This year, Bike Maryland did heroic work to increase bikeways funding. At current levels, it will take 369 years to build all the bikeways in the plan, but Bike Maryland convinced legislators to pass a bill to increase that from ~$2 million to $3.8 million a year (which still means hundreds of years). Then Governor Hogan vetoed it on May 24th.
In addition to the Bikeways funding, the bill the Governor vetoed helped to ensure that the creation of a much-needed transit plan for Central Maryland was informed by residents and leaders in the region.
Since the cancellation of the Red Line in 2015, Central Maryland has been without a transit plan to help guide transit investment and projects. HB 1281 would have clarified and strengthened elements of the 2018 law that mandated the Regional Transit Plan. Governor Hogan’s veto indicates that he is not seriously interested in creating a robust transit plan that would allow for an expansion of the light rail, MARC, and bus service that is needed throughout Central Maryland.
The veto can be overridden next year.
Please click on this link and email your representatives in Annapolis and tell them to override the veto when they go into session in 2020.
Despite the veto, this is a success as it gets them two votes away from victory.
In addition, the Maryland Legislature passed a Vision Zero bill that the Governor did sign.
specifying the purpose and goal of Vision Zero; requiring the Department of Transportation to designate a coordinator to oversee the implementation of Vision Zero; requiring the coordinator, in implementing Vision Zero, to collaborate with certain entities; requiring that the implementation of Vision Zero include certain strategies; requiring that the funding for Vision Zero be as provided by the Governor in the State budget; requiring the Department to submit a certain report to the Governor and the General Assembly on or before a certain date each year; requiring the Department to make a certain report available on its website; defining certain terms; and generally relating to the establishment of Vision Zero.
They also expanded the Complete Streets policy to include access to healthy foods; worked with the Sierra Club to pass a Transportation and Climate Initiative bill that authorizes the Governor to include Maryland in any regional governmental initiative, agreement, or compact that limits or reduces greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector.
Other bills did not fare as well. A Vulnerable User bill passed the house, but not the Senate as did a bill removing the "narrow road exception" to the 3 foot passing law.
All in all, there's a lot to build on there, but still more work to do.
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