Candidate for: City Council, 12th District
phillip@phillipwestry.com | phillipwestry.com
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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.
Quality, reliable public transportation needs to be a priority of Baltimore City moving forward. I would support the creation of a Regional Transit Authority because I believe that MDOT does not have the Baltimore region as a top transit priority. I would support the re-creation of the Red Line or any other heavy rail investments in Baltimore City. As a more immediate plan to alleviate the current system, I would seek to implement the creation of Bus Rapid Transit. Increasing the number of dedicated bus lanes, floating bus stops, and creating off-board fare collection are some of the methods I see being implemented to increase the reliability and speed of our current system. As a bicyclist, I would seek to increase the number of protected bike lanes and to see the Baltimore Greenway Trails Network completed. With bicycles as with mass-transit, reducing the dependence on personal motor vehicles is not just beneficial for the health of our city and planet, but will also be necessary to increase the density and population of Baltimore City. Walkers and persons using wheelchairs in Baltimore face a unique set of challenges, from the quality of walkways to the safety of street crossings to the amenities or services within a safe walking distance. An equitable transportation system provides connections to work, educational, recreational, and commercial opportunities for everyone, regardless of age, income or physical ability. Baltimore’s current transportation policies and infrastructure fail to address the needs of all its residents. Through targeted investments, Baltimore can increase equity in transit access.
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?
The use of private vehicles instead of walking, biking, or public transit Baltimore City for the following reasons: the lack of connectivity to employment and services, unreliable service, the safety of use and the lack of infrastructure that works for everybody. A transformative, regional transportation plan will make walking, biking, and public transit more attractive.
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?
I agree with the recommendations for citywide bike lane infrastructure. Yearly, I will advocate and lobby the Mayor and the Department of Transportation to include the resources necessary for implementation to the annual budget for at least 17 miles of bike lanes. As far as implementation is concerned, I believe we should focus on the connectivity of our bike lanes. Building new lanes near and that connect with the existing infrastructure is important to flesh out a citywide network that remains rideable. We should not leave any neighborhood behind, even when introducing bike lane infrastructure to neighborhoods that have not actively advocated for them. I will work with community members across the 12th District to educate them on the benefits of the new road upgrades and how bike lanes can benefit people with disabilities, youth, and increase safety for everyone.
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?
We must hold the BCDOT accountable to abide by the complete streets legislation passed in 2019, including making sure that construction projects that obstruct sidewalks or other pedestrian or bike pathways are held accountable to provide safe detours for the duration of their obstruction. Most importantly, we must ensure that the BCDOT is following the requirement of this legislation that as roads are resurfaced, they must be reconfigured to include complete streets concepts prioritizing pedestrian safety and non-automobile forms of transportation.
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?
The reduction of carbon emissions from automobiles is key, so while the ideal would be to reduce vehicle traffic overall, stop gaps that encourage the adoption of electric vehicles cannot be discarded as a means to address these pollution-related illnesses. We can also use changes to speed limits and street configurations to discourage traffic flow along with residential areas. Some examples would include making St. Paul, Calvert, and Charles St into two-way roads, putting a bus-only lane along Greenmount, and establishing the 25 mph speed limit along this corridor. Unfortunately, there’s no way to 100% remove this source of pollution from our city in the near term, and forcing a change in commuter patterns may have unintended negative repercussions for other residents, so any changes there must be studied deliberately to ensure the best outcome for as many stakeholders as possible. On that note, this speaks to a level of environmental racism in the city as well, when we fail to consider the effects of our transportation decisions on the people whose health is impacted. With the MTA bus depots placed in historically disenfranchised neighborhoods like East Baltimore Midway, where MTA buses would idle their diesel engines for hours every morning spewing diesel fumes to nearby residents. Fortunately, a new MTA Facility is being constructed that will filter these emissions, but we must move expeditiously to adopt electric buses for our public transit as well to decrease our overall emissions.
Do you walk for transportation? If so, for what purposes, how often, and what was your last trip walking?
Yes, I live in Greenmount West. There are a variety of shops, restaurants, and attractions within walking distance of my house. I walk as a form of transportation, nearly every day. My last walk was to a local restaurant for dinner, my campaign office is also a short walk from my house.
