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. 

My last day at Bikemore, my parting ask to you

Today is my last day as Bikemore’s Executive Director.

Feeling nostalgic, I went through my old files and found my original offer letter dated March 29, 2015. Completely unplanned and immensely poetic, I’m leaving on the exact date I accepted the position six years ago.

The recognition Bikemore has received over the past six years has been humbling and something I take deep pride in. From our influence on policy, opportunities to travel, and national awards, these experiences were wild and always felt outsized for what was supposed to be a small local bike advocacy organization, one where I began as the sole employee.

My story at Bikemore turned out to be much bigger. There was tragedy. In the past six years I have mourned the loss of six people killed while riding their bike. There was joy. Celebrating the completion of the Maryland Avenue Cycletrack and the Big Jump--both award winning infrastructure projects. There were major wins. The drama that ensued in the fight to keep the Potomac Street bike lane is the stuff of legends. Complete Streets becoming law will transform Baltimore’s streets far into the future.

I’m grateful for all of the support these past six years. I’m awestruck and indebted to Bikemore’s talented staff. I am especially grateful for Jed Weeks, who has been more like a compatriot than a coworker and who will be taking on the important role of Interim Executive Director while Bikemore launches a national search for my replacement.

Bikemore’s future success depends on all of us chipping in, so this is my final ask to you: help me shore up my legacy and sign up for a monthly donation right now.

This forms makes a donation to our 501(c)(4), our greatest need. To donate to our 501(c)(3), donate on this page.

Over 100 people already give monthly. If we were to get just 400 more, a third of Bikemore’s operations would be fully funded. So $5, $10, or $20 a month is all it takes.

We even made a cool animation to demonstrate how these donations add up:

Thank you for giving. Thank you for a wonderful six years. Bike people are the best people.

Liz Cornish

Liz Cornish to depart Bikemore after six years

Today we announce that after six years of service, Liz Cornish is stepping down from her role as Executive Director of Bikemore. Liz joined Bikemore as the sole staff person in 2015 and has since grown the organization to four full time and two part time staff members. 

Bikemore is now considered a leader in transportation policy and has received local and national recognition for our work during Liz’s tenure. She has made the city a safer place to walk, bike and use transit, all while being an exemplary community advocate and coalition builder. Liz will be missed, but we are grateful for her contributions to Bikemore and Baltimore. This is an exciting time for both Liz and for our organization. We look forward to our continued growth to serve the residents of Baltimore, and to continue partnering with Liz in our important work.

In April, Liz will join South Baltimore Gateway Partnership as the Enhanced Services Director where she will work with South Baltimore communities to strengthen and improve neighborhood parks, public spaces, and recreation programs. She is especially looking forward to her continued involvement in the creation of the Baltimore Greenway Trails Network. South Baltimore Gateway Partnership serves as a lead partner in the development of the Middle Branch portion of the 35-mile trail loop. 

The Board of Bikemore celebrates the amazing contributions Liz Cornish has delivered for Baltimore area residents, accelerating advocacy for a more equitable and livable city for all. Under her leadership the organization has more than doubled, both in size and impact, with Liz advocating for safe access to our shared public spaces and roadways, piloting innovative projects like the Big Jump, pivoting Bikemore to deliver food during the pandemic, advancing transportation policy across the region, and ushering in the landmark Complete Streets bill to ensure prioritization of pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit users in planning and roadway design for Baltimore City. The impact of her leadership cannot be overstated.

As Liz transitions to her new role, Bikemore board and staff will be working in the coming weeks to ensure continuity of operations and initiate a search for a new Executive Director. We look forward to continued collaboration with Liz as well as the South Baltimore Gateway Partnership as we work to build a more connected Baltimore.

From the Bikemore's Board of Directors

Patrice Kingsley, President
Jim Brown, Vice President 
Ashiah Parker, Treasurer
Lily Mitchell, Secretary
Danielle Ford, Kyle Harrer, Collin Hayward, Christian Kansler, Drew Smith, and David Wolfe 

Complete Streets is finally law: this is how we won.

