Baltimore council committee presses DOT on community engagement, interim safety fixes and interagency coordination

The Baltimore City Department of Transportation (BCDOT) presented a draft community engagement strategic plan to the City Council Land Use and Transportation Committee on topics including equity, outreach methods, metrics and a pilot project on Orleans Street, and committee members pressed the department for clearer timelines and better interagency coordination.

The presentation, led by Transportation Director Veronica Macbeth of the Baltimore City Department of Transportation, said the plan is “rooted in equity, accessibility, and community empowerment” and is intended to follow the city’s Complete Streets guidance and the mayor’s transparency goals. Macbeth described a project life cycle that includes early engagement, design alternatives, and ongoing feedback loops, and she named the Orleans Street rehabilitation (TR24301, from North Wolfe Street to North Elwood Street) as a pilot where DOT will use a Streets of Baltimore web page and listening sessions to gather public input.

Why it matters: Council members said residents frequently face long waits for safety treatments and repeated street openings after repaving when utilities or other agencies dig up recently paved areas. Committee members pressed DOT for ways to deliver interim safety measures while long-term projects move through planning, engineering and funding steps that can take years.

BCDOT overview and pilot project

Director Veronica Macbeth told the committee the strategic plan formalizes guiding principles (equity, transparency, accessibility, accountability and collaboration), lists outreach methods (public meetings, surveys, pop-ups), and proposes performance indicators…