Another Council Hearing Against Complete Streets and Bike Lanes

On Monday, January 22nd, City Council Vice President Sharon Green Middleton is announcing yet another hearing requested by the Fox45/Sinclair backed Anti-Complete Streets group, who are using this momentum to try and repeal Complete Streets, halt bike infrastructure construction, and rip out existing bike infrastructure.

Send an email to City Council now telling them enough is enough. Please customize it with your own story of why continued investment in Complete Streets and all-ages bike infrastructure is important to you.

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Across the nation and in Maryland, fatal crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists are on the rise. Here in Baltimore, they're dropping, evidence Baltimore's Complete Streets ordinance and the investments being made in traffic calming our high-injury network are working.

Baltimore is also in the top 10 cities for growth in bicycling since 2019—seeing a 56.4% growth in ridership—thanks to our city's investment in all-ages bicycle infrastructure. 

These statistics are gaining national attention, with the federal government recently awarding the city tens of millions of grant dollars to double down on these investments, increasing access to opportunity and reducing injury and death.

Despite these obvious successes, our City Council leadership continues to cave to a small group of Fox45/Sinclair Media backed individuals, hosting investigatory hearings on Complete Streets and Bike Lanes.

The opponents calling for these hearings have stated they want bike lanes and bus lanes removed citywide. They want Complete Streets repealed. 

City Council Vice President Sharon Green Middleton is introducing yet another hearing at tonight's council meeting. 

We're asking you to send an email saying you're tired of this nonsense, and that you want your elected officials to spend time and resources on implementing proven Complete Streets and bike infrastructure treatments, not opposing them. 

Please customize the email. Tell them why this is important to you.

Update on Complete Streets

New BCDOT Director Sharkey at his confirmation

On October 3, 2019, Baltimore City Department of Transportation was supposed to release for public comment a draft Complete Streets manual. It never happened.

The Baltimore Complete Streets ordinance, enacted in December of last year, contained a robust public outreach requirement that was supposed to begin immediately, engaging community members in a detailed series of public meetings to bring awareness to Complete Streets principles and the creation of a draft manual. Councilman Ryan Dorsey consulted with Bikemore and the Complete Streets Coalition and developed a robust set of community engagement expectations that were delivered in a memo to then Director Michelle Pourciau.

In late April, Director Pourciau resigned after reports of an Office of the Inspector General investigation into her leadership tactics. Shortly thereafter, Mayor Pugh resigned amid the “Healthy Holly” scandal. In the aftermath of these resignations, it became clear that Director Pourciau had not devoted adequate resources to meet the legislative requirements of the Complete Streets ordinance. No significant community outreach had been conducted, and none meeting the expectations of the coalition or Councilman Dorsey had been planned. This seemed almost purposeful, and was a devastating blow to the implementation calendar of a bill that had just been recognized as one of the best Complete Streets initiatives in the country.

Shortly after this news, Acting Mayor Jack Young selected Steve Sharkey, then head of the Department of General Services, to lead Baltimore City Department of Transportation. Director Sharkey was unanimously confirmed by the Baltimore City Council on August 20th. Director Sharkey hit the ground running, immediately meeting with stakeholders on Complete Streets.

By August 29th, at the first meeting of the newly formed City Council Transportation Committee, chaired by Councilman Ryan Dorsey, Baltimore City Department of Transportation publicly agreed that the deadlines for the Complete Streets ordinance would not be met.

As a result, Councilman Dorsey introduced legislation to extend the deadlines of Baltimore Complete Streets, to ensure adequate community outreach is conducted, and conducted to the expectations of the Complete Streets Coalition and city council. The legislation, emergency adopted by the full city council on September 23rd and signed by Mayor Young on October 7th, gives Baltimore City Department of Transportation until October 16th to deliver a community engagement plan to the Land Use Committee for review and comment, and specifies that this plan must incorporate the recommendations set forth in the community engagement expectations originally sent to Director Pourciau.

Each deadline is then reset following this initial revision. Within 90 days, the Complete Streets Advisory Committee must deliver scoping recommendations for the Complete Streets Manual. By April 1, 2020, the Complete Streets Manual must be made available for public comment, and by July 1, 2020 the Complete Streets Manual must be adopted.

