equitable transportation system for Baltimore City and the roles walking, biking, and public transportation play in that vision.

My vision of City Living is not having to get in a car every time you leave the house, instead travelling by foot, wheelchair, mass transit, bicycle, scooter or whatever. I am the Initiator and Chair of the MLK Corridor Committee, which is endeavoring to reduce the barrier Martin Luther King Boulevard places between Downtown and Southwest/West Baltimore. In the 1970’s I was Secretary of the Washington Area Bicyclists Association (WABA). Due to a personality issue, WABA took a vote on whether to continue to exist and both sides trusted me to receive the ballots. I am a member of Bikemore and there are My Other Car is a Bicycle license plates on our car. Last year I suggested to Liz Cornish and other local cycling leaders that we advocate for an alternative eastern terminus to the Great American Rail Trail, connecting the B&O Museum to the C&O Canal Towpath at Point of Rocks, parallel to the existing rail line. I indicated this could have bicycle, tourism, environmental, historic and residential benefits.

The fastest and most economical way to address climate change, improve public health, and create equal access to opportunity is to design a city that reduces dependence on private automobiles. What are the biggest barriers to getting people to choose walking, biking, or public transit instead of personal vehicles, and what would you do to address these impediments?

A major barrier is residents not believing, or even considering, the viability of bicycling for transportation and recreation. Per the Cyclist section of my website, BillMarker.org, I do bicycle for transportation and recreation. I and my wife have bicycled from Washington, D.C. to Pittsburgh, and we have both pedaled a century. Per the picture in the Cyclist section of us on our tandem bike, taken on a Rails to Trails Sojourn, I am living proof that one does not have to be young or skinny to cycle. I expect to cycle to some of my City Council duties, further demonstrating the reasonableness of Biking around Baltimore City even without future cycling improvements that I expect to support.

In 2017, the Planning Commission approved the Separated Bike Lane Network plan that connects 85% of Baltimore’s neighborhoods by creating safe, protected places to ride a bike. Do you agree with the plan’s recommendations, and if so, what would you do to ensure that we fulfill the plan’s promise to build a minimum of 17 miles of bike lanes per year? Are there specific areas of the city where you would prioritize implementation?

In general yes, though as a community focused Councilmember I will ensure active community involvement as to details. Years ago I attended a Bicycle Plan meeting at Harbor Hospital and noted the proposed plan ended at Cherry Hill; I added an extension across the Patapsco to Brooklyn and Curtis Bay.

Approximately 50 people are killed on city streets each year while walking, biking, or driving, with another 9,000 people injured. What is your plan to reduce the number of Baltimoreans injured and killed in traffic every year?

I support traffic law enforcement and will enhance the awareness and visibility of walkers and cyclists. I rode in the group ride after Tom Palermo was killed on Roland Avenue.

Approximately 800 Baltimoreans die early every year from preventable diseases related to carbon emissions, more than double the city’s murder rate. Thousands more are hospitalized each year as these emissions trigger asthma and other respiratory diseases. There is a strong correlation between hospitalization and proximity to major car commuter routes. What is your plan to reduce carbon emissions from automobiles in order to decrease the number of Baltimoreans hurt by and dying from emissions-related diseases?

As indicated by initiation and leadership of the MLK Corridor Committee, I will lead/support efforts to minimize automobile focused infrastructure barriers to other forms of transportation. As the Councilmember from District 10, I will be in position to assist efforts to reduce/eliminate emissions from the Wheelabrator Incinerator.

Do you walk for transportation? If so, for what purposes, how often, and what was your last trip walking?

Yes, virtually every day. I walk to Pigtown’s Main Street to get food, go to the bank & bookstore, get my haircut, pick up work from the printer. I often walk to Baltimore Street for Southwest Partnership related meetings. February 1 through 3, with the assistance of supporters, I placed over 1200 campaign cards in the doors of my precinct, all by walking.

Do you use public transportation? If so, for what purposes, how often, and what was your last trip by public transportation?

Rarely, as I live near a Main Street and downtown. My wife and I share one small car. I did have occasion to take a bus to near Mondawmin Mall last year, and have used light rail to get to and from Thurgood Marshall BWI airport.

Do you ever ride a bicycle? Is it for transportation, recreation, or both? What was your last trip by bicycle?

Yes, both. I frequently commuted by bicycle to my job at the State Office Building, I think more than half the time, and have often shopped by bicycle. My retirement gift from my colleagues was a bicycle bag, which I enjoy using. The artwork on our wedding invitation was the two of us on a tandem bike, and we suggested wedding gifts be towards purchasing various parts of a tandem. The tandem we bought with those gifts is pictured on my website. The picture was taken on one of several Rails to Trails Sojourns we have joined. January 31 I bicycled to the monthly community luncheon at University of Maryland, Baltimore’s Community Engagement Center.

