15th St bike lane now with concrete dividers by Joe Flood licensed under Creative Commons.

It’s budget season again and DC Mayor Muriel Bowser released portions of the FY2023 budget proposal Wednesday. The proposal is a financial road map highlighting where the Bowser administration will invest dollars throughout the District.

The proposal is part of a larger annual budget process which passes from the executive branch to the DC Council for approval. Here are a few highlights of what the budget proposal could mean for housing, transportation, and traffic safety in the District.

The broad strokes

The key word in Bowser’s proposal is “recovery” as the District rebounds from the impacts of the pandemic. The $19.5 billion proposal includes $10.7 billion in local funds, a 14% increase over last year’s approved budget.

The Capital Improvement plan (CIP) includes $10.8 billion, a 20% increase over last year’s CIP, according to the plan. Here are some of the highlights in housing and transportation.

Housing

Housing affordability remains one of the most important concerns for residents. In her presentation, Bowser addressed the steps taken to reach her goal of spurring construction of 36,000 new housing units, 12,000 of which dedicated to residents making less than 80% of DC’s median family income. According to a District dashboard, 21,340 new housing units have been produced so far between January 2019 and February 2022, including 4,007 affordable housing units. This means the District is more than halfway to its overall goal, but only a third of the way there on affordable housing.

This year’s budget proposal includes initiatives to address “the very real anxieties that many Washingtonians have about whether or how long they will be able to afford to stay in DC,” Bowser wrote in the proposal’s executive summary.

These measures include:

  • Investing another $500 million in the Housing Production Trust Fund, which could yield about 2,700 affordable units
  • $31 million for new permanent supportive housing vouchers and other initiatives to end chronic homelessness
  • $31 million to renovate DC’s permanent and temporary supportive housing and shelter services
  • $41 million for project sponsor vouchers for low income residents
  • $120 million in rent and utility assistance over two years,
  • $12 million for a new Housing Provider fund
  • $26 million to assist low income first time homebuyers with down payment and closing cost assistance
  • $110 million to revamp or replace 1,500 public housing units over the next three years
  • $219 million earmarked to bring back units at Barry Farm, Park Morton, Bruce Monroe, and Northwest One
  • $233,000 for a program to incentivize the conversion of downtown office space to residential

There are also initiatives in the proposal to help keep residents in their homes, such as $1 million for Heirs Property Legal Services, which provides assistance to multi-generational families maintaining their family property after the death of an original homeowner. Also in the plan is $10 million for the Black Homeownership Fund and Strikeforce to provide a pathway to homeownership for Black residents.

Transportation and traffic safety

2021 saw 40 traffic fatalities in DC, the highest in the last 14 years, according to data from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). And as the Post reports, neighborhoods east of the river have been hit the hardest. And according to MPD data, this year is on track to be just as deadly.

With anger from residents reaching a fever pitch, investments to reduce traffic injuries and deaths, and make it easier and safer to navigate the District without a car, will be crucial.

To that end, the FY23 budget proposal includes:

  • $10 million a year for “quick-build” traffic calming measures and to make temporary improvements permanent
  • $200 million for streetscape projects to redesign dangerous roads and intersections over the next six years
  • $36 million over six years to add 10 miles of protected bike lanes per year throughout the city
  • $102 million to build up bus transit over the next six years
  • $15 million to increase Capital Bikeshare throughout the District
  • $125 million to build and revamp the trail network
  • $57 million to finish the K Street Transitway
  • $18.5 million for a new bike and pedestrian bridge to Kingman Island
  • $752,000 to ramp up the Department of Public Works vehicle booting team
  • $334,000 to aid in the District Department of Transportation’s (DDOT) data analysis and communications capacity for the Vision Zero office

About $1.7 billion is also earmarked for capital infrastructure upgrades for WMATA, including funds to improve and increase Metrorail and Metrobus network effectiveness, system capacity.

DDOT could also see a $465 million increased investment.

Federal dollars

The proposal also highlights the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which will invest $1.3 billion in roads, highways and bridges. DC’s allocation will include $225 million to repair and revamp the H Street Bridge and the Southwest Freeway Bridge. $85 million will also be invested to bolster Vision Zero Initiatives to improve traffic safety and driver behavior, according to the proposal documents.

What’s next in the budget process

The remaining portions of Bowser’s budget are expected to drop by Friday, at which time the Council will start its review process. Public committee hearings will begin March 21.

Correction: Bowser’s FY23 proposal adds $36 million over six years to add 10 miles of protected bike lanes per year throughout the city. This article has been updated to reflect that change.

George Kevin Jordan was GGWash's Editor-in-Chief. He is a proud resident of Hillcrest in DC's Ward 7. He was born and raised in Milwaukee and has written for many publications, most recently the AFRO and about HIV/AIDS issues for TheBody.com.