Council committee hears DDOTs smaller FY26 budget, but agency keeps major safety investments
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Summary
Mayor Bowsers FY26 proposal trims the District Department of Transportations operating and capital budgets but preserves funding for high-injury network safety work, automated cameras and targeted staff for permitting and bus-lane enforcement, DDOT director told the Councils Committee on Transportation and the Environment.
The Committee on Transportation and the Environment heard testimony June 10 on Mayor Bowsers fiscal year 2026 budget for the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), which proposes an operating budget of $175,900,000 and a capital budget of $683,000,000.
The operating number represents a roughly 5.1% reduction from FY25 and supports about 796 full-time-equivalent positions, DDOT Director Sharon Kirschbaum told the committee. The proposed capital budget is about 18% lower than the current years approved CIP, Kirschbaum said, but still funds long-term projects intended to keep the transportation network in a state of good repair.
"Mayor Bowser's FY26 budget invests $175,900,000 in DDOT's operating budget, along with 796 full time equivalent staff," Kirschbaum said. She told the committee the operating decrease "primarily represents the removal of remaining funding for the circulator program," plus some vacant-position eliminations and scaled-back open-street events.
Why it matters: the reductions require the agency to prioritize and, in some cases, shift the timing of projects while maintaining core safety work. Kirschbaum said DDOT used its Move DC strategic plan to prioritize projects across seven goals, including safety, mobility and equity.
Key details and priorities - Safety investments: The FY26 request includes more than $77 million in the agencys safety-and-mobility capital project for quicker-build safety interventions and $105 million for streetscape/corridor improvements on high-injury-network corridors, Kirschbaum said. The budget continues responsive work such as post-fatal-crash interventions and traffic-safety input programs. - Automated safety cameras: Kirschbaum told the committee the district has installed a large network of automated enforcement devices to reduce dangerous driving; she cited an internal inventory of cameras and a peer-reviewed study showing a roughly 30% reduction in injury crashes within a year of camera installation. - New operating investments: The FY26 operating budget includes funding to expand bus-lane enforcement cameras and $1.9 million for staff and software to support a modernized permitting system. Kirschbaum said the expansion will support deployment of 210 bus-mounted cameras under DDOTs Memorandum of Understanding with WMATA. - Capital priorities remain: The requested CIP funds safety work, corridor projects and state-of-good-repair investments across bridges, alleys, sidewalks and trails. Kirschbaum noted funding for corridor projects on Southern Avenue, Alabama Avenue and East Capitol Street, the latter supported by a federal INFRA (infrastructure) grant.
Agency operations and staffing Kirschbaum said DDOTs capital budget supports 491 FTEs (a small increase from the prior year) while the operating budget supports 796 FTEs (a decrease of two FTEs). She told the committee that some positions were shifted, some vacant positions were eliminated and some costs moved to indirect-cost recovery or enterprise funds.
Council members raised questions about the mechanics and trade-offs of those choices, asking DDOT to provide additional line-item detail and follow-up on projects and cuts.
Ending: Kirschbaum closed by thanking committee members for their partnership; Chair Charles Allen set the written record to remain open through June 17 and scheduled a follow-up public-witness hearing for related agencies later in the week.
