The Value of Showing Up

When I took on the role of Executive Director a little over 14 months ago, I could count the people I knew in Baltimore on one hand. Over the past year getting to know the hundreds of people galvanized around our mission has been incredibly humbling and rewarding. Bike people are the best people.

Riding a bike in Baltimore connects us to one another and to the city that we love. We see more when we’re riding through the city on two wheels, and I believe it helps us become more compassionate and engaged citizens and neighbors. 

We know Baltimore is at a critical juncture. This year will see so many of Bikemore’s very first priorities as an organization realized, all while the city is undergoing significant political change. That is a direct result of your support over the past four years, and we are so grateful for your sustained generosity. Maryland Avenue cycle track, bike share, it’s all finally happening.

There’s no doubt in my mind we are gaining ground for livable streets. But I urge you not to become complacent. The ground we have gained is still meager compared to other cities both large and small. If we want a city that prioritizes people over cars, that seeks out solutions that champion public health, affordable and reliable transportation solutions, and streets that are safe for all users, we have to remain committed to building a force for biking in Baltimore. 

The single best way for us to show Baltimore we mean business is to show up. When there is a public meeting on a project related to livable streets, when your community association is discussing a transportation or streetscape project, we need you to be there. 

Public meetings and community input has its challenges. Evening meetings can be tough to make, presentations and public input sessions can be lengthy. But right now I need help showing the city that we are making good on our promise to deliver community support for the projects we’ve all been fighting hard for the past four years. 

This next month has a lot of opportunities to learn about these new developments and show your support. Perhaps none more important that the final public meeting for the Downtown Bike Network scheduled for Wednesday August 31st at the Baltimore School for the Arts at 6:00pm. Years have passed since the last public meetings, so many new residents will be learning about the project for the very first time. There are bound to be concerns over traffic lane reductions and parking loss. Let’s show the city that there are hundreds of us engaged in the fight for safer, healthier, more livable streets and that we are ready to support and celebrate the wins alongside them when they come. 

We invite you to celebrate a month of progress by joining us at a fundraiser for our new political advocacy arm Thursday September 1, 2016 from 5-10 pm at Clavel. They are generously donating 50% of proceeds from draught beer, wine and our signature cocktail to support our advocacy work. More details to come. 

Upcoming Public Meetings and Events: 

Pop Up Cycle Track and Bike Share Demo
Friday, August 5 5:00-6:00 pm
1501 E Pratt St, Baltimore, MD 21231, United States

Bike Share Community Input Meeting-South Baltimore Stations 
Tuesday, August 23 6:00-7:30 pm
South Baltimore Learning Center
28 E Ostend St, Baltimore, Maryland 21230

Bike Share Community Input Meeting-West Baltimore Stations
Thursday August 25 6:00-7:30 pm
Bon Secours Community Works
26 N Fulton Ave, Baltimore, Maryland 21223

Bike Share Community Input Meeting-East Baltimore Stations
Tuesday August 30 6:00-7:30 pm
St. Leo's Church
221 S Exeter St, Baltimore, Maryland 21202

Downtown Bike Network Open House
Wednesday August 31st 6:00-7:30 pm
Baltimore School for the Arts
712 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21201

Pop-Up Cycle Track on East Pratt Street

DOT is installing a "Pop-Up" cycle track this Thursday!

This Thursday, August 4th, Baltimore City Department of Transportation will be installing a pop-up cycle track on East Pratt Street between South Central Avenue and South Broadway Street. This two-way protected bike lane will remain in place through Friday, August 26th. 

Baltimore City Department of Transportation welcomes community members to join them from 8:00-9:00am and from 5:00-6:00pm on Friday, August 5th at the corner of Caroline Street and East Pratt Street to try out the facility and learn more about bicycle projects in Baltimore.

What are pop-up bike facilities?

Pilot projects, such as pop-up protected bike lanes, are becoming increasingly popular in cities. These projects allow agencies to engage with the public--testing what works and what doesn't in an affordable manner before substantial capital investments are made. The conventional project development process proceeds from plan to capital construction over a number of years, while pilot projects only take a few weeks to organize and construct. These projects help communities try new treatments, re-envisioning what their streets and communities can look like without the commitment of a capital project.

Ride it, show support!

Definitely try to stop by in the morning or evening on Friday and check out the installation, and make it a part of your commute if you live in the area. Showing support for this kind of creative testing means we will see it more frequently. And, if you want to ensure that more projects like this turn into full-time bike facilities, donate to Bikemore.

