COSTELLO INTRODUCES BILL TO KEEP CYCLISTS SAFE
Councilman Eric T. Costello introduced legislation aimed at keeping cyclists safe. The bill does two key things: 1) it increases the penalty for blocking a bike lane with a motor vehicle; and 2) makes this a towable offense.
Bikemore, the premier cyclist advocacy group in Baltimore City has expressed their support for the legislation. You can learn more about Bikemore’s advocacy efforts on their Website, Twitter, or Facebook.
Cross St Market Revitalization Not Moving Forward
I am very disappointed with the conclusion that Cross St Market will not be revitalized. For a variety of reasons, Caves Valley Partners (CVP) has made the difficult decision to not move forward with the project. Dating back to my time as a community president, this was one of the top issues our neighborhood fought for. After being sworn in to office, it became a top priority of mine and I have worked tirelessly ever since to help get this project across the finish line.
Public-private partnerships on municipal markets are extremely complex and challenging. Funding must be cobbled together from multiple public and private sources and margins are extremely thin. The fact that CVP was the only team to respond to the RFP demonstrates truly how challenging this effort was.
I would like to thank the members of the Cross St Market Advisory Committee for selflessly volunteering your time and effort along the way, all with the best interest of our collective neighborhoods at heart. The Baltimore Public Markets Corporation should be commended for shifting their paradigm and embracing the public-private partnership model. Lastly, thank you to CVP and Arsh Mirmiran for giving your best effort. Despite how risky and financially unattractive this deal was, your willingness to try this far exceeded what should have been expected.
FBaltimore Sun Coverage: “Firm planning overhaul of Cross Street Market in Federal Hill walks away”
UPCOMING WATER BILLING CHANGES FOR 1 INCH METERS
I am writing today with what is hopefully welcome news regarding the new water billing infrastructure fees. In short, if you have a $60.88 monthly infrastructure fee (due to having a 1″ water meter), it is being reduced to $28.22, resulting in monthly savings of $32.66, or annual savings of $391.92. While I recognize that the solution is not ideal, I believe it is far fairer and provides much needed relief. This will inevitably increase our ability to retain residents and help continue to grow our City. Please see below the following: 1) background on water billing changes; 2) impact on single family dwelling units; 3) steps I took to work with the Mayor’s Office and DPW; 4) details on the solution; and 5) next steps. Read more
