MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. BOULEVARD RE-VISIONING PROJECT BUILDing Connections to Life’s Opportunities United States Application Department of Transportation Contact Information Project Information Better Utilizing Investments Michelle Pourciau Type: I. Project Description 1 to Leverage Development Director Capital II. Corridor Improvements and Planning 19 (BUILD) Transportation Improvements Baltimore City Department III. Project Support 21 Discretionary Grants Program of Transportation Location: IV. Project Funding 22 The Martin Luther Baltimore City, Offi ce: V. Merit Criteria 23 King, Jr. Boulevard (410) 396-6802 Maryland Re-Visioning Project VI. Project Readiness 26 Email: Congressional District: VII. Benefi t – Cost Analysis 28 Michelle.Pourciau@ MD Districts 3 and 7 VIII. Federal Wage Rate Certifi cation 29 baltimorecity.gov Urban Area Address: Funds Requested: 417 E. Fayette Street $5,000,000 5th Floor Baltimore, MD 21202 DUNS#: 0523409730000 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard Re-Visioning Project BUILDing Connections to Life’s Opportunities I. Project Description Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard’s design future needs of citizens by improving the in Baltimore continues to neglect the multi- scale of existing multi-modal linkages and modal transportation needs of its users. reconnect them to the many opportunities Up to 53 percent of West Baltimoreans in West Baltimore and downtown. do not have access to a car. The physical nature of the roadway perpetuates years The overarching goal of this BUILD grant of segregation and disinvestment in low is to provide funding for a re-envisioned income communities left untouched, MLK Boulevard. This project includes the thousands of Baltimoreans will continue to 1.5 mile MLK Boulevard corridor from miss out on life’s opportunities. Washington Boulevard to Howard Street and will create a “Complete Street”, for the The Baltimore City Department of transport of people and goods. Transportation (BCDOT) requests $5 million in Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) Transportation Discretionary grant funding Project Location to reconstruct Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) Boulevard as a multi-modal transportation facility that, instead of dividing West Baltimore will unite it. This will connect all of Baltimore to life’s opportunities. These funds represent 71 percent of the $7.04 million total project cost. This grant will enable BCDOT to better serve the MLK Boulevard in Baltimore basically creates a boundary between the midtown/downtown area and then black West Baltimore. Lawrence Brown Professor, Morgan State University “As quoted in CityLab article “The Other Side of MLK Boulevard” written by Tanvi Misra (April 11, 2018) I. Project Description 1 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard Re-Visioning Project BUILDing Connections to Life’s Opportunities The Boulevard currently creates a • New shared use path for bicyclist and route on Baltimore City’s Truck Route map. geographic divide between the historically pedestrians along the entire corridor. However, today goals for transportation minority and low-income neighborhoods in Baltimore have changed. Baltimore of West Baltimore and the downtown • Traffi c calming at key intersections. City no longer needs circumnavigation to center comprised of businesses, arts, • Enhanced landscape and avoid downtown; it needs to provide multi- hospitals and university institutions. The green space at key locations modal linkages. The roadway has created envisioned boulevard will connect people throughout the corridor. a physical and psychological barrier for to employment, health services, shopping, residents and visitors. housing, tourism, recreation and life’s • Pedestrian-scale safety improvements opportunities. By moving away from a along the entire corridor. THE ISSUES car-centric boulevard, MLK Boulevard will The project corridor is predominately become a truly equitable gateway for all BACKGROUND African American with 81 percent on the users. In the 1960’s and 1970’s, Baltimore, like West Baltimore neighborhood side of most major American cities, was reacting the MLK Boulevard and 61 percent on The Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard to the desire to connect the Interstate the downtown side. Additionally, the U.S. Re-Visioning project supports Mayor System and the need to connect suburbs Census data shown in the demographics Catherine Pugh’s Call to Action initiatives, to the urban employment base. The result table reveals a striking disparity in vacant by prioritizing public safety and uniting the was a plan to connect highways through housing, education, employment, poverty City’s residents, businesses, organizations, Baltimore: I-70 was to connect through level, and vehicle