North Avenue Rising: Let's Make it Better!

Baltimore Plans to Improve West North Avenue

This post has been updated to reflect additional information received by Bikemore after publishing.

Earlier this week, Senator Mikulski’s office announced Baltimore’s receipt of a $10,000,000 TIGER Grant for roadway improvements to North Avenue.

The project application, entitled “North Avenue Rising,” was submitted by the Baltimore City Department of Transportation and Maryland Department of Transportation including the Maryland Transit Administration. 

The $10 million in federal funding is being matched by $14.7 million of state funding, $1.6 million in already-committed FHWA funding, and $1 million of Baltimore City funding.

The bulk of the $27.3 million project, $8.9 million, will focus on sidewalk and crosswalk improvements. Investments in transit infrastructure including bus stop shelters, transit signal priority at intersections, investments in the Penn/North Metro Station, and dedicated lanes amount to about $7.5 million. Funding for bicycle infrastructure makes up less than $1 million.

Current Plans Have Flaws

While early in design, the project as currently scoped has major shortcomings. Dedicated bus lanes stop and start through parts of the project, because Baltimore City Department of Transportation does not want to fully prioritize bus service over private automobiles along the corridor. There are bike share stations planned for key intersections, but there are no dedicated bicycle facilities planned for North Avenue in the project. While the dedicated bus lanes will be signed as shared with bikes, other infrastructure is relegated to stretches of parallel facilities that are sometimes several blocks away.

This contradicts the 2015 bicycle master plan, which calls for North Avenue to be a “main route” for bicycles, requiring dedicated, protected bike lanes. It also contradicts a multi-year collaborative community design process undertaken by the Neighborhood Design Center, which culminated in 2015. That plan also calls for protected bicycle facilities along much of West North Avenue.

These improvements alongside dedicated transit lanes would further reduce personal vehicle travel lanes or parking, and Baltimore City Department of Transportation was unwilling at the time of project submission to sacrifice convenience of personal automobile users to accomodate safe, protected lanes for people who bike alongside fully-dedicated transit lanes throughout the corridor.

Through Advocacy, We Can Fix the Flaws

Luckily, it is not too late to improve the North Avenue Rising plan. North Avenue has significant right-of-way, and advocacy for expanded funding of this project and true prioritization of transit and bicycles as required by our complete streets policy, and as outlined in our master plans, could allow for fully-dedicated bus lanes along the corridor adjacent to dedicated bicycle facilities. 

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An offset bus lane street (NACTO)

Additional personal vehicle lane reduction or reduction of some parking along North Avenue would allow for design of an Offset Bus Lane Street with dedicated, parking or flex-post protected bicycle lanes. This treatment is endorsed by the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), of which Baltimore is a founding member.

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A median rapid transit corridor (NACTO)

Additional personal vehicle lane reduction or reduction of some parking along with additional funding would allow for a true dedicated Median Rapid Transit Corridor for the widest portions of North Avenue. This treatment would include protected bicycle facilities and a curb-separated right-of-way for transit operations, improving bus speed and reliability while allowing for a future upgrade to rail transit on the North Avenue corridor.

Additional funding should should be leveraged by this grant award to make it a truly great project for Baltimore. The TIGER grant money should not be used for routine resurfacing, instead it should be used to bolster this project's innovation in biking, walking, and transit design. Governor Hogan can pay for the overdue resurfacing of a state marked highway, like he is doing in every other county in Maryland.

Bikemore wants to see North Avenue rising.

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>33% of households are zero car in pink areas. >66% of households are zero car in red areas.

Neighborhoods along the project corridor have some of the highest rates of households that lack access to a car in Baltimore City. Dedicated transit lanes will make buses faster, more convenient, and more on-time on this critical transportation corridor. Protected bike lanes will allow people to safely use bike share while calming traffic and making the street safer for people who walk. There is no reason to prioritize personal automobile throughput over the safety and convenience of neighbors and people who walk, bike, and take transit on this corridor.

Agencies involved in this project are open to our recommendations, and we look forward to working with them to advance a vision for North Avenue that truly promotes biking, walking, and taking transit. But more advocacy around complete streets is clearly needed, because a project that does not completely consider and include all modes should not be constructed, and we should not accept a political climate unwilling to include adequate design for biking in project submission.

