Bikemore and CMTA Joint Statement on MTA Service Cuts

The pandemic has had a profound impact on public transit in the United States. Nationally transit use has plummeted by as much as 90%. In contrast Baltimore bus ridership dropped only 60% at its lowest point late April 2020. With fare revenues down and other funding sources depleted, transit agencies are forced to make difficult decisions. Tomorrow MTA will announce changes to transit service in greater Baltimore. These cuts will eliminate bus routes and bus stops, and cause less frequent service and reduced hours. Once cuts take effect there is no guarantee they will ever be reversed. Our already insufficient transit system will get worse.

The pandemic has caused significant financial stress to communities demonstrated to be most reliant on public transportation to get to work. Changes to transit service must consider equity, economic stability, and the public health of our most vulnerable communities. We must do all we can to maintain connectivity to the resources people need the most: jobs, health care, and healthy foods.

Essential workers, people with disabilities, and young people rely on public transit. The Central Maryland Transportation Alliance and Bikemore are committed to working with MTA to ensure these schedule changes do not leave our most vulnerable residents behind.

There will be an opportunity for public comment. We encourage those impacted by the changes to make their voices heard. We will be communicating additional information as it becomes available. 

Written August 31, 2020 as a press release.

Detours Done Well

In the infrastructure world, it’s called “Maintenance of Traffic.” Really, it’s just a detour. And traditionally, it’s something that’s been awful in Baltimore.

We’ve all experienced it. You’re riding down a protected bike lane, and suddenly there’s construction blocking the lane and nowhere for you to go. Or you’re walking down a sidewalk and suddenly there’s a sign that says “sidewalk closed, use other side” but no crosswalk or curb cut to get you there.

It’s against the law to do this. Baltimore City Department of Transportation has Maintenance of Traffic regulations for contractors that require them to provide a safe detour around construction that closes sidewalks and bike lanes. This usually means closing the adjacent car parking or travel lane to allow pedestrians or bicyclists to use it to go around the construction. But in practice, this rarely happens. Instead, we see dangerous closures like this:

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Baltimore City Department of Transportation needs more and better trained inspectors to regularly issue fines for this kind of illegal, dangerous work. And, our city needs to aggressively collect those fines from some of our biggest offenders. The agency is working on a new street cuts manual, and we have advocated for increased fines and more diligent inspections, as well as for the additional resources the agency needs to follow through.

But we also wanted to use this post to show some examples of great maintenance of traffic implementations—exactly the kind of work that contractors should be doing and Baltimore City Department of Transportation should be demanding.

The first is the utility work along the Jones Falls Trail on Falls Road by the Baltimore Streetcar Museum. On prior trail-adjacent projects like the Druid Hill Reservoir tank construction and the Edmondson Avenue bridge replacement, trails were and continue to be closed without detour for years. Contrast that failure with Falls Road, where the street was closed to car traffic and a detour was created to ensure the Jones Falls Trail remains accessible:

Falls Road Maintenance of Traffic

Another recent example is the Harbor Promenade closure for construction by Aliceanna and Wolfe Streets. In the past, the promenade has been closed for construction without adequate detours. At first, this closure looked like it would be a similar situation. But thanks to advocacy from neighbors, community associations, Councilman Zeke Cohen, and Delegate Brooke Lierman, a high quality, physically separated detour was put in place along Aliceanna Street for people biking, walking, and rolling.

Aliceanna Maintenance of Traffic

We’re happy to see great examples of proper, safe detours adjacent to construction being implemented in Baltimore City, as the law requires. And, we will continue to advocate for more resources for Baltimore City Department of Transportation so they can adequately enforce quality work in our roadways.

Slow Streets Update

On Monday, Baltimore City began rolling out a citywide #SlowStreets program, thanks to legislation introduced by Council President/Democrat nominee for Mayor Brandon Scott and passed unanimously by Baltimore City Council. 

#SlowStreets are a public health response to the pandemic, closing streets to speeding traffic using the street as a short-cut while still allowing local traffic, deliveries, parking, and emergency vehicle access. The goal is to allocate more street space for people walking, biking, and recreating while traffic volumes are lower and physical distancing is required due to COVID-19. 

#SlowStreets are being rolled out district-by-district, with about 8 miles to be completed this week. The City will continue installations until they meet the 25-mile minimum outlined in the legislation. Then, they will conduct an evaluation period to determine next steps, which could include swapping streets or expanding the program. In all, the city has identified more than 65 miles of candidate streets, and has taken numerous additional submissions from community members and community associations.

When we first called for #SlowStreets treatments in April, we recommended equitable implementation, robust community input, and transparent evaluation. While the legislation highlighted the need for equitable implementation, the mayor’s (ultimately unfulfilled) threat of veto forced BCDOT to begin this process late, which presented an additional barrier to robust community input. 

We will continue to monitor implementation of #SlowStreets, and encourage Baltimore City Department of Transportation to work with advocates and community partners to program #SlowStreets so neighbors understand the purpose of the re-allocated space and can fully participate in the benefits that additional space provides.

The National Association of City Transportation Officials has released a guide for Streets for Pandemic Response and Recovery that details potential programming for re-allocated street space. Baltimore City has taken many of these recommendations into account for programming outdoor dining and retail spaces through Design for Distancing. We need a similar focus on these residential installations, and real resources for communities so they can utilize these spaces safely for physically distanced play, outdoor schooling, community gathering, protest, and more. 

Other cities have used the #SlowStreets opportunity to count residents for the Census, distribute meals to seniors and youth, provide pop-up health services and COVID testing, and create spaces for play when parks or playgrounds are not nearby. 