Do you use public transportation? If so, for what purposes, how often, and what was your last trip by public transportation?
Yes. I use a combination of public transportation and biking to commute to work. My last trip on public transportation was on the MTA Silver Line which has stops near my gym and drops me off at Penn Station, near my home.
Do you ever ride a bicycle? Is it for transportation, recreation, or both? What was your last trip by bicycle?
Yes. I use a combination of public transportation and biking to commute to work, depending on the weather. My last trip on a bicycle a couple of days ago, I biked from Greenmount West to on Maryland Avenue to Charmingtons for a coffee meeting.
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 a disability
2. Public Transportation
3. Bicycles & 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.
Agree
I will do everything I can to increase mobility and safety on our streets. On a case by case basis, I support removing parking on a street to make these improvements.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.
Agree
Not only would this help to encourage more walkable and vibrant development, but this would also encourage the strengthening of our cities transit network and increase ridership, helping to justify further investment and expansion of our existing transit network. Wheelhouse in Fells Point and the rumored second Wheelhouse in Station North present ideal models for future development throughout the city, with popular commercial entities on the ground floor helping to create a more vibrant neighborhood for everyone without added traffic congestion, so long as we can provide the transit connections to encourage the residents of this building to adopt a car-free lifestyle. Removing the requirement to seek a waiver for such developments would make it easier to develop such projects and is a worthwhile goal of the city council to pursue.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 fully support and will be a strong voice as a council member, for efforts that entice employers to offer a cash payment to reduce congestion, including proposals that would require providing cash out as an option. Studies show parking cash-out programs can reduce demand for parking by 11 to 17 percent. In a congested city such as Baltimore, employees need to offer more sustainable transportation options.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
I have been excited to see cities like Minneapolis move to ban single-family zoning. I believe that one of the things holding back many areas of Baltimore is the lack of mixed-use denser zoning. One rallying cry from Seattle YIMBYs resonates particularly well with me, “Four floors and corner stores”. The city has already invested in some projects, like an affordable housing project in Johnston Square, that demonstrates some of these principles, so there is precedent to build on. This is important not only for providing more affordable housing for all, but also to increase our efficiency per capita as a city and do our part to mitigate the worst of climate change.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
I have to caveat my support for this, as the high-frequency bus routes in Baltimore are not the most reliable. In the short term, we should work to increase bus-only lanes along the high-frequency routes and bolster our bus infrastructure to include more BRT-type best practices (off-board fare handling, level platform loading). In areas where these improvements are made, I would argue we can support TOD style development, barring this some of our “high-frequency” bus routes would not adequately support TOD level densities and could strain the existing transit infrastructure causing less reliability for everyone.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.
Agree
As a public interest attorney, I have seen first-hand how Baltimore’s history of racial segregation affects citizens today. Removing the Single Family Residential Zoning will help in correcting our long history of segregation in housing policy and create opportunity for more mixed-income housing.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.
Agree
I support allowing existing residences to be split into apartments. It is critical that we move beyond the legacy of single-family residential zoning categories that worked to maintain racial segregation. Supporting this type of apartment splitting and zoning will also help make our communities more diverse and accessible.
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.
Agree
While I agree with this proposal, as the MDOT State Highway administration says: “Research shows that the posted speed limit has little effect on the speeds at which most motorists drive. Raising the speed limit does not significantly raise the speeds at which motorists drive and lowering the limit generally does not appreciably decrease their speeds.” This reflects the reality that people speed on the streets of Baltimore because they are configured to make motorists feel comfortable going 40-50 mph. I support lowering the speed limits, but it will be an uphill battle until we reconfigure our streets to be for people and not cars.