availability between the and agencies. The project features the West Baltimore to downtown, I-83 was to two sides of MLK Boulevard. following transportation improvements: connect north-south through the City, and both were to connect to I-95. Much of this The harsh design of MLK Boulevard • Roadway redesign and restriping system was constructed, but not all. MLK deters people from walking, cycling, and to maintain a state of good repair. Boulevard was constructed to create a by- using transit between neighborhoods • Sidewalk improvements, pass around the downtown, connecting and downtown. The roadway is wide with ADA-compliant curb ramps. I-83, Route 40, and I-395, enabling travelers unsafe pedestrian crossings at intersections to bypass Baltimore’s downtown. most crosswalks are inconsistent with Americans with the Disabilities Act (ADA) The Boulevard opened in 1982, and has compliance throughout the corridor. The served it’s purpose of creating greater posted speed for most of the roadway is Today MLK is a barrier between connectivity to interstates for which it was 35 MPH; however, it is not uncommon neighborhoods and downtown, a constructed. Not only does the Boulevard for vehicles to be traveling at signifi cantly contradiction to the unifying spirit provide an access point to pedestrians, greater speeds, especially as vehicles embodied by its namesake. cyclist, and cars, MLK Boulevard via I-395, transition from I-395 to the boulevard on Fred B. Shaken is a vital route for the movement of goods. the south end. The Boulevard is designated as a thru truck ““A boulevard worthy of a King.” 2013 I. Project Description 2 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard Re-Visioning Project BUILDing Connections to Life’s Opportunities In a review of data from the Center of “I wait up to 30 minutes for the bus Neighborhood Technology (CNT) “All Transit on Baltimore Street at MLK to go to Tool,” the isolation of the West Baltimore the University of Maryland Medical neighborhoods is evident. An average Center two blocks away because of 15 percent of workers who live on I feel unsafe crossing the street.” the neighborhood side within a half-mile of transit commute by walking. On the Resident Poppleton Neighborhood downtown side this average is nearly 38 “ percent of workers. A previous study conducted along the MLK Boulevard corridor provided a crash The CNT data also identifi es that, throughout analysis for pedestrians, bicyclists, and the whole corridor, workers who live vehicles from 2009 to 2013. Pedestrians within a half-mile of transit and commute accounted for 34 crashes with vehicles by biking only account for one percent of including one fatality and there were 10 workers. While, the Transit Connectivity bicyclist crashes with vehicles during the Index1, calculated by CNT’s All Transit Tool, fi ve year study period. averages to 38 out of a possible 100, along the corridor. Considering that 100 percent The analysis identifi ed that 1,024 vehicle of the residents in this corridor live within crashes occurred at the thirteen signalized .5 miles of transit, it is apparent that intersections within the corridor. This connectivity, accessibility, and frequency equates to an average of 205 crashes per are dampening transit’s full potential for year. The intersection of MLK Boulevard the communities along MLK Boulevard. and Washington Boulevard (which is the southern entrance to the boulevard from The lack of connectivity along the corridor I-395) had the highest fi ve-year total with will continue to diminish any growth 117 crashes and an annual average of 23. in the area. The MLK Boulevard Re- More recent data indicates that vehicle Visioning project proposes to remove the crashes have increased at this intersection existing barrier and signifi cantly improve with 27 in 2015 and 41 in 2016. connectivity, accessibility, and safety to Source: better serve the communities along the American Community Surveys 5 year data (2016) proposed MLK Boulevard project corridor. Additionally, walls located at the edge West Baltimore Neighborhoods: Census Tracts of the right-of-way at various locations 1402, 1701, 1702, 1703, 1601, 1602, 1603, 1801, throughout the corridor tend to isolate the 1802, 1803, 1901, 1902, 1903, 2101, 2102 neighborhoods from the boulevard. Downtown: Census Tracts 1101, 1102, 1701, 401, 402, 2201 1 Transit Connectivity Index is based on the number of bus routes and train stations within walking I. Project Description 3 distance for households in a given Block Group scaled by the Frequency of Service Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard Re-Visioning Project BUILDing Connections to Life’s Opportunities • Provide a bike trail/cycle track that Provide additional median relief within links to the City’s Bicycle Network; crosswalks to improve pedestrian a link that allows people to