To: Michelle Pourciau, Director, Department of Transportation

From: Citizens of Mount Vernon, as undersigned

CC: Eric Costello, Councilman District 11; Robert Stokes, Sr., Councilman District 12; Kim Morton, Chief of Staff, Office of the Mayor; Frank Murphy, Senior Advisor, Department of Transportation

Subject: Traffic conditions and transportation initiatives affecting Mount Vernon – REPLY REQUESTED

Ms. Pourciau:

We hope this letter finds you well. We wish to share our concerns regarding the dangerous and unpleasant conditions that car traffic creates in our neighborhood of Mount Vernon. We request that the City take action to remedy and mitigate these conditions by completing the four projects identified in this letter.

Mount Vernon is one of Baltimore’s most beautiful, diverse, and vibrant communities. With nearly 10,000 residents and dozens of businesses and cultural attractions, it is also one of the city’s most populous and visited neighborhoods. We love our home, our neighbors, and all the qualities that make Mount Vernon a unique, urban place.

Mount Vernon’s central location and proximity to downtown also make it one of the city’s most traversed neighborhoods. For many commuters traveling north and south, east and west, Mount Vernon is simply a place to get through quickly. For decades, the City has prioritized the interests of commuters over those of our community. Car traffic traveling through Mount Vernon takes precedent over the people and businesses that reside here. Consequently, our streets are often unsafe and unpleasant. Speeding and aggressive driving are constant; crashes are predictable; injury to person and property are increasingly common.

We want the City’s help to make our neighborhood more livable, which will require a reversal of the transportation policies that have ignored our community’s interests at the expense of car traffic. Accordingly, we urge the City to move forward on the following projects, which are delayed or have been placed on indefinite hold:

1. Conversion of St. Paul and Calvert Streets to two-way traffic;
2. Completion of the Downtown Bicycle Network;
3. Installation of School Zones to serve primary and secondary schools; and,
4. Closure of the temporary I-83 off-ramp at Mount Royal Ave.

These projects are not radical or controversial. They are sensible improvements that we have discussed and evaluated within our community over many years. Moving forward with the projects represents low-hanging fruit that begins to prioritize people over cars and neighborhoods over highways.

Accordingly, we kindly urge the City to complete these four priority projects. In the interim, we request an update on the status of each project and its timeline for completion. Please provide the update within 45 days via email to [email protected], so that we may share it with our neighbors.

Kindest regards,

Citizens of Mount Vernon, as undersigned