Tonight, speak up about North Ave Rising!

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Tonight is the first meeting about North Avenue Rising. We hope you'll make it out, even if you can't make it until after work!

Here are the main points we'd like you to make:

1. North Avenue Rising must have separated, dedicated transit lanes throughout the entire project corridor.

2. North Avenue Rising must have separated, dedicated bicycle lanes at minimum between Pennsylvania Avenue and Broadway, where there is high density, frequent bus service, and a wider right-of-way.

3. North Avenue Rising must have a road diet, calming the street and allowing space for high quality bike and transit lanes while maintaining parking for businesses.

4. These requirements should lead to North Avenue Rising including center-running transit, which will further spur economic development and transit growth on North Avenue, and allow for a potential rail transit future for North Avenue once that growth demands it.

There are community meetings Monday through Thursday this week for you to attend. We're encouraging folks to #filltheroom at Monday night's meeting, but we encourage you to attend whichever meeting you're able to.

Monday, November 13, 2017
4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Impact Hub
10 East North Avenue

Tuesday, November 14, 2017
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Bluford/KASA at Walbrook
2000 Edgewood Street

Wednesday, November 15, 2017
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Rita R. Church Community Center
2101 Saint Lo Drive

Thursday, November 16, 2017
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Parkview Recreation Center
2610 Francis Street

>> Want to know more about North Ave Rising? More about the project and our take.

On Crime and Bikes

We wanted to craft a thoughtful response to the recent assaults and robberies that are impacting the Baltimore bike community--both describing the actions we’ve taken, things we plan to do in the future, and our analysis of this issue as a policy organization. 

We are not experts in adolescent development or juvenile justice, but Baltimore is full of people who are. We’ve spent the week discussing the recent assaults and robberies with some of these experts, and will continue to engage in conversations. As a policy organization, we believe in exploring issues deeply and making recommendations based on evidence. 

Children assaulting and robbing people is a serious problem. Every human being deserves safety. But we know, without equivocation, that youth crime is a symptom of a society that has disinvested in its children to such a degree that they are left without the support necessary for healthy adolescent development. We cannot address this issue without acknowledging the structural systems that got us here, and the policy solutions that can help us emerge. 

We are angry that people have been victims of assault and robbery. It isn’t right, and it has to stop. The kids responsible also need to be held accountable. We are attempting to work with Baltimore City Police to provide any information that can help bring an end to the ongoing violence and robberies so people can feel safe again riding their bikes. Sadly the two hot spots - Maryland Ave and the Jones Falls Trail - are two of the only places to ride your bike and feel safe from speeding cars. We have to restore safety to those integral routes. We also know that policing alone cannot ensure these types of attacks won’t happen again, and that a result that places children into the criminal justice system will likely lead to additional harm and an outcome that makes our community less healthy and safe in the long term. 

Last week we recruited volunteers to hang out in the hot spots where crime was occurring to be a friendly face to folks biking by, and collect signatures to support environmental design solutions that can improve safety on the Jones Falls Trails. We are pleased to report that we have over 500 signatures to deliver to the City in support of these request. If you’d still like to sign, you can do so here. Baltimore City Police have already committed to placing a light tower on the switchbacks of the Jones Falls Trail while funding for a more appropriate lighting solution can be procured. Rec and Parks has committed to clearing the brush to improve sight lines. And we are in the beginning stages of conversations with community partners that may be able to support the placement of an emergency call box. Thanks to everyone that volunteered. 

We are currently working with the Community Conferencing Center to provide an alternative path toward accountability for these crimes. If you have been a victim of these recent assaults and robberies and would like to learn more about the restorative justice techniques they use, send an email to liz@bikemore.net. We will be organizing an information session so those who have been impacted can learn more about the choices available to them if they are able to identify the kids who have been committing these crimes. This method does not make light of the seriousness of the crimes, but acknowledges the real harm that comes from sending a child through the criminal justice system, and the lack of autonomy and restitution a victim can experience in the criminal justice system. If you want to have a say in how a crime committed against you is resolved, Community Conferencing can provide that pathway, and in no way rules out the option of pressing charges later if a satisfactory resolution is not reached. 

As Bikemore, we are here advocating for the safety of all people on bikes. What makes this particular situation so sad, is that a healthy city is one where children are free to ride bikes with their friends around the neighborhood. When a crime pattern creates suspicion of children riding bikes together, that has serious impacts on every family in the city. We can only imagine the difficulty some families experience in having to refrain from allowing their child to ride a bike--for fear of being attacked, robbed, or profiled by police. It also forces us to confront the very real disparity that is evident by people who have mobility, transportation choice, and relative wealth biking through neighborhoods full of people that do not. Regardless of the intent of these crimes, that disparity is at its root. And it has no simple solutions. 

