Newsroom

During the recent Firefighter Safety Stand Down week, June 14 to 20, BMC staff member Eileen Singleton worked closely with Patrick Rooney, MDOT SHA CHART Operations Training Manager, to hold 13 sessions of a 1-hour Traffic Incident Management refresher course. The courses, originally scheduled to take place in person, were instead virtual in response to the global pandemic.

The Baltimore Regional Transportation Board (BRTB), as the metropolitan planning organization (MPO) for the Baltimore region, seeks public comments through Friday, July 17 on a part of the Patapsco Regional Greenway in Howard and Baltimore Counties.

​​​​​​​BMC staff are proud to participate in the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s (CBF) ‘Walk the Watershed’ event this year. Throughout the month of June, our team will work toward a goal of traveling 200 miles in support of a healthier waterway. This target represents the approximately 200-mile-long Chesapeake Bay. Staff will also seek donations on behalf of CBF as an element of this campaign.

BRTB considers approval of the draft 2021-2024 Transportation Improvement Program and the associated Air Quality Conformity Determination

BMC’s Director of Cooperative Purchasing, Debbie Groat, authored an article for the Maryland Public Purchasing Association (MPAA) Newsletter. In the article, Groat, who also serves as Chair of the Cooperative Purchasing Subcommittee for MPAA, details the changes in operating procedures for cooperative purchasing post COVID-19. The article examines the shifts made in cooperative purchasing to meet the needs of the region during a time where demand was overwhelming.

BMC’s Housing Policy Coordinator, Dan Pontious, joined Delegate Brooke Lierman, Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman, Public Justice Center Attorney Charisse Lue and VP of Pennrose Properties and president of the Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition Ivy Dench-Carter for a May 28 discussion on housing Marylanders during and after COVID-19.

BMC staff works with stakeholders from member jurisdictions to support regional emergency preparedness programs coordinated through the Baltimore Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) and by the Baltimore Urban Area Homeland Security Work Group (UAWG). In response to COVID-19, our emergency Preparedness team sprang into action to support local jurisdictions during the crisis. 

The Maryland Highway Safety Office (MHSO) organized a safety seminar on Thursday, April 30, for members of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Region 3, which includes Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. BMC staff presented the LOOK ALIVE regional pedestrian and bike safety campaign and law enforcement training in support of the education campaign. Over 120 participants from across the region attended the online seminar.

This fall, the Baltimore region will celebrate the 23rd Annual Bike to Work Day on Friday, September 25, 2020. As with all large gatherings, the event is contingent upon authorization and appropriate guidance from government and public health officials.

The Baltimore Metropolitan Council’s Housing Committee – local governments, housing agencies, and other stakeholders – submitted a letter to the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) on April 8 offering strong support for a robust statewide rental assistance response to the COVID-19 crisis.