Ten years ago, Complete Streets was an empty promise on a sheet of paper. Citizens across the city lacked access to reliable and safe transportation. Poor road construction led to numerous bike injuries. Cyclists and pedestrians alike were vulnerable and unprotected. And these issues considerably worsened in formerly red-lined communities of color. 

We knew that if we wanted a better city for bicycling, we needed to strengthen Complete Streets. So that’s what we began working on: in 2016, we partnered with Councilman Ryan Dorsey to create an equity-oriented, safer, and more efficient piece of legislation. 

 This led to one of Baltimore City’s largest re-write of city laws ever. We started by completely changing the hierarchy of the street, placing pedestrians, cyclists, and public transit before cars. This eventually became the Complete Streets manual, a legal street design document that places safety and equity first. Yesterday, the manual was finally adopted as law under Mayor Scott’s leadership. 

This manual, developed by Graham Young in Baltimore City Department of Transportation alongside transportation consultants and using the guidance of the National Association of City Transportation Officials is one of the most progressive Complete Streets documents in the country.

Complete Streets was a huge overhaul, and we didn’t do alone. Residents spoke up and shared how safe and accessible stress were crucial to their neighborhoods. A massive coalition of other organizations helped us reach out to new neighborhoods and gather more support. And most importantly, Bikemore supporters like you helped to fund the entire journey.

We wanted to share this story with you, because we would not have won Complete Streets without you. All of our work coalition building, lobbying, strategizing with legislators through our 501(c)4) was completely and only funded by individual supporters like you. Your support has led to protected bike lanes, new bike trails, dedicated transit lanes, and demanded citywide improvements that benefit everyone in Baltimore. You are the author of this story. 

Without your support, we would have no victory story to tell. 

Can you help us keep pushing for change?

Start a recurring donation to Bikemore in Action today.

Policy Q&A with Jed: Recap

The past two weeks, our Policy Director Jed answered your questions on Instagram. In case you missed it, here’s a recap of the Q&A. We’ll be hosting these Q&A sessions every other week, so you can join us to ask your policy questions on Instagram next on March 2-3!

What’s stopping us from stenciling look out for cyclists and other visibility stencils on streets and sidewalks?

Nothing! The Department of Transportation has a Right-of-Way Community Art program that you can apply for, but examples of unpermitted DIY stencils are all over Baltimore. (Like all of the trail markers!)

Rate the maglev on a scale of one to ten.

One is the worst right? One. But seriously, fix what we have first. (Read more on my twitter).

Explain the City’s process of evaluating removal of parking lanes for bike lanes.

The new Complete Streets manual ranks the overall roadway priorities as follows: 1) Walking, 2) Cycling/Public Transit/Micromobility, 3) Taxi/Commercial Transit/Shared vehicles, 4) Single occupant automobiles. It also creates ranked priorities of street zones based on land use/road typology. The full rationale is explained in the manual, which you can read here.

What are some advocacy materials for bike lanes on major arterials? Safe, direct routes even if it’s not cheap or easy!

We advocated for the adoption of the Baltimore City Separated Lane Network Plan in 2015. It measured traffic stress levels of city streets to make a base map of where protected lanes were needed on arterials or elsewhere. From ti we got a “skeleton” fo separated lanes that would connect 85% of Baltimore neighborhoods.

The whole thing — connecting 85% of Baltimore neighborhoods to high quality bike facilities — would cost less than we usually spend on a single road project. We want it built.

What is a “high quality bike facility”?

Something that people ages 8 to 80 feel safe riding on. Or in other words, something people of all ages and abilities will use.

What are some of Bikemore’s policy and project priorities of 2021?

Reduce or eliminate car parking requirements that make housing unaffordable. Allow denser housing so people can more easily access opportunity. Get city employees transit passes or let them take cash in their paycheck instead of a parking subsidy. Pass the transit safety & investment act in Annapolis, fully funding repairs to our failing MTA system. 40% of MTA riders are essential workers, nearly the highest % in the country. Our essential workers and all transit riders deserve a safe and reliable system.