We want to share some short term and long term strategies we are working on to both help put an end to these crimes, and be unwavering in our position of advocating for the health and safety of all people in Baltimore--especially our city’s children. In this instance that means following the lead of those who are making a difference in the community preventing, intervening, and restoring justice for crimes committed by children. 

How to Stay Safe in the Short Term: 

• Keep riding. The more of us out there in the afternoons and evenings, the more difficult it is for someone to be a victim. 
• Use resources like social media (the Unofficial Bikemore Forum and Women Bike Baltimore are good examples) to find a riding buddy that has a similar commute. 
• Avoid stopping along your commute to engage with folks especially in hot spots like Maryland Ave north of Lanvale and Falls Road. Keep pedaling. 
• Stay alert. No headphones, use a super bright front light, and if you’re able--use a camera. 
• If you are confronted, remember property is replaceable. Keep yourself safe and retreat. 
• Make a report. Call 911 when you’re in a safe place. If you are unable to wait for an officer due to the lag folks often experience when trying to report a crime not in progress, you can make a report in person at a station or online. 
• Record your bike’s serial number and follow up after making a report to ensure that information is included. If it’s stolen this can help it be recovered and/or help lead police to the people committing the assaults and robberies. 
• In the end, you’re in charge of your safety. Follow your gut and make decisions that are right for you. That can also mean not riding for awhile. We support you. 

How to Create Safety in the Long Term

Correcting the impacts of generational poverty that cause people to remain with little access to healthy food, healthcare, and opportunity costs money. As an American society we often tend to think about these things as personal problems. These problems however are rarely personal failings, but often structural. Someone with power made a decision that made it more difficult for certain people to attain health and safety. A city with people who aren’t healthy is not safe. This means ensuring our children have access to proper health care--including trauma informed care, nourishment, and opportunities that foster development is directly tied to making our city safer. This is how you prevent crime. 

source: Open Budget Baltimore 

Baltimore instead chooses to invest heavily in policing rather than the things we know prevent crime. We spend 53% more on policing than we do on schools. 82% more on policing than transportation--when we know access to transportation has proven critical to escaping poverty. 96% more on policing than on recreation. In times of high crime, the narrative of policing being our only option in reducing crime perpetuates this imbalance. In a strong Mayor system like we have, the Mayor is responsible for setting those amounts. The City Council has limited authority to make other advisory recommendations and authorize cuts. . Because Baltimore has a relatively low voter turnout compared to cities of similar size, and our Mayor is often decided during the Democratic Primary among a broad field--it is nearly impossible to elect a Mayor to whom the majority of Baltimoreans cast their ballot. Without a voter mandate, leadership has no incentive to listen to advocates or organized groups of citizens.  

Achieving different outcomes for Baltimore means radically shifting how we invest our tax dollars. That type of leadership is politically risky. We have not elected a politically risky Mayor, and our chances of doing so in the near term due to the nature of our elections is unlikely. It’s why as a city we must seriously consider shifting how we budget. Revising our City Charter so that City Council has more authority could lead to the the type of innovation necessary to evoke change. This was something discussed last year, but was a political non starter. With the new crop of younger, more progressive council members, perhaps it’s time to revisit. 

While the people that ride bikes in the city are incredibly diverse, the ones directly engaged in bike advocacy are less so. This means that relative to the city, the people we reach most with our blog or social media posts are likely wealthier, better educated and have better health. It is out of that privilege and the incredible compassion that comes from experiencing this city that we love up close from our bike that we must approach these complex situations with mindfulness. We aren't the right people to lead on this issue, but we are able to lift up the work of others and ensure we are not contributing to further harm. No one of us is directly responsible for the trauma and disparity that exists right now in Baltimore, but we all can do more as citizens to fight for things that help bring stability, health and safety to all of our neighborhoods. 
 

Jones Falls Trail Incidents - Volunteers Needed

This past weekend, there were several documented incidents involving youth assaulting users of the Jones Falls Trail in the vicinity of the switchbacks between Falls Road and the Stieff Silver building. Over the years, flare ups of these incidents are infrequent enough that police patrolling and brush clearance have been ineffective, but frequent enough that we must make structural changes to the trail. 

Short Term

This week we are stationing volunteers on the switchbacks between Falls Road and the Stieff Silver Building on Wyman Park Drive. You'll be stationed with a group of volunteers to have added presence and eyes on the street and trail. You'll also be asking folks that are passing to sign a petition demanding immediate brush clearance and trail improvements including lights, cameras, and an emergency call box.

Scroll to the bottom of this page to sign the petition now or to sign up to volunteer.

