It has been a privilege to represent Ward 7 for the past eight years, and an honor to work alongside the Buckley administration and my Council colleagues. From the start, my priority has been addressing the environmental impacts of development.
We’ve made enormous strides in that regard: passing the strongest Forest Conservation and Critical Area laws in the State, strengthening stormwater management, and partnering with Anne Arundel County to designate our waterways as a No Discharge Zone. For the first time, we have a dedicated funding stream for our urban forestry program, ensuring we can achieve our urban tree canopy target of 50% by 2050. We are protecting our city from climate change.
Annapolis, together with the County, established one of Maryland’s first Resilience Authorities. It’s actively planning projects to protect our communities from sea level rise. We’ve broken ground on flood mitigation measures at City Dock and re-envisioned it as a space that prioritizes people over cars.
The top concerns I hear from residents are traffic, parking, and safety—especially along Forest Drive. That’s why I’ve made it a priority to address these issues head-on. I’ve secured funding to study and improve transit along Forest Drive and West Street, and I’m working to replicate our successful downtown circulator to connect Eastport and Ward 7 to downtown.
These efforts are designed to make our streets safer, reduce congestion, and provide more accessible transportation options for everyone. As a ward with a large senior population, ensuring they maintain mobility is crucial to remaining a connected community.
I plan to focus my next term on making Annapolis a leader in sustainable mobility. With 30% of our carbon emissions coming from the transportation sector, it’s a climate imperative.
Forest Drive is the most dangerous road in the County, with five schools along its corridor. This is a safety issue for commuters and, most importantly, for our children. We must do better.
With a housing crisis and rising home prices, it’s also an affordability imperative. We need to lower the cost of living by providing free and safe ways to get around town without relying on expensive car ownership.
While we’ve made significant progress in managing the environmental impacts of growth, past development decisions did not always prioritize the infrastructure our community needs. Too often, projects moved forward without adequate planning for traffic, mobility, and safety.
Recognizing this, we took decisive action: our new transit-oriented development code sets a higher standard, requiring developers who want higher density to work with us to deliver real solutions—safer roads, improved transit, below-market-rate housing, and essential amenities like community grocery stores. This marks a major shift towards smarter, more sustainable growth for Annapolis.
I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished together in Ward 7. We are now home to the premier accessible boating center in the country (Chesapeake Region Accessible Boating), a revitalized Ellen Moyer Back Creek Park (thanks to the Annapolis Maritime Museum), and the protected Carrs-Elktonia Beach property—soon to be our first city park with Chesapeake Bay access.
We’re leading a sustainable mobility transformation by expanding sidewalks, securing funding for traffic circles at dangerous intersections, planning a reconstruction of Edgewood Road with integrated traffic calming, and designing a multi-use path down Bay Ridge Avenue.
To my friends in Ward 7 and beyond, thank you for your continued support. I ask for your vote on November 4th so we can keep building a safer, greener, and more connected Annapolis together.
Rob Savidge is the current Ward 7 Alderman and is running for re-election. He can be contacted at [email protected].
https://www.eyeonannapolis.net/2025/11/opinion-a-vision-for-annapolis-safer-streets-greener-spaces-stronger-communities/
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