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.

It is incomprehensible that in 2020 our city remains reliant on automobiles for transit. We’re a city bereft of affordable options for transportation, particularly in communities with stagnant job growth.

As Mayor, a day-one priority for my administration will be to immediately expand the free bus system to provide transit options along the major East-West corridors of the city. The city's free transit system—the Charm City Circulator—is designed by Visit Baltimore (a 501c6 with municipal and corporate partners, designed specifically to market the city—not to provide public transit). We need to reform the purpose of the Circulator to specifically target riders lacking alternative transit options. Expanding free circulator routes to East-West corridors and major arterial roadways like Pennsylvania Ave and Harford Rd is meant to lay the groundwork for a citywide free public bus system. A free bus network could reduce commute times and make the city significantly more accessible. Atop the conversation of increased equity is increased ridership and its ability to boost city commerce. When Denver and Austin made transit fare-free, it resulted in an increase in ridership of 20-60% within the first few months. Improved ridership means fewer cars on the road and more foot traffic in commercial districts, which increases more street-level commerce.

The decision to kill the Red Line was not simply a transportation decision—it prevented economic opportunities for tens of thousands of Baltimoreans. While I will do everything in my power to restart a Red Line 2.0 with the goal of completion by 2028, I will immediately start a free East-West bus system. Currently, our East to West avenues are dedicated to motor traffic—in a city built for over a million with close to now only 600,000 residents, we can reimagine our transit grid and adopt innovative planning and policy using models from cities across the country and around the world as guidance.

Public transit systems have been linked to lower rates of automobile accidents, which killed 511 people in Maryland last year. The U.S. Department of Transportation found cars account for over 75% of transportation fatalities nationwide, while buses accounted for less than one percent of motor vehicle fatalities.

Even as we push for safe public transit, we will also strive to improve safety features at bus stops and improve riders’ experiences, including accurate timetables and mobile app technology so people know their projected wait times, and bus shelters at every stop to make travel more feasible during inclement weather, particularly for the elderly and children.

As detailed further in Question 5, departing from an automobile-centric transit model for Baltimore will lead to significant health benefits for our residents.

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?

Access to transit is a massive hurdle for Baltimore residents. My administration will expand active transit options in the city by developing, investing in and executing a comprehensive bike-pedestrian-scooter plan that will expand bike lanes and promote bike use. Some of these initiatives will require a cultural shift; accordingly, we will explore new and existing policies to break the status-quo such as expanding “Ride Your Bike to Work Day” campaigns, pursuing tax incentives for commuting bicyclists to local businesses similar to those outlined in the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017, and collaborating with organizations already doing great work to spur bike advocacy and ridership like Bikemore, B360, and the Baltimore Youth Kinetic Energy Collective.

We also intend to expand and make more equitable e-scooter access. To ensure equitable distribution of scooters across the city, we will insert a requirement in new contracts that subsidized scooters be available at the same scale in transit deserts as they are downtown. While we expand our public transit options, citywide scooter access will be significant in addressing Baltimore’s first and last mile transit issues. Companies that decide to enter the Baltimore market will be required to partner with City Hall to map transit desert locations, and to ensure that the organic movement and replacement of scooters and bikes is equitable at the end of each day, as was required in the initial six month partnership with Lime and Bird.

As scooter use increases, we need to work to keep the streets safer for riders and to hold scooter companies accountable. As Mayor, I will push to establish new default speed limits for cars on arterial and non-arterial roads. To keep scooter companies accountable, we will push to include clauses in contracts guaranteeing that companies will be held solely responsible for retrieving vandalized or broken scooters, will repair scooters to ensure safety standards, and will be held liable for any injury caused by a scooter malfunction.

Right now, public transit options do not run reliably or efficiently. For buses, LocalLinks (low-frequency) buses are only on-time 68% of the time. That means that commuters three out of ten times will be late for work if they do not build in a significant cushion to account for public transit inadequacies. Even high-frequency buses (CityLink) only have a 73% chance of being on time which again means they are late more than a quarter of the time. The implementation of technology based monitoring including accurate, easily accessible timetables, and a user-friendly mobile app will facilitate efficient operation and help increase ridership.

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?

Yes. I would leverage the existing ‘Low Stress Streets’ network to seamlessly integrate the Separated Bike Lane Network into our transit grid.

I would follow the plan’s proposal to create connection corridors over the next five years, but I would first direct the Planning Department to review the plan to ensure that priority areas are identified based on three criteria: 1) places where low stress bicycle access can offset low car ownership, 2) areas that will provide residential access to transit lines that are presently dangerous or nonexistent, and 3) the size of the influence area based on the Planning Commission’s approved plan.

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?

