What does a parking cashout mean for Baltimore?

Written by Patrick Reid, UMBC student and Bikemore Intern

The Baltimore City Council passed an important new bill in March that could change how some city government employees commute. The new bill aims to study something known as a parking cashout.

Parking cashouts are an incredibly effective way to increase the use of alternative modes of commuting to work. Basically, parking cashouts give employees the cost of a dedicated parking spot as cash, allowing them to use the money to pay for alternative modes of transportation. Free parking at work is often an included employee benefit; this takes the value of parking to create incentive for using other modes of transportation. 

Enticing local business leaders to support sustainable initiative can sometimes seem like a daunting task, especially when many have their profit margins to consider. But a cashout program is a win-win situation. Employees receive a cash benefit,  and employers can save costs and even receive a tax credit. A study by the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) illustrates how these savings work in an example below. 

The table shows just how beneficial the parking cash out program would be for businesses who are looking to not only support sustainability and increase transit usage but also just cut down on their costs. By using the tax credit and maximizing the amount of money given to the employees who opt into the program the employer saves $7,500 while the employee makes an extra $50 a month or $600 over a year. 

The program is economically sound, but would it actually contribute to an increased use of alternative modes of commuting like bikes or transit?

According to a study in Washington D.C., it absolutely would. Looking at a sample of 987 Washington commuters who were faced with the prospect of not receiving free parking at their place of work, we see clearly some potential changes in behavior. For these commuters the options of biking or walking increased 15% while public transit usage increased by 31%. The number of commuters saying that they would get to work by “car alone” would fall by a staggering 50% to less than a quarter of surveyed commuters choosing to commute by car if the parking was not free!

What these numbers look like in practice is a cleaner, more connected city that can shift focus away from cars and instead on new modes of transportation like bikes and public transit. It means a more environmentally sustainable future and many more options for commuting. The Washington-based survey data in addition to the economic report from MDOT show the feasibility of a parking cash out program for all stakeholders involved.

While the current proposal only looks at the city government, a broader rollout of a cash out program could really make a big difference in Baltimore. What the city needs are bold new ideas and the courage to pursue them. This program could have a really meaningful impact if it was rolled out to more industries throughout Baltimore. We have the chance to transform the way that Baltimoreans commute, to make it environmentally conscious, safer and even put a little extra money into each paycheck in the process. 

Dockless Vehicle 2020 Update

Bikemore has supported the City’s Dockless Vehicle Program permit for e-scooters and bikes since before the pilot launched in 2018, writing the white paper that served as the basis for the pilot and supporting legislation to make the program permanent. 

While this year’s permit cycle was meant to end in August 2020, it has been on hold due to Maryland’s State of Emergency. So how has the scooter program been doing during pandemic times? 

Here are the highlights from the Department of Transportation’s latest update:

• Vehicle trips in 2020 decreased 55.6% from 2019. We also saw a shift from weekday rush-hour commute trips to midday/weekend usage. 

• Trips around the Inner Harbor, downtown, and at college/university campuses dropped significantly, while trips around parks and along transit corridors increased. 

• DOT used Dockless Vehicle Permit funds to perform an audit on bike facilities and completed work orders to replace 100 flex posts, convert two storm drains to be bicycle/scooter friendly, and added green paint to improve visibility at intersections.

• DOT is currently working on installing over twenty bike/scooter parking corrals around the city, prioritizing transit connections, reducing vandalism, and equity zones.

• After the State of Emergency is lifted, DOT will release an updated Rules and Regulations for the Dockless Vehicle permit for public comment before vendor applications open.

• Currently, SPIN and Lime are the only two dockless vehicle vendors in the city after Lime acquired JUMP and Bolt failed to meet permit requirements.

• Lime has re-launched JUMP bikes in the city, but the fleet is still quite small.

Also, Lime chose Bikemore as their “Lime Hero” partner back in September 2020! Riders can round up their rides to make a small donation to Bikemore and have the opportunity to learn about our work through the app.

Read the full memo from DOT here.

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.