Besides the cost of providing these parking spaces, there are several other problems with Baltimore’s free parking program for certain employees. First, providing this free parking increases the use of single occupancy vehicles (SOVs). Since many of the employees provided free parking are located in the downtown core, SOV commuters contribute to significant downtown gridlock each day. While Baltimore’s transit and biking networks are weak overall, downtown is very well served by light rail, metro, and bus service operating in dedicated lanes, as well as the city’s main protected or separated bike routes. If a significant number of Baltimore City employees used alternative modes to reach work each day, traffic for every downtown commuter would improve, and transit service, often stuck in traffic, would improve as well (thus attracting more riders.)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aIKP2O1yfryzsksX80jAij8erZ1qv-pn/view
Provide free public transportation for Baltimore’s youth. Provide it 100% of the time, even when young people aren’t traveling between home, school, and work. They have writing workshops to attend. Friends to visit. Museums to explore. As City Councilman Ryan Dorsey said at a City Council hearing on December 12, 2016, the “American Dream is built on freedom to move. When we restrict transit, it is nothing less than a restriction of that dream.” As is, Baltimore City Public School high school students can use their school-issued S-Pass for transit home from school until 8 PM on weeknights. They have no access on weekends. In 2016, I surveyed 61 Baltimore City youth about how these limited hours affect their lives. When asked, “Has the lack of post 8 P.M. S-Pass access affected your ability to work or engage in extracurricular activities?”, 95% of students responded in the affirmative.
http://baltimorebeat.com/2020/01/11/new-year-new-city-the-people-of-baltimore-offer-resolutions-for-the-city-in-2020/