Advocate for the design and construction of the Greenway Trails Network and the Separated Lane Network

What happened to all the Slow Streets signs?

The City has removed the barriers during program evaluation, in part because they were poorly designed and easy to destroy. The City has allocated funding to buy more substantial/durable barriers for the Spring. The evaluation will focus in part on building community support to reduce vandalism.

What are some of the biggest lobbying priorities that Baltimore residents can engage with right now?

Tell Senator President Ferguson and your State Senator and Delegates to support eh Transit Safety & Investment Act. You can do so here:

Support legislation that increase density and housing affordability by allowing apartment conversions and undoes policies routed in explicit racism and anti-renter sentiment.

How can we streamline the process of building on-road facilities corresponding to the new portion of the Jones Falls Trail to Mt. Washington?

We’re working with the East Coast Greenway on ideas for connections on street in Mt. Washington. Before the Complete Streets law existed, community members fought building separated lanes on Kelly Ave. The law would prevent that. But only when a new project/resurfacing comes up.

Lake Montebello has been an absolute delight without cars. Can/will it say that way forever?

Yes it can! Both are supportive of keeping the closure.

What are the most immediate improvement we sill start seeing as a result of Complete Streets?

Already we’ve seen:

• President St. lane upgrade with flex posts

• Greenspring Ave upgrade with flex posts

• Better crosswalks by default

Soon:

• trail or protected bike lanes on Patapsco Ave.

• Safe crossing of Hanover Street bridge

What will Complete Streets make possible in Baltimore that wasn’t before?

A ton. Everything in this manual is now enforceable by law. Before it was enforceable by whomever yelled the loudest. Here’s an example: specific guidelines for bike facility selection we now must follow (see page ___). Legally enforceable, data-driven guidance.

Can we be optimistic that the pace of street redesigns will pick up in the next few years?

Definitely, it’s a priority of Mayor Scott. DOT has allocated real money to vision zero and quick builds to improve safety. And now it’s the law.

Any updates on the Big Jump?

City evaluation report is due soon. City says it shows much higher usage than parallel routes and has no impact to travel times for cars. A total redesign plan is coming, and the barriers will be upgraded to concrete mid-term when digging in the road is done.

Is there hope for a more bike-friendly 33rd St.?

Yes! DOT has a grant to begin design on two Olmsted Parkways (33rd St. and Gwynns Falls Parkway) this year!. The Olmsted Parkways were intended to connect people to nature and parks by all modes of transport. Median Pathways and wide sidewalks were standard since most people din’t drive at the time.

Baltimore’s Olmsted Parkways plan came to fruition at the peak of early automobile growth. Grand designs were scaled back tot he corridors we see today. But historic documents can show us the Olmsted intent. And like the firm’s other projects nationwide, they were “complete streets.” The Gwynns Falls Parkway plan included a median trail for walkers, bikers, and people on horseback to safely travel from Leakin Park to Druid Hill Park.

On 33rd St., property owners demanded a scaled back plan from the original grand vision. On a field visit, Olmsted architect PR Jones scaled back the original plan. But even in the scaled back version, his field sketch included a trail through the center of a 40 ft median.

The goal of DOT design work will be to build a full 35-mile trail loop, connecting our major parks like the original Olmsted vision. 33rd is a key component. The trail didn’t get installed 100 years ago, but we can fix that now.

What’s the potential for better snow removal on trails? Bike lanes have been pretty good this year.

We have the technology available! But a lot of the trails are Rec and Parks responsibility, and they have severe resource constraints. We’re advocating DOT take on more trail clearance

What can be done about all the vehicles parking in the Maryland Ave bike lane?

Enforcement has been pretty spotty because of COVID. 311 every incident you see.

How can I get involved in bike advocacy?

Keep following us and sign up for emails on bikemore.net! We post asks regularly and will have events to gather when it’s safe.