Long Term

Baltimore City has applied for a Maryland Bikeways grant to redesign the Jones Falls Trail along the Falls Road corridor. Bikemore is serving on the steering committee for this project, hosted by Central Baltimore Partnership, and will advocate for improved trail security as part of the redesign. Initial public meetings around this project will occur this winter and early spring, and we will encourage you to attend and advocate for changes you would like to see on this portion of the trail. 

Bikemore is also part of the Baltimore Greenway Trails Network Coalition, advocating for the creation of a connected trail loop network in Baltimore by combining existing trails with new connections. This project would dramatically increase trail usage/eyes on the street while allowing us to invest in trail maintenance and technology to increase safety.

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Online Petition

I demand Baltimore City immediately add the section of Jones Falls Trail between Falls Road and Stieff Silver on Wyman Park Drive to regular police patrol, remove and cut back brush on the switchbacks, and install lighting, cameras, and emergency call boxes.

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Potomac Street Victory Lap

With our policy director away on vacation, we are going to skip writing a longer post analyzing the final design for Potomac Street and what it means long term for Complete Streets and bike infrastructure in Baltimore today. But know that it’s coming.

We did want to share our perspective on Department of Transportation’s decision and share the final design. DOT hosted an Open House to share the feedback received from the latest round of community input on a design meant to address Canton residents’ and BCFD’s concerns around fire access.

The design that will move forward will be the one presented at the last community meeting. The revised design retains a two way bike lane, removes street parking from the West side, and changes East side on street parking from parallel to rear angle.

Bikemore has maintained that with a few tweaks to improve emergency vehicle access, the existing design that is currently in the ground would work. But we also believe in compromise when possible, and while we still believe that 20ft clear access for emergency vehicles is not necessary or always appropriate in urban environments, it was important to move forward. This design addresses concerns around fire access by creating 19ft of clearance. Additionally it addresses neighborhood concerns around parking loss by maintaining roughly the same amount of parking as the original design by changing it to rear angle parking. Most importantly the revised design maintains an all ages, high quality two way bike facility--which was the original intent of the project.

You can click through the boards and slides presented at the meeting here to get all the wonky facts surround the new design:

Potomac Street was the biggest fight we’ve ever taken on. Our small staff and dedicated volunteers and attorneys put in many long hours. We sued the city. We stopped the arbitrary removal of a bike lane based on nothing more than a handful of resident complaints (loud ones, but not in the numbers they reported to have). We forced stakeholders and the city back to the negotiating table to think through a thoughtful redesign. We stood firm in our stance that we cannot go backwards, that Baltimore desires and deserves high quality bike infrastructure, and that we cannot allow every public project to improve mobility in this city — whether it’s bike lanes or bus stops — to become derailed when some neighbors don’t want to see change in their neighborhood.

In this latest round of community input to respond to the redesign, DOT received 560 emails. Of those 447 supported the Potomac Street redesign. 113 did not. What’s more, what became the rally cry for redesign — emergency access — received only 16 comments out of a total of 560 emails. Concerns over parking loss received 75. It confirmed what we always knew. That backlash to bike lanes is about nothing more than people placing their personal convenience over public safety and mobility.

Community input is important. No community should ever feel as though a project is being placed upon them without listening to their concerns. But after multiple meetings, and a litany of press, Potomac Street has arguably received the most attention of any eight blocks in the city. The concerns around safety were addressed. Other concerns like parking were accommodated as best they were able. We are satisfied with the outcome. We are looking forward to being able to focus our policy work on Complete Streets that looks at how to prioritize the safety and mobility of people on all city streets, in every neighborhood.

This was a decisive win for people who bike. Not because Bikemore is some inside influence with tons of resources to bring to the table like some would claim, but because of you. Our members. Your letters were inspiring to read. You showed up when you were called to, you were bold in your position for safe streets for all users, and gave generously to allow us to focus all our efforts on the issue at hand.

We have a long way to go before Baltimore is truly safe and accessible for people of all ages and abilities to ride a bike. But we are closer today because of your support. We need your continued support to keep us moving forward.

Please consider making a recurring donation to Bikemore. Whether it’s $10 each month or $1000 a year, you can be certain that your dollars are helping to build a force for biking in Baltimore. We look forward to having you join us as we continue to #fightforbikes.

Baltimore Bike Share Redux

Yesterday Baltimore Bike Share, a program of the City of Baltimore’s Department of Transportation announced that it will be taking the system offline from September 17-October 15 to address a security retrofit, maintenance backlog, and other enhancements in advance of expansion this fall.

Anyone trying to use bike share these past few months noticed how the system was failing. Empty stations became the norm. Many who had just begun to rely on bike share for their commute were suddenly faced with having to make other arrangements.

