Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Thank you for all the work and effort you have put into saving the Banner Route!
For those who haven’t heard the news yet, at a meeting at the Baltimore Museum of Industry last night, (another thank you to the 300+ who attended) Mayor Rawlings-Blake announced that the Banner Route will continue to operate, albeit with dramatically reduced service, instead of ceasing operation on July 20, 2015.
Would this have happened without you? Not a chance. The elimination of the Banner Route was perceived as a forgone conclusion, and with the way information was relayed to our community, perhaps that was by design. But I know from my advocacy work at the National Federation of the Blind the importance of perseverance, that every voice matters, and that collectively we can be heard.
The mayor’s decision to continue the Banner Route is good news for us on the peninsula and for all of Baltimore. We can and should feel good about that, but our work is not over. We still need to contribute to the discussion on the proposed service reduction and the future of the Banner Route.
What happens to the Banner Route impacts us, and it is critical that our voices be heard. Please plan to attend the Department of Transportation’s public hearing to discuss the Banner Route on Monday, July 13, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Francis Scott Key Elementary Middle School at 1425 E. Fort Avenue. It is crucial that we have a strong presence at this meeting.
Thanks again!
John G Paré Jr., President
Riverside Neighborhood Association