As Mayor, Baltimore will join the Vision Zero network of cities in the U.S. committed to eliminating all traffic fatalities. The Departments of Finance, Planning, Transportation, and Health will be brought together monthly to coordinate on transit developments regarding roadway design, speed management, and new technology that will influence our roads.

We will establish a new default arterial speed limit and a default non-arterial speed limit, further enforcing the protection of bike lanes, bus lanes and our ‘Block the Box’ laws. We will embrace the Complete Streets redesign as a standard and will provide enough resources for the Department of Transportation to actually implement it.

I also support implementing barrier-protected bike and walking paths like The Big Jump that Bikemore advocated for on Druid Lake Park Drive, which make areas more accessible and safe for pedestrians, cyclists, and wheelchair users.

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?

I plan to invest in transit expansion in a sustainable, environmentally-conscious manner. As previously discussed, I intend to repurpose some parallel avenues exclusively for public and green transportation, like certain European cities.

Shifting the city’s focus away from an automobile-centric model has clear health benefits from decreased emissions. In its study, EXHALE, the CDC demonstrated that public transportation systems can reduce the amount of air pollution from motor vehicles by taking cars off the road. For every passenger mile traveled, buses produce only five percent as much carbon monoxide, less than 8% as many volatile organic compounds, and half as much CO2 and nitrogen oxides as cars.

Utilizers of public transit will also receive the added benefits of being more likely to experience physical activity throughout the day—anywhere from 8 to 33 minutes of walking daily—improving cardiovascular health. Studies from the American Public Transportation Association have found that the cleaner air and lifestyle that comes with improving rapid transit services translate to per capita annual health benefits of $355.

We will provide free East-West buses, bike lanes, and pedestrian passages along an avenue. The elimination of cars from this passage would improve the safety of bicyclists and pedestrians by simply reducing the volume of traffic. The free and green transit options would see an increase in popularity as the faster and cheaper option. My vision is that we quickly demonstrate demand for East-West transit to restart the Red Line 2.0 and then expand free bus lines to major arteries criss crossing the City and ultimately to a citywide free bus system.

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

I walk in and around the Federal Hill neighborhood to meet friends, for breakfasts and dinners, and to run errands. I only walk for commuting when I work out of my law firm’s downtown office. I commute by car when working out of the firm’s Mount Washington office. And of course, during the span of the political campaign I have walked neighborhoods all across Baltimore as part of our campaign’s expansive door-knocking efforts. Just this past weekend, we spent the day walking all through Waverly and Ednor Gardens.

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

I use public transit infrequently in Baltimore. Most recently, I have used the Circulator to and from the downtown area.

Baltimore’s inadequate transit grid is only highlighted because of my time living elsewhere. When I lived in New York City, I did not have and did not need a car because I relied on a functional transit system every day for work and personal purposes. When I lived in London, I did not have and did not need a car because London, like many other European cities, has a highly functional public transit system, and walking and biking is an integrated part of the culture. There are clear models that can dramatically reduce our reliance on personal vehicles and increase our commitment to public transportation, but these models require a comprehensive plan and investment in infrastructure. As Mayor, moving towards a modern, functional, environmentally-conscious public transit grid will be a top priority.

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

Not since living in London have I relied on biking for daily transportation. Cycling, however, has been a form of recreation for me since I was a little kid. Because of my current schedule, it is a less regular part of my life now, but it remains a valued form of recreation periodically on weekends.

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. Personal Automobiles
5. Freight and Delivery
6. Parking
7. Ride Hailing Services (Taxi, Uber, Lyft)

Agree or disagree?

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

Agree
This should be done in a way that makes best efforts to identify off street parking.

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
This determination must be made on a case by case basis.

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.

Neither agree nor disagree
Employers should provide public transit subsidies alongside any efforts to subsidize parking.

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.

Neither agree nor disagree
This determination must be made on a case by case basis.

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
Charlotte, North Carolina provides an instructive example of why increased economic activity and positive outcomes in low-income neighborhoods justifies the change.

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

Creating neighborhoods with racial and socioeconomic integration is a critical bulwark against the risk of gentrification that accompanies a rebounding economy.

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
Provided that the additional units are high-quality affordable housing options passing all necessary safety regulations.

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
As Mayor, I will direct the Department of Transportation to work with community groups to determine appropriate speed limits for our major arterial roads and local streets.

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.

Neither agree nor disagree
A universal determination does not allow for case by case judgements.

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.

Neither agree nor disagree
A universal determination does not allow for case by case judgements.

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.

Disagree
However, the maximum posted speed limit should be appropriately lowered to guarantee safety knowing that some drivers will travel at 10 miles above the posted speed limit.

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

Agree
Technology is a valuable complement to traditional enforcement in this area.

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

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