Contributing to the challenges of bike share operations was a rash of theft and vandalism that operators first became aware of late spring. As city staff and the bike share operator Bewegen began working on a solution, the system itself chose not to make any external communication regarding the system challenges. It’s a perplexing public relations move in this age of transparency — where information is readily available. For that the City and Baltimore Bike Share deserve criticism.

But in the wake of the formal announcement, we wanted to share with you some of the facts related to the reboot. Our stance on bike share is clear. It can work. Yes, even in Baltimore. When the bikes were available, our system succeeded on metrics related to miles traveled and ridership. Where it has fallen short is it’s inability to rapidly expand — meaning fewer neighborhoods get to experience the convenience of bike share — and not capitalizing on bike share’s greatest asset. It’s really fun!

Why does the marketing and communications about the largest fleet of electric bike share bicycles in the Western Hemisphere feel out of touch and out of date? Like it’s actually a bike share company communicating with us from the year 2005? But there is even good news to share on this topic. Last month, Bewegen hired a new marketing advisor for their U.S. market. Chris King has a lot of experience marketing transportation brands in the mid atlantic. And while Baltimore Bike Share has a long road ahead earning back the trust of its users, we are encouraged Bewegen recognized this shortcoming and took steps to correct course.

So in the spirit of transparency and clear communication here is a quick FAQ we put together based on some of the online chatter we saw in response to the announcement.

When will the bikes go offline?

September 17 to October 15

What sort of maintenance and upgrades will occur during that time?

• All stations will be retrofitted with new locks to prevent theft.

• Address bike maintenance backlog related to theft and vandalism

• Station cleaning

• Map and Kiosk sticker upgrades (new stations means new maps)

• Pedalec technology enhancements including the ability to set your own speed or create system wide governors, like reducing max speed in high pedestrian areas like the inner harbor or in wet weather

• Refurbish bikes (some will be shipped back to headquarters in Canada where they will receive full spa treatment and return shiny and new looking)

Why is Baltimore experiencing so much theft and vandalism? Haven’t other cities figured this out?

Loss is expected in systems like this. It’s planned for by implementing loss prevention techniques like locks and GPS, and insuring the bikes. Much is done to prevent it, but it is never fully avoidable. Other cities experience theft, but at a lower rate and within larger systems where the loss is less noticeable. The challenge with a system like this in Baltimore is that crime is more prevalent here, and it would be naive to ignore that fact.

Very few bikes have been totally lost, but when they are recovered they face extensive repairs—tying up maintenance staff and creating a serious bottleneck, reducing the number of bikes available to rent.

What’s encouraging is that the folks involved in addressing this issue recognize that locks are not enough. So while a technical fix is in place to improve loss prevention, we’ve been encouraged by conversations with Bewegen this week that demonstrate they are exploring ways to creatively prevent and intervene when crimes like this occur. They know that making bike share more accessible and inclusive must be part of the strategy.

Why didn’t we use better locks, or a proven operator?

Despite Bewegen being a newer company, they are not new to bikeshare. The engineers and business leaders were involved in creating and founding the very first bike share systems under the Canadian company Bixi.

The locks on the stations in Baltimore are nearly identical to ones in bike share docks across the country. That said, each company has to develop it’s own proprietary equipment--something typical in a small market.

In the face of this challenge, Bewegen has stepped up and taken responsibility for this shortcoming and is bearing the cost for the research, design, and installation of the new locking system. Additionally Bewegen has provided extra maintenance staff, and is extending the warranty on bikes that were vandalized.

It’s not ideal, but Bewegen has demonstrated itself to be a company of high integrity, committed to making this work in Baltimore. The City, and most importantly taxpayers are not on the hook for these challenges.

Why didn’t Baltimore Bike Share communicate earlier?

We don’t know. We advocated for it. Strongly. But communication out of DOT has always been a challenge. Transparency is not our City’s strong suit. But other stakeholders are ready to fill the void, and we believe that this was a learning moment for Bewegen and one they have actively addressed by hiring someone local in Baltimore to manage marketing and communications for US markets moving forward.

Is the membership extension only for founding members? Can I get a refund?

While the specific details of compensation haven’t been disclosed from Bewegen, what we have heard presently is that anyone that has ever purchased a month membership will receive a free month. Anyone that purchased an annual membership will be compensated at an extended rate — which we expect to be anywhere from 6 months to a year. They plan on communicating the specifics very shortly, so members should watch their email for specifics.

Does Bikemore think Bike Share can work in Baltimore?

Yes. But in order to get there we need a few things:

The City has to be bike share’s biggest cheerleader. We would love to see Mayor Pugh riding a bike share bike at the October relaunch. Bike share is healthