Tonight, speak up about North Ave Rising!

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Tonight is the first meeting about North Avenue Rising. We hope you'll make it out, even if you can't make it until after work!

Here are the main points we'd like you to make:

1. North Avenue Rising must have separated, dedicated transit lanes throughout the entire project corridor.

2. North Avenue Rising must have separated, dedicated bicycle lanes at minimum between Pennsylvania Avenue and Broadway, where there is high density, frequent bus service, and a wider right-of-way.

3. North Avenue Rising must have a road diet, calming the street and allowing space for high quality bike and transit lanes while maintaining parking for businesses.

4. These requirements should lead to North Avenue Rising including center-running transit, which will further spur economic development and transit growth on North Avenue, and allow for a potential rail transit future for North Avenue once that growth demands it.

There are community meetings Monday through Thursday this week for you to attend. We're encouraging folks to #filltheroom at Monday night's meeting, but we encourage you to attend whichever meeting you're able to.

Monday, November 13, 2017
4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Impact Hub
10 East North Avenue

Tuesday, November 14, 2017
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Bluford/KASA at Walbrook
2000 Edgewood Street

Wednesday, November 15, 2017
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Rita R. Church Community Center
2101 Saint Lo Drive

Thursday, November 16, 2017
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Parkview Recreation Center
2610 Francis Street

>> Want to know more about North Ave Rising? More about the project and our take.

Complete Streets Introduced to Council Tonight

At tonight’s Baltimore City Council meeting, Councilman Ryan Dorsey will introduce a Complete Streets ordinance. Complete Streets are streets designed to prioritize the safety of all people using the street over the speed of moving cars. This legislation was a priority for Bikemore and a strong part of Councilman Dorsey’s campaign platform.

This will be the first Complete Streets ordinance in the country that is centered around equity — in a deliberate attempt to begin to undo decades of structurally racist planning that has promoted car commuting from surrounding counties over mobility for city residents. 

Over the past year, we have been building a broad coalition supporting Complete Streets. We’ve met with and are proud to have support from a host of community groups, including CASA de Maryland, No Boundaries Coalition, Old Goucher Community Association, and Original Northwood Association. Statewide organizations like Maryland Builders Industry Association have signed on. And, we have national support from groups like the AARP and Safe Routes to School, who recognize the importance of complete streets to aging in place and getting our kids to school. To date, we've met with more than two dozen community associations, a dozen trade groups, national advocacy partners, and key city agencies.

We plan to take our time stewarding this bill toward passage. There will be multiple public work sessions on the legislation, and we will continue our neighborhood tours introducing Complete Streets to residents across the city. Our coalition will grow, and we want your support.

We will be providing updates on the legislation and the growth of our coalition, including a recap of tonight's meeting, at www.baltimorecompletestreets.com. 

Please visit today and take the pledge to support complete streets in your neighborhood!

Action Alert: Yes on SB 0338, No on HB 1079

The Maryland General Assembly's Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee has two bills in front of it that you should take action on. 

SB 0338 allows HAWK Signals to improve pedestrian safety in Maryland. The Washington Area Bicyclist Association has a good write-up on why this legislation is important and how HAWK signals will--and could have already--saved lives.

HB 1079 gives local jurisdictions the authority to impose additional penalties for people who improperly cross the street. Read our post here for more information on why this is a bad idea.

The Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee has no representatives from Baltimore City, but we encourage you to email them anyway in support of SB 0338 and in opposition to the cross filed version of HB 1079 that they will soon hear in committee.

HB 1079 and the History of Jaywalking

In the Maryland General Assembly this session, Delegate McMillan of Anne Arundel County introduced House Bill 1079, which seeks to give local jurisdictions the authority to create a civil penalty for crossing outside of a crosswalk.

Staff from McMillan's office explained that this is in response to heavy tourist traffic in Annapolis. They believe being able to ticket tourists that cross outside of a crosswalk will improve pedestrian safety.

The bill is currently in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, after being passed on the floor of the House yesterday. Click here to tell the committee to vote NO on this bill.

Jaywalking has a storied past. In short, as cars became more prolific in cities, and death by automobile soared, communities sought to find solutions and penalties for drivers who recklessly endangered the public.

The automobile lobby fought back with a coordinated public relations effort that blamed the people who had been using roads for centuries, not the newest invention on the roadway. AAA began an "education campaign" in schools. The Boy Scouts were employed to hand out pamphlets on street corners. 

The automobile lobby won, and their message prevailed: It was the people walking who were in the wrong, they should get out of the way of cars, and if they refused they should be punished with fines or even jail time.

In the 1990's and early 2000's focus on jaywalking re-emerged as cities like New York and Baltimore used jaywalking as a way to target individuals for Terry Stops through broken windows policing. Studies now prove when you criminalize the behavior of vulnerable road users like people walking and biking, it disproportionately impacts communities of color. Layering fines in the name of safety compounds the challenges facing our communities instead of making them safer.

Back to HB 1079: if pedestrian safety is the aim, why not advocate for designing roads that reduce pedestrian injury and fatalities by lowering vehicle speed and adding sidewalks, safe crossings, and adequate lighting? Or pass out of the very same Judicial Proceedings Committee SB 0338, which would allow HAWK Signals in Maryland, a very real improvement that can be made for pedestrian safety?

Communities across the state are working hard to make places safer for biking and walking. It's good for public health, mobility, and the economy. Let's work harder on that, and let a 100 year old strategy rooted in racist and classist policy that unfairly penalizes Maryland residents and visitors for crossing the street die in committee.

Take Action on these Bills!

Next Action Steps for Repealing the Farebox Recovery Mandate

Over the last couple of weeks, you wrote to your delegates in the House to tell them to repeal the farebox recovery mandate.

The farebox recovery mandate is a state rule that says 35% of the total operating costs for MTA's Baltimore area services must be recovered from fares and other revenues. This forces MTA to be regressive, it stifles ingenuity in route planning and service delivery, and it prevents forward thinking conversations around public transport from occurring. 

Thanks to your action on the House side, this issue is now coming up for vote in the Senate, and we once again are calling on you to take action. The vote should take place today, so send your email now!
 

Tell your Senator to vote yes on SB 484 using the form below!

→ Read more about the farebox recovery mandate.