Narrative Questions

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

A successful transportation system is one that works for all Baltimoreans, especially those who use public transportation to get to school, work, and home. We should be working together to increase both the efficiency and and accessibility of public services like city buses and metro trains. We should also be supporting and investing in projects like the Boston Street Rails-to-Trails Conservancy plan, which will allow people to cross the city on foot or on bike without having to cross dangerous and bustling city streets. Finally, we should ensure that our transportation system is environmentally conscious, with our fleet of buses offering more rides and producing fewer carbon emissions. I’ve been advocating for this vision since I first called Baltimore home over twenty years ago.

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

One of the biggest impediments is a continued lack of access to alternative forms of transportation, forcing families to rely on personal vehicles. This lack of access, in some cases, result from intentional public policy choices that unfairly discriminate against communities of color within the Baltimore region. I hear from constituents in my district who say they would love to take public transportation to the grocery store, but cannot because the buses are unreliable and the grocery stores are too far away. We can incentivize families to use public transportation by making our buses, trains, and other public transit systems more available. I have advocated for this exact issue in the General Assembly by increasing the efficacy of Dedicated Bus Lanes, so that buses can run more efficient routes. I also advocated for the Transit Safety and Investment Act, investing $2 billion in our public transit systems to make them more accessible.

Maryland and its jurisdictions continue to spend money on road and highway widening despite overwhelming evidence that it actually increases traffic and congestion through induced demand. Justification for widening is often that it will improve road safety, which is also discredited. What is your position on Maryland and its jurisdictions spending money this way, and would you support a moratorium on road and highway widening? 

Yes, I would support a moratorium on road and highway widening, and would support more efforts to increase alternative modes of transportation across Maryland. I’ve been a staunch opponent of Governor Hogan’s attempts to expand I-270, which would displace families, hurt businesses that are forced to relocate because of the expansion, and do nothing to solve our traffic congestion issues. I have, and will continue to, advocate for alternative transportation methods that have proven to decrease traffic, help the environment, and increase accessibility such as trains and local metro systems.

Describe your understanding for the need of a Baltimore Regional Transportation Authority. Do you support creation of a regional authority, and if so, how would you legislate or guide the state’s role in creating and sustaining it? 

A Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) would allow City, County, State, and Federal Offices to work together on an equitable and accessible public transit system that serves residents in the Baltimore area. Similar to WMATA, which connects Montgomery and Prince George’s County residents with those in Washington, D.C., an RTA could provide robust alternative forms of transportation into Baltimore City, allowing the City to recruit businesses, grow our economy, and reduce our dependence on cars. I voted to support the Greater Baltimore Transit Governance and Funding Commission, which will deliver recommendations on how to move forward with an RTA in 2023. I look forward to supporting the recommendations that provide high quality, easily accessible, and environmentally friendly transportation options for residents.

Since the 1990’s federal surface transportation authorization laws have set the rules and formulas for federal transportation funding flowing to states. Two of the largest categories, the Surface Transportation Block Grant program and the National Highway Performance Program, can be used for many forms of surface transportation including highways, transit, bike, pedestrian, and ADA infrastructure. However, state departments of transportation, MDOT included, have used them almost exclusively for highway projects and much of its new capacity. That has resulted in growth in traffic volumes, travel times, and carbon pollution. In your view, why have those trends continued? 

I will highlight two.

First, we need to make alternative forms of transportation more accessible, efficient, and easy to use for commuters. By increasing the effectiveness, efficiency, and safety of buses, trains, bike lanes, etc., more people will see these modes of transportation as viable alternatives to driving. That has been the central goal of my legislation, such as the Designated Bus Lane bill, and my private advocacy through my Liveable Streets Coalition.

The second issue, which is intertwined with the first, is that we need to elect politicians at every level of government that will prioritize a transportation plan that promotes public transit, biking, and pedestrian safety. We have made progress, as evidenced by the $66 billion allocated for rail investments in the bi-partisan infrastructure bill passed by Congress last year. But we need to elect local and state officials that will use those investments wisely and invest in a transportation system that works for everyone.

How do you typically commute to work or run errands? Describe the last trips you made by walking, biking, and public transit. 

I am the only Maryland legislator that is car-free by choice. I walk, bike, take public transportation, or use ride-share platforms to my destinations every single day. When buses are late, or alternative forms of transportation are unsafe or unavailable, I am directly impacted.

Agree/Disagree Questions

Maryland and its jurisdictions should be required to “fix-it-first,” funding deferred maintenance of bridges and roads and safety retrofits like road diets, sidewalks, ADA compliance, and other infrastructure prioritizing vulnerable road users before spending on new roads and infrastructure.

Agree

Maryland should adopt a funding rubric for all transportation investment that follows a modal hierarchy prioritizing pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders over personal automobile use, and mandates that these investments prioritize racial and economic equity.

Agree

Highway User Revenues continue to decrease as cars become more efficient, and semi-autonomous driving technology is allowing more comfortable long distance commutes. To address this, Maryland should introduce an income-based Vehicle Miles Traveled tax.

Agree

Maryland should require and fund all-ages-and abilities bicycle infrastructure in retrofits of existing roads and construction of new roads, including fully separated infrastructure or side paths/trails on collector roads, arterial roads, state highways, and interstates. 

Agree

There has been a dramatic increase in car crashes that injure and kill people walking and biking, who are then frequently sued by a driver’s insurance. Maryland should move from contributory negligence to a strict liability model for crashes involving vulnerable road users.

Agree

Paired with a requirement for income-based fines, Maryland should authorize jurisdictions to utilize additional types of automated enforcement like bus lane cameras and stop sign cameras, remove geographic restrictions, and allow a reduced threshold for triggering speed cameras.

Agree

Maryland should allow local jurisdictions to lower their own speed limits based on roadway typology instead of based on expensive engineering studies for each road segment, and should set a statewide upper urban speed limit of 25 miles per hour.

Agree

Maryland should require employers provide “Parking Cash Out,” valuing the cost of parking subsidized or paid for by employers and allowing employees the option of taking that benefit as a cash payout in the amount of the parking subsidy instead.

Agree

Maryland should require jurisdictions to eliminate parking minimums and institute parking maximums in new development, as well as require the cost of parking be unbundled from rent, giving individuals the choice to rent without paying for parking.

Agree

It’s widely accepted that single family zoning advances racial and economic segregation. Maryland should ban single family zoning at the state level, allowing both single family and multifamily residences to be built in all zoning areas.

Agree