An additional clarification was also made in this legislative update: all other components of the Complete Streets ordinance, including the design standards like lane widths, design vehicles, and design speeds, and the prioritization of pedestrians, bicyclists, and public transit users over other modes, are immediately law effective this past Monday, October 7th. There should be no more grey area on the law.

While we are disappointed in the decisions of the prior administration which led to this delay, the future is bright. For the first time we have a Council President who supported creation of a Transportation Committee. We have a Transportation Committee Chair who bikes to work, who authored and passed the strongest and most progressive Complete Streets ordinance in the country. We have a Mayor who prioritized signing this legislative extension and who hired a Transportation Director who lives in Baltimore, who bikes to work, who knows how to support his staff and increase morale, and who is honest and transparent about the work ahead of him.

We look forward to working with this team of dedicated and talented elected and appointed officials to deliver a Complete Streets manual worthy of the legislation and coalition that demanded it, even if it will be a few months late.

Baltimore neighborhood leaders, elected officials and DOT learning together in Memphis

Last week Bikemore staff traveled with neighborhood leaders, elected officials, and DOT staff members to Memphis to learn together with PeopleForBikes. This study tour was part of Baltimore’s Big Jump grant from PeopleForBikes.

Our Baltimore delegation consisted of Keshia Allen (Westport Community Association President), Councilman Kristerfer Burnett, Rita Crews (Belair-Edison Community Association President), Fabienne Dorceus (community organizer), Celena Owens (Oliver neighborhood leader), Corey Paige (office of Councilman Dorsey), Ashiah Parker (No Boundaries Coalition/Bikemore Board President), Charles Penny (Baltimore City Department of Transportation), Councilman Leon Pinkett, and Delegate Melissa Wells.

Why Memphis? Memphis has a comparable population to Baltimore, and faces many similar challenges of long term disinvestment, poverty, and historic racism. But it’s also similar in that that are visionary leaders at both the neighborhood and city level striving to do things differently. We intentionally didn’t talk to any bike advocates, but everyone we spoke with shared that mobility was a key component to the success of their vision for Memphis, and they worked to advocate and include improved mobility for people who walk and bike in all their projects.

Here are some of the things we saw, and lessons we’re brining back to Baltimore with us:

First stop: National Civil Rights Museum

To set the context for the trip, the first stop we made was at the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Hotel, where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. We were reminded of the role transportation played in both giving activists a platform, as well as how those with power used restricting access to public space for protests as a form of control to advance racism.

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South Memphis bike tour of their Big Jump and a learning farm

We rode bike share bikes and visited Green Leaf Learning Farm at Knowledge Quest, which will be piloting local grown produce delivered locally by paid youth on cargo bikes. Knowledge Quest runs a learning farm and various youth and family programs. When Director Marlon Foster spoke with us, he emphasized being thoughtful about being invited into spaces vs. inserting themselves, as well as creatively using a single highly recognizable paint color to mark the spaces they use and are developing in the neighborhood.

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On mobility and leadership from a former mayor and an affordable housing developer

Former Mayor A C Wharton, Jr. shared how he stuck to his instincts and committed to building bike infrastructure because he understood the related economic, health, and community benefits that would result in better connectivity. There were a lot of people who questioned his leadership, but by having a clear vision and supporting his staff to carry it out, that vision became reality.

Roshun Austin, President/CEO of The Works Community Development Corporation, shared the innovative housing and lending programs they run to provide affordable housing and provide new sustainable pathways to home ownership. Roshun didn’t learn how to ride a bike before she started partnering with PeopleForBikes, but they now lead regular rides as a key component of their community work. They also run the South Memphis Farmers Market, setting up creative partnerships with local farms and grocers to make it financially possible to access local food.

Making a park surrounded by highways accessible

Executive Director Tina Sullivan took us on a tour of Overton Park, which much like many parks in Baltimore, is struggling from being surrounded by wide streets that serve as highways on three sides. By creating artistic gateways and connecting entrances with planned bike paths, and being intentional about where in the park to create activation with things like playgrounds and dog parks, they are making real strides in inviting more neighbors into the park. Future plans include high-visibility crossings tied with further traffic-calming in addition to direct connections to separated bike paths.