Baltimore’s urban areas have limited space on streets. In order to increase safety and improve mobility, some modes of transportation must be prioritized over others to make the most of this limited space. Please rank how you would prioritize different modes of transportation on city streets, using numbers 1 through 7:

1. Walking & devices that aid people with disability
2. Public Transportation
3. Bicycles and Scooters
4. Freight and Delivery
5. Ride Hailing Services (Taxi, Uber, Lyft)
6. Personal Automobiles
7. Parking

Agree or disagree?

I support removing parking on a street if it would improve safety and increase mobility of people using that street.

Neither agree nor disagree
Individual cases must include community input, including discussion of parking alternatives.

Minimum parking requirements are shown to increase housing costs while limiting potential density and making neighborhoods less walkable. I support following the lead of other cities that have removed minimum parking requirements from new development.

Neither agree nor disagree
Tentative. Must be sufficient protection for existing residents, such as excluding the developments’ residents from neighborhood parking plan, and reasonableness of new residents not having cars.

Some cities require employers that subsidize parking also offer an option for employees to receive that subsidy as a cash payment. I support a mandate that employers offer parking cashout so that employees can choose to pocket that money, use it for alternative transportation, or continue using that cash to pay for parking.

Agree
I thought about this while working at the State Office Building and would likely have taken advantage of such a program during the years when I had “free” parking lot access but often bicycled. Might be better to charge a fee to those that have parking privileges, so that fee can be pegged to a percentage of the employees salary.

Increasing density in areas of opportunity is proven to help individuals escape poverty. I support taller, denser, or larger buildings in areas they are now prohibited by zoning.

Agree
My vision for MLK Boulevard ideally involves compression of the road, providing developable lots on the west side that could become tax paying properties to help pay for the change. My One State, One Rate! Property tax proposal, if adopted, will greatly assist increased density in Baltimore City by ending Maryland’s subsidization of rich counties by poorer jurisdictions. The proposal is available on my website.

Transit oriented development can expand access to areas of opportunity by locating housing and retail along high frequency transit. Current zoning code only identifies these zones along subway and light rail routes. I support expanded Transit Oriented Development zoning to include areas within a quarter mile of high-frequency bus routes.

Agree

It is now widely accepted that Single Family Residential Zoning was historically created to maintain racial segregation. I support removing Single Family Residential Zoning categories, allowing both single family and multi family residences to be built in all residential zoning areas.

Neither agree nor disagree
Willing to consider. I do not want homeowners in the communities of District 10 to be squeezed out by speculators.

I support allowing existing residences to be split into apartments in all zoning categories without having to pass legislation for each conversion, increasing density in neighborhoods that were traditionally single family homes.

Neither agree nor disagree
Not certain. I understand increased density may assist automobile alternatives, but I am concerned about the effects on our communities. Rowhouses are a core strength of Baltimore, particularly those built as pre-automobile infrastructure.

At 20mph, 90% of pedestrians survive being hit by a car. At 40mph, only 10% survive. I support enforcing a maximum speed limit of 25 mph on arterial streets, and 20 mph on local streets.

Neither agree nor disagree
Interested, but cannot commit without further study.

Allowing turns on red is a contributing factor in increased pedestrian injury and death. I support banning turns on red at all intersections that allow pedestrian crossing.

Agree
At least in principle.

Automated Speed and Red Light Enforcement Cameras are widely proven to reduce fatal collisions. I support using these cameras on any street, not just near schools and construction sites.

Agree

The Automated Speed Enforcement Camera current threshold is 12 miles per hour. I support cameras being able to issue citations for those traveling 5 miles per hour or more over the speed limit.

Agree

I would invest in automated enforcement cameras that will issue citations to private automobiles for being stopped or parked in bus lanes.

Agree
Also for bike lanes.

Dedicated bus lanes and bus boarding islands are proven to dramatically improve bus reliability and boarding times. I support removing parking or travel lanes to create bus lanes and boarding islands to improve bus performance.

Neither agree nor disagree
Provided significant community input in decision.

The city adopted the Greenway Trails Network plan that will connect existing trails such as Gwynns Falls Trail and Herring Run Trail to create a 35-mile trail loop that connects 80% of Baltimore’s neighborhoods to greenspace and recreational trails. I support the construction of these trail connections, even if it requires using grass medians or taking road space or parking space away from private automobiles.

Neither agree nor disagree
Provided significant community input in decision.