Affordable and convenient transit is crucial for the long-term vitality of any economy. In and around Baltimore, we face mammoth transit challenges that require truly visionary and collaborative thinking to solve.
Regional Transit Authority
I support re-establishing a regional transit authority to ensure local input into regional transit decision-making.
Enhanced pedestrian access Druid Park
Baltimore’s public treasures, such as Druid Hill Park and Jones Falls, are encircled or covered by busy freeways that threaten pedestrians, discourage outdoor recreation, and threaten public safety. We also have changing values and behaviors around what cars we purchase and how much we drive. And, as we age, our mobility changes too.
The pathways to Druid Park have been neglected and falling into disrepair for years. We must honor community voices. I support sincerely and authentically delivering first on the changes that residents have been demanding for years. This includes repaired sidewalks, trash receptacles, consistent clean-up, and beautiful landscaping. And I fully support multi-modal pathways that would encourage exercise, allow for safer access, and bolster Druid Hill Park as a regional treasure.
We must make Baltimore’s iconic Druid Park safe for pedestrians and connect it to the harbor and to Clifton Park. Simultaneously, we should be identifying and immediately enhancing appropriate routes for quick east-west access across the city, ensuring a vital route for West Baltimore residents to access all parts of our incredible city.
Redline
Of course, we need to build the redline.
Expanded and improved underground tunnels
We also need to maintain the Marc train and improve the underground tunnels that both Marc and Amtrak use.
It is crucial that we sacrifice to preserve our historic neighborhoods while we repair and upgrade underground train tunnels. The choice is by no means a zero-sum game. We must preserve our neighborhoods and protect homes, while expanding the tunnels.
Maglev
If the Maglev project were to revive, I support bringing the Maglev all the way into Baltimore City, provided that it can be done in a manner that does not disrupt Black working-class communities. The Maglev will not do what is hoped for or needed for the Northeastern corridor or for Baltimore City if it touches only the perimeter and, on a permanent basis, many trains bypass the stop altogether.
The Maglev should come into the heart of the city so that it can be more accessible and life-changing for all. The price of Maglev monthly passes should be capped at a percentage of household income to ensure affordability for the working class. The proposed $70 Maglev ticket matched the cost of a ride-share between Baltimore and DC. Under that scenario, the economics did not yet work. When the economics work for the working class, the Maglev will work for all.
As your delegate, my value would be that for transit to work, it must work for the working class and for older adults.
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