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A former Sears warehouse turned into a mixed use vertical development

Porsche Stevens from Cross Town Concourse and Crosstown Arts took us on on a tour of the mixed use Cross Town Concourse development, which houses everything from doctors offices to a school to arts organizations to small retail businesses. After the building sat vacant for years, it took 30 funding sources and commitment of nearly 40 founding tenants to get the project off the ground. She talked about how small things like the choice of music in the space has the ability to make various people feel welcome and invited into the space. We visited their state-of-the-art theatre space, and talked about the dignity and pride in bringing the best of the best resources to a historically disinvested neighborhood.

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Placemaking in a medical district

In a creative partnership between the city and Memphis Medical District Collaborative, a five lane road was narrowed to three lanes. They installed quick build artistic crosswalks, bike lanes protected with flex posts, and planters to reduce crossing distances and slow traffic. The City paid for basic markings and resurfacing and the Medical District Collaborative paid for all of the extras: delineators, planters, and art.

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Public art in an automotive district

In the Edge District we checked out a a traffic calming and placemaking road diet at a previously dangerous intersection. It reclaimed part of the road at a confusing intersection though installation of planters, tables and chairs, a bike fix-it station, and bike parking — and put an artistic, movement-filled shade structure above it.

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Beautiful and busy public space and a day-lighted stream

We checked out Loflin Yard, a restaurant featuring an outdoor space that felt a lot like a friend’s backyard, that was filled with people playing games and relaxing, and featured a beautiful view of a stream, one of the only parts of the waterway that is not contained into a drainage pipe.

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We learned a lot from this trip. We learned (or were reminded!) that change is possible, but it takes times and visionary leadership to do it well. Many of the projects we saw started 10 years ago and were just being built, but we saw that they are possible in Memphis and they’re possible in Baltimore.

And we were reminded that we need to ride bikes and have more fun together. One of the most valuable parts of the trip was the informal time we spent walking, biking, eating and just hanging out together, when we got to know each other as people. When leaders from different neighborhoods shared their stories, when elected officials and advocates shared their challenges and resources, we were reminded that together we are much stronger, and that we have the knowledge and vision within Baltimore to create the change we want.

Many thanks to PeopleForBikes for providing this amazing experience, and to the Baltimore delegation that saw the value in taking the time out of their busy lives to learn with us. We collectively came up with lots of ideas for continuing this energy in Baltimore — so stay tuned!

It's the first budget after Complete Streets, and there's $0 for bikes.

The 2017 Separated Lane Network Plan. To stay on schedule, everything in Purple should be constructed this year, but none of it will be.

You read that right.

It’s been just over a month since the passage of Baltimore Complete Streets, the nationally recognized Complete Streets ordinance that legally mandates Baltimore design streets through an equity lens, and prioritize pedestrians and bicyclists to the greatest extent possible. Baltimore City Department of Transportation was required to provide an update to the Baltimore City Council Land Use and Transportation Committee on day 30 after enactment, but no such update came.

Instead, we were greeted with the FY2020-2025 Capital Improvement Program, the city’s latest budget documents. Traditionally, Baltimore City DOT includes line item 508-019 Citywide Bike Infrastructure, which details proposed funding for bike improvements over the following six fiscal years, breaking down revenue sources by general/local funds, state grants, and federal highway grants and allocations.

FY2019-2024 CIP showing the line item for Citywide Bike Infrastructure. It was removed in this year’s CIP.

The 2017 Separated Lane Network Plan, adopted by the Baltimore City Planning Commission under Mayor Pugh, specifically calls for $1,000,000 per year of General Funds for five years. By leveraging Maryland Department of Transportation Bikeways and Federal Transportation Alternatives Program grants that require a local match, this approximately $5 million in local dollars could build the entire Separated Lane Network in five years. Building this network would connect 85% of Baltimoreans to low stress bicycle infrastructure. It’s one of the lowest cost, highest return bike plans in the country.