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
This has been particularly problematic for bicyclists who may be utilizing what is a one-way road (Maryland Ave) for vehicles as a two way for bicycle traffic, thereby becoming the victims of careless drivers who only look in the direction from which they are expecting vehicle traffic. Further, in areas of downtown especially, the lights should be reconfigured to allow scramble cross-walks, where pedestrians may cross at all points, with red lights for vehicle traffic in all directions. This has been shown to be the most effective at reducing pedestrian injuries as no car can expect to proceed and it can even improve traffic flow as it decreases the conflict points between vehicles turning on green and the pedestrians who would be crossing at the same time.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
Too many of our streets are, in effect, superhighways that are dangerous for people who are not in a motor vehicle. Cameras that enforce speed limits and red lights should NOT be limited to being near schools and construction sights. We need these traffic calming and enforcement tools to be deployed liberally and citywide, and I will always be an advocate for a safe, bikeable and walkable city--in district 12 and across the city.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 strongly agree with the speed enforcement cameras, but again the long-term answer is to re-engineer our roadways to force drivers to adjust their driving behavior. Our overly broad streets, and one-ways laid out like highways in and out of the city encourage this kind of reckless driving, and speed enforcement can only go so far. The speed enforcement cameras help to provide a consistent penalty and discourage some of the more aggressive drivers while we work to reorient our streets to be for people and not for cars. 12 mph is excessively over the speed limit, allowing many motorists who may be going almost 40 mph in 25 mph zones to proceed with impunity, so lowering the threshold to 5 mph over the speed limit is a good move that I would support.I would invest in automated enforcement cameras that will issue citations to private automobiles for being stopped or parked in bus lanes.
Agree
For our dedicated bus lanes to work as efficiently as they should, they need to remain dedicated for busses. For that reason, I support traffic cameras for ticketing. Infrastructure designed to improve the efficiency and speed of Baltimore’s major source of public transportation should be a priority, especially in areas like Downtown that already face frequent gridlock during rush hours.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.
Agree
One of the biggest impediments to wider spread use of the public transportation system in Baltimore is the reliability and speed of the CityLink bus. Currently being implemented on a mile strip of Harford Road, the new floating bus stops have shown an increase in the reliability and performance of the 54 bus. I also support dedicated bus lanes for this very reason. Increasing ridership by providing a more reliable and efficient system is paramount to lowering carbon emissions as well reducing congestion.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.
Agree
While none of the proposed additions to the Greenway Trails Network run through the 12th District, I will advocate for the completion of the proposed loop. Creating dedicated bike lanes in the medians of roads like E. 33rd St and Gwynns Falls Pkwy provide a low impact on drivers while maximizing transportation options for residents of these neighborhoods. In order for Baltimore to grow without creating impossible gridlock and congestion on all major streets, we need to begin prioritizing as many alternatives as possible to personal automobiles as the main source of transportation.
District Specific Questions: 12th District
28th and 29th Street are treated as highways by people driving along them through neighborhoods. Neighbors have developed the 28th and 29th Streets Traffic Calming initiative to call for installation of temporary traffic calming devices and study on how to implement permanent traffic calming that includes exploration of travel lane reduction or two-way conversion on both streets. I support installation of temporary traffic calming devices, even if they remove some parking, and support the study on how to implement permanent traffic calming.
Agree
Traffic calming is a priority to encourage more pedestrian traffic in neighborhoods. Increasing foot traffic helps businesses and creates stronger communities. Along 28th and 29th street, the addition of bump outs in intersections, along with speed cameras have helped reduce speeds. Still, too many crashes involving cars, pedestrians, and busses still occur every year. I support the continued installation of traffic calming measures and as a councilperson, I will prioritize the creation of more permanent traffic calming fixtures.Big Jump Baltimore, a grant won by Baltimore City Department of Transportation, calls for installation of a road diet and separated, all-ages bike lanes on 25th Street and Huntingdon Avenue to improve safe access to businesses along the corridor. I support installing the remainder of the Big Jump Baltimore grant facilities.
Agree
I support installing the remainder of the Big Jump. Similar to 28th and 29th street, cars heading towards and away from the JFX continue to drive like they are already on the highway. While the Big Jump has made the bridges more accessible for non motor vehicles, connecting these protected lanes towards a larger network along Huntingdon and 25th Street will be necessary to connect more neighborhoods throughout the city.Dedicated bus lanes are proven to increase service reliability and speed. MTA Maryland’s BaltimoreLink Red bus route is one of the busiest in the city. I support dedicated bus lanes on Greenmount Avenue, even if it means removing some parking.
Agree
I support the expansion of dedicated bus lanes throughout the city and on Greenmount Avenue, even if it means the removal of parking. Other large thoroughfares should also be added to the dedicated bus lane network, increasing reliability citywide.