We hope Baltimore City will use this as an opportunity to think comprehensively about “Complete Streets” and use a multi-agency approach to ensure the success of #SlowStreets through programming and subsequent evaluation.

Slow Streets Launch!

In April, we wrote “It’s past time to close some streets,” arguing that Baltimore City should follow guidance from the National Association of City Transportation Officials and faculty from the Bloomberg School of Public Health to immediately repurpose some street space away from parking and close some streets to through traffic as a pandemic response. Since that time, even more cities have implemented these measures to provide additional physical distancing space for residents on city streets. 

In May, Baltimore City Council unanimously passed legislation introduced by Council President Brandon Scott to implement at least 25 miles of slow streets with an equity lens within all 14 council districts. The legislation has gone unsigned by Mayor Young, but goes into effect without signature or veto after three regular council meetings. 

Since this deadline is fast approaching, Baltimore City Department of Transportation has officially announced their Slow Streets Program in response to the legislation. 

From the Baltimore City Department of Transportation press release: 

Over the next two weeks, BCDOT will begin to implement the citywide Slow Streets program which will include temporary “Road Closed: Local Traffic Only” signage on barricades to discourage cut-through traffic. The barricades used on selected streets will decrease traffic volumes to provide safer streets for physically distant walking, wheelchair rolling, jogging, and biking across the city.

The new Slow Street Program is credited to the passing of the Temporary Street Space for Pedestrians and Cyclists Bill 20-0532 and Slow Streets Pilot Program, which includes three locations across the city at Druid Hill Park, Lake Montebello, and Patterson Park. The new Slow Street Program will give residents more space to social distance and is designed to promote social distancing efforts for essential exercise and moving around town.  Since the city council passed Bill 20-0532, BCDOT has identified nearly 65-miles citywide of potential Slow Streets and will work with each City Councilmember to seek input from and prioritize the 25-miles mandated by the City Council.

In addition to identifying 65-miles of potential Slow Streets, BCDOT will begin accepting potential Slow Street nominations from residents across the City of Baltimore. All nominations must meet BCDOT’s Slow Streets criteria and will require sponsorship from their respective Councilperson in order to be approved for implementation. There will be an evaluation period 30 days after 25-miles of Slow Streets have been installed across the city. Baltimore City residents will be able to provide official comments and provide feedback.

Drivers should only use a designated Slow Street if their destination is within two blocks of that street. Residents, emergency vehicles, deliveries, and trash collection vehicles still have access to Slow Streets. Streets with bus routes are not eligible for a Slow Streets designation.

Click here to visit the BCDOT Slow Streets page and FAQ, and if you would like to request BCDOT consider a slow street in your neighborhood, you can fill out an interest form by clicking here.

We look forward to examining proposed implementations as more information becomes available, and will continue to hold the city accountable to the legislation’s intent to design and implement Slow Streets equitably. This includes using signage and barricades for closures, without any use of police enforcement.

It's Past Time to Close Some Streets

Oakland Slow Streets will close 74 miles of streets--10% of the city street network--to through traffic to promote social distancing.

Berlin, Bogotá, Brookline, Burlington, Calgary, Charleston, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Duluth, Edmonton, London, Louisville, Maumee, Minneapolis, Montgomery County, Montreal, New York City, Oakland, Ottawa, Philadelphia, Portland, Saint Paul, San Francisco, St. Louis, Stuttgart, Vancouver, Victoria, Vienna, Washington, DC.

These are just some examples of cities actively closing streets in parks or adding space on streets for people walking and biking to promote safe physical distancing.

Baltimore has come together in many amazing ways in the COVID-19 response. Inter-agency collaboration to get meals to residents is just one success. We need that same level of collaboration and vision from the mayor’s office on transportation. The mayor’s office should instruct Baltimore City Department of Transportation to coordinate with other agencies on a plan that reorganizes street space.

We live in an old city with narrow sidewalks, park paths, and other structural issues that make physical distancing as a pedestrian or bicyclist difficult. Physical distancing must be taken seriously, and the city must take steps to add space for pedestrians and bicyclists in our parks and on our roads to keep residents safe.

30% of our city lacks access to a car. In our formerly red-lined communities, lack of access to a car can be over 70%. 39% of our transit riders are essential workers, folks who must go to work during the pandemic and are walking to and from their transit stops every day. The number one origin and destination for scooter trips right now is Johns Hopkins Hospital. And, our parks are filled to the brim with people just trying to get out of the house for healthy exercise.

Based on these statistics, the plan should prioritize pedestrian and bike routes to job hubs and recreation, utilize the Baltimore Complete Streets equity assessment for route selection, and include input from hospitals, unions, and other essential employers as well as organizations distributing food and other essential goods. And, we must pay careful attention to what enforcement looks like, as no street closure should involve policing.

The National Association of City Transportation Officials agrees. They have released a COVID-19 Rapid Response Toolkit for cities, detailing actions in the transportation sector that should be taken right now to help prevent the spread of disease. 

The NACTO recommendations call for pop-up bike lanes, conversion of signals so pedestrians don’t need to push buttons, adjusting signal timing to slow cars, and most importantly, closing or limiting through traffic on select streets for physical distancing. 

We hope to see the mayor’s office instruct the Department of Transportation to coordinate with other agencies to implement NACTO’s Rapid Response Toolkit. The life safety of Baltimore City’s residents—a population particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 due to high rates of asthma, obesity, and other underlying health conditions from lack of access to exercise and poor air quality—is depending on their swift action.