Recording in progress.

Good afternoon, everyone.

I'm Charles Allen, Ward Six Councilmember and Chair of the Council's Committee on Transportation and the Environment.

Today is Thursday, April 30th, 2026.

We are meeting both in room 412 of the John A.

Wilson building as well as via the Zoom virtual platform.

The time is now twelve thirty-seven PM, and I'm calling to order this budget oversight hearing of the committee.

This is the committee's third budget oversight hearing on the mayor's proposed budget for fiscal year twenty twenty-seven.

Today the committee will receive testimony from the government witnesses regarding the proposed budget for the district department of transportation, otherwise known as D DOT.

D D DOT's stated mission is to equitably deliver a safe, sustainable, and reliable multimodal transportation network for all residents and visitors of the District of Columbia.

Pursuant to that mission.

D Dot designs, constructs, and maintains alleys, sidewalks, streets, bike lanes, bridges, and tunnels throughout the district.

The agency administers the district's automated safety camera program as well as the bus lane enforcement and freight vehicle camera systems.

Beyond managing transportation projects, DDOT is also one of the primary agencies involved in our public space management, whether it's street closures for a parade or farmers' markets, or issuing permits for streeteries and block parties.

For any public witnesses who wish to submit written testimony in addition to the public testimony we received the other day.gov backslash hearings until Monday, May 11th, 2026.

But Director, before we do that, we have to swear you in, and anybody from your team that is going to be helping answer questions, and then I will kick it over to you so that you can present your testimony.

And uh let me turn it over to you for your testimony.

Great.

Thank you.

And good afternoon, Committee Chair Allen, Councilmembers, and District residents.

I am Sharon Kirschbaum, Director of the District Department of Transportation.

And I am pleased to testify at today's hearing on Mayor Bowser's fiscal year 2027 budget for our agency.

The fiscal year 2027 budget helps DDOT focus on its core mission and deliver on its strategic plan move DC.

It ensures a state of good repair for key assets such as roads and bridges and invests in new projects to make sure that we can provide a safe and multimodal transportation network.

As with all budgets, especially in recent years, some difficult trade-offs had to be made to account for major cost pressures.

Despite this, I feel the 20 FY27 budget helps grow DC by ensuring that DDOT's projects and programs are funded to retain and attract new residents, support economic development, and keep the district moving.

Next slide.

The FY27 budget appears to make major cuts to DDOT, but in fact, the changes are right sizing our operations and will not impact public facing services.

First I think there's a presentation mode.

Yeah, I think we've got it now.

Okay.

Next, the budget eliminates contract funding and vacant staff positions for the streetcar program, which is now ended.

We are also moving more costs out of our overhead indirect budget and defunding non-critical vacant positions.

Finally, the estimate for CABI revenues was reduced to reflect the eliminated one-time rollover from FY25 to FY26.

The FY27 budget on the next slide continues to make significant investments in DDOT's capital program.

First, the local match requirement to our federal formula grants is fully funded.

It ensures that all of our state of good repair work on federal roads, bridges, and tunnels, is supported.

Next, the local budget adds to that by fully funding investments on local street alleys and sidewalks, funding safety investments, as well as improving mobility options like multi-use trails.

Overall, the budget represents a $4.1 billion, represents $4.1 billion over the six-year capital improvement plan, also referred to as CIP, to reflect both federal and local investments, which is a $500 million increase over our current CIP.

One of the pillars of the mayor's growth agenda is growing our economy, including supporting sports and entertainment venues, as well as revitalizing our downtown spaces.

The budget includes investments in roadways, bridges, and transit to build out the infrastructure on the RFK site and improve connections to the stadium campus for all users.

In downtown, investments near the Capital One Arena, including a transformative plaza adjacent to the portrait gallery, support a vibrant and dynamic public realm.

These investments appear in the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development budget, but DDOT will be closely involved in these efforts.

DDOT's infrastructure projects, big and small, are designed to support a transportation network that offers safe and secure travel choices for all users.

The mayor's budget continues to support our agency's proactive work to improve safety where it is needed the most.

Safety is, of course, DDOT's North Star.

And the FY27 budget provides significant investments in helping us redesign our roadways to reduce fatalities and serious injuries in the district.

The high injury network identifies the corridors and intersections where a disproportionate number of crashes occur.

It helps us target both our quick build tactical investments as well as major corridor projects for the long term.

The FY27 budget includes 48.7 million in our safety and mobility capital project to fund quicker build projects and 135 million in our streetscape capital project to fund major corridor investments.

Spot safety interventions allow DDOT to proactively and responsibly address safety issues with quick and medium-sized projects such as built bulbouts, pedestrian refuges, and traffic signal modifications.

The FY27 budget supports our primary proactive program, the annual safety program, which delivers about 100 projects across the district annually.

In addition to the proactive work, the FY27 budget also fully funds DDOT's responsive work, including both the traffic safety input program and post-fatal interventions.

Major corridor improvement projects along the High Injury Network, or HIN, are the best way to make long-term safety design changes.

Highlights include continued work on our most dangerous corridors such as Bladensburg Road, Rhode Island Avenue, and North Capitol Street.

Another key safety initiative at DDOT is our Safe Routes to School program, which has grown with the support of this committee to encompass a number of funding streams.

These investments have allowed the agency to stand up a robust program that works with schools and parents alike to make walking and cycling to school safer.

DDOS continuing to deliver at least 25 action plans per year and will meet this goal annually going forward.

The FY27 budget continues to support operating the district's automated safety camera network, which is a key enforcement tool to help ensure drivers operate their vehicles safely.

To date, DDOT has installed 547 cameras, including 312 cameras on our roadways and intersections, 25 school bus stop arm cameras, and 210 cameras on metro buses to enforce bus lanes and bus stops.