2017 Separated Lane Network construction timeline, budget, and revenue sources.

It’s pretty simple. Win big grants with small matches of local dollars. Build 17 miles of high quality separated and supporting infrastructure per year for five years. End with one of the best networks in the country.

Instead, we have no money for design and construction this year. Baltimore City Department of Transportation will tell you they plan on building 17 miles of infrastructure in 2019, and that everything’s fine. But let’s take a look at what that infrastructure actually is:

BCDOT’s proposed timelines for bike facilities

Every project listed for “Proposed 2019” is a prior year project. Every single one of these projects was already counted in lane mile totals in 2017 when the Separated Lane Network plan was adopted, because all of these projects were supposed to have been constructed by then. Delaying projects by anywhere from 3-7 years doesn’t mean you get to count them again.

The “Proposed 2020-2022” projects include MLK Jr, Eutaw Street, 20th Street, and Baker Street. If you refer back to the Separated Lane Network Plan map at the top, you’ll see these projects are supposed to be completed this year, in 2019, not proposed for 2022, the year the entire network plan is supposed to be built.

In short, Baltimore City Department of Transportation has budgeted zero dollars of new bike design and construction money for the next six years. The projects they’re double counting as mileage are projects that were already counted in prior years. And the new projects they’re proposing are coming years late, if at all since they haven’t promised funding alongside them.

We will be testifying at the Baltimore City Planning Commission on Thursday, January 10th about this disparity between city-adopted plans and the Capital Improvement Budget.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll also highlight some planned and ongoing infrastructure projects that are costing or will cost the city millions of dollars while making streets less safe for people walking, biking, and taking public transit.

Baltimore City Department of Transportation knew this Complete Streets ordinance was coming. They knew it was going to pass. This budget was an opportunity for them to show that they were making preparations to right their ship, but instead they continue to fire cannons at their own sails.

Mayor Pugh Signs Complete Streets Ordinance

As of Thursday, December 6th, the Baltimore Complete Streets ordinance is law. Mayor Pugh signed the legislation earlier this week, just days before the bill would have become law automatically.

Over the past two years, a broad coalition was formed to support and promote Complete Streets. The Baltimore Complete Streets Coalition is comprised of over 30 organizations including local groups like Bikemore, The League for People with Disabilities, No Boundaries Coalition and neighborhood associations, statewide organizations like the Maryland Builders Industry Association, and national groups such as AARP, the American Heart Association and Safe Routes to Schools.

This bill is about giving communities the power to work with DOT to build more equitable and healthy transportation infrastructure. When we began this effort, I aimed to set a new national standard for complete streets policies, including answering the imperative to put equity at the core of all transportation measures. So many community leaders and stakeholders have stepped up to build a policy that is truly best in class. Now it's time to work together to implement complete streets to ensure all our communities see real benefits from transportation decisions. - Councilman Ryan Dorsey

The bill received national recognition when the National Complete Streets Coalition named Baltimore’s Complete Streets Ordinance one of 2017’s best initiatives and named Councilman Dorsey a Complete Streets Champion. Complete Streets prioritizes the safety of all people using Baltimore’s streets and prioritizes multi-modal transportation. Complete Streets often have slower speed limits, wide sidewalks and crosswalks, protected bike lanes, bus lanes and shelters, and beautification like trees and plantings. The bill also contains several equity-focused provisions to address the disparities created by decades of structurally racist and car-oriented road design.

Baltimore's Complete Streets ordinance is a remarkable new model for the nation not just because of its strong, direct approach to equity and implementation, but also because of the broad, engaged coalition responsible for its adoption. The National Complete Streets Coalition is proud to recognize Councilman Ryan Dorsey, Bikemore, and the City of Baltimore for their leadership. - Heather Zaccaro Program Manager, National Complete Streets Coalition

Bikemore was an early champion of passing a robust, equity-focused Complete Streets ordinance, working to place it as a priority in the mayor’s transition report and drafting bill language for introduction alongside Councilman Ryan Dorsey.

We’re thrilled that the mayor has signed the legislation into law, and will continue to work over the next few months to ensure implementation is as intended.

None of this work is possible without the support of our volunteers and donors. Thank you!