This is a great opportunity to make one of the only wide roads in Baltimore functional for all users, and a mistake in infrastructure here will have to be endured for years to come. We must get to a place where our city prioritizes people over personal cars by default, not as an afterthought.

As this project continues to develop, we will notify you of ways to get involved and ensure we get the best possible design for people who bike, walk, and ride transit. 

Better Bike Parking for Baltimore

Secure bike parking encourages bike ridership. Not knowing if there will be a safe place to lock up can mean the difference between riding your bike or choosing some other means of transport. 

This year, thanks to a generous donation from People for Bikes and a partnership with Baltimore City Department of Transportation, we are launching a campaign to install 100 more bike racks in places that need them the most before Fall 2016. 

Baltimore City has been offering free bike racks and installation for a few years, but the request process was clunky, inefficient and frequently led to poor communication and really long wait times. 

Bikemore has created an easy to use, mobile friendly site that will simplify the request process. By taking the lead on submissions, we can also track the time DOT takes to install the racks and create a layer of accountability. 

Our plan is that no one will have to wait more than six weeks to see their rack installed. 

Additionally, we want to make sure that these racks are made available to the places and businesses that would not otherwise be able to afford a rack. Businesses of all types should note that if you purchase your own rack, you can also request the city install it for a small fee. This fee--depending on the surface and demand may even be waived. 

Our Plan: 

• Model an efficient, mobile responsive request system. 
• Launch a summer long marketing campaign to ensure that businesses and schools in neighborhoods underserved by bike parking and DOT outreach have access to the free racks. 
• Educate residents on effective bike racks and locking techniques that deter theft. 
• Advocate for city bike rack requests to be integrated into the 311 system by Fall 2016. 

How can you help? 

Is there a business or school you frequent that you wish had better bike parking? When visiting, direct the owner of the business to the form using your smart phone. (our east to remember URL? bikemore.net/bike-parking) Help them complete the application. It’s important that the point of contact on the request form is the person that has the decision making powers on the property where the rack is requested. 

Share on social media. The more people that know about this process the better! 

Join our bike parking STREET TEAM. We will be scheduling a time later this summer to canvass or call business or schools in need of bike parking and offering to assist them with completing the request form. 

Interested in learning the proper way to lock a bike, and ensuring you selecting the most secure rack to lock to? We love this article from our friends at Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates. Not all bike racks are equal, so educate yourself on which ones are best, and let's get some BETTER BIKE PARKING for Baltimore! 

Bikemore Response to Fatal Crash in West Baltimore

On Wednesday, June 8th at approximately 1:34 pm, a 25 year old male riding a bicycle was struck and killed by a person driving a Honda Odyssey. According to initial reports, the person riding a bicycle was traveling southbound on North Gilmore Street, and the person driving the Honda was traveling Westbound on Edmondson.

Anytime a motor vehicle collision causes a fatality, the CRASH team begins an investigation. They then turn their findings over to the State's Attorney's office at which time it is determined whether or not charges will be filed. 

No further information regarding this tragic incident has been made available. 

While we won't know the exact cause of the crash until further details are released, we do know that reducing vehicle speeds greatly improves the chance of survival for vulnerable road users like people walking and people biking. While many factors may have contributed to the crash, one thing--vehicle speed at impact--caused a tragic loss of life. 

At Bikemore we are working toward policy changes that will fundamentally change how we move in this city. But most importantly we are demanding our streets be made safer for all road users--in all neighborhoods, now. Traffic calming like speed humps or roundabouts, signal timing, narrowing travel lanes by adding additional facilities like protected bike lanes are all methods for reducing vehicle speed. We can build safer streets, we just need the political will to do it. 

Many have asked if we will be leading on memorializing the person who was killed. If Bikemore were to take the lead we would be most comfortable doing so only after we know the identity of the victim and have had a chance to reach out to the family and neighboring community to receive their blessing. We understand and respect the symbolism that ghosts bikes have for the cycling community and obviously wouldn't stand in anyone's way that wanted to act independently to place something in memorial. But as Bikemore, we have a larger objective of building up healthy neighborhoods and peoples positive feelings towards bicycling. Our outreach in this neighborhood has been weak, a product of limited resources and being a relatively new organization--and we don't want our first act to be one that doesn't include the neighborhood in the process. So we are waiting until more information is available to decide what is the best course of action to both honor the victim and continue raise awareness of this very sad event. 

Be vigilant, be safe.