We first met Delegate Wells (40th District) when she was running for office, impressed with her campaign and her work as a labor organizer. We were excited to engage more with her district, and with her work on the Environment and Transportation committee.
Back in July, she joined us on our Memphis Study Tour, part of the PeopleForBikes grant that we were awarded along with funding for the Big Jump. We chose Memphis because of how the city has embraced addressing needs for a better transit system, and because it carries a similar history and demographics to Baltimore. We recently asked Delegate Wells about how she was impacted by the Memphis trip.
What were your perceptions on biking in Baltimore before you went to Memphis?
My main perception is that there is a lot of animosity and resistance to accepting inclusion of biking and pedestrian infrastructure in Baltimore.
What was something you learned in Memphis that surprised you?
I learned that it was strong executive leadership support for expanding access to pedestrian and bike infrastructure. It was because the Mayor could see the positive impacts on health and mobility as well as an opportunity to implement equitable investment in infrastructure in areas of the city that have been historically underinvested.
What did you find most valuable about the trip?
Learning about the genuine community engagement process that yields support and buy-in from the community. Genuine community engagement is incorporated to identify problems as they are defined by the communities in the impact area and that provides space to be part of the planning and implementation of these community identified solutions. This type of engagement is something that many communities struggle with and that has made acceptance of biking infrastructure contentious, especially in low-income communities of color.
What value do you see biking, walking, and transit infrastructure providing for your district in Baltimore?
Multi-modal infrastructure provides an opportunity to move people in a balanced and safe way. It means people who are not in vehicles, who are often the most vulnerable, can get to where they need to go safely and with dedicated routes that match the mode of movement that they are using. It makes our communities safer and also encourages development and placement of resources that are accessible by walking or biking. I am also familiar with data that shows business on main corridors are more likely to get more foot traffic and therefore business.
What do you see as some of the biggest barriers to improving transportation choice and safety on our roadways?
I think a challenge that we suffer from in Baltimore is that oftentimes the conversation is already framed around biking, specifically that we lead with biking, which is a barrier to getting the buy-in of communities that sorely need multi-modal design. I learned that we can say we are designing with the community in mind, but that we also lead the conversation in ways that don’t genuinely offer a level starting point. Doing this often means we are asking for community sign-off rather than genuine space for discussion of the problems, needs and solutions. We also have limited city and state resources to support expansion of biking and walking infrastructure. I also think public safety may have an impact on buy-in from city residents who don’t have to rely on public transportation but might otherwise consider using it if they felt safer, and arguably even residents who might be public-transit dependent but use ride-share instead. Public safety also keeps all residents from considering even leisure walking and biking and forces many to see this issue as a frivolous.
How do you see what you learned in Memphis influencing your work on the Environmental Transportation Committee?
It helps me think more about what resources are needed to support equitable engagement of disparate communities around design. It has helped me think more about how not to come to a conversation with preconceived ideas and definitions of the problem, but to let the community lead the way.
What is your biggest hope for transportation policy in Baltimore?
Generally, people are resistant to change, but I think the trip to Memphis helped me think more about how to frame initial conversation and steps toward cultivating genuine community input and design. I think that in my district as well as other areas there is alignment in the need for more multi-modal options, but we are often lacking in establishing an engagement and design model that offers upfront input. I would also add that leadership is key, and that it makes me think about my own leadership as well as that of our City Executive.
Through the Memphis Study Tour, we were able to learn alongside elected officials like Delegate Wells. We wanted to provide an opportunity for elected officials to learn from other cities, so that we can transform what the process looks like together back in Baltimore.
We know we must change how the political process works in our local and state system. In 2018, we passed the Complete Streets Bill with these principles in mind: it changes the way the Department of Transportation interacts with communities. We’re supporting more Complete Streets champions in office and partnering with them to build political interest and capital through programming and outreach. This is how we build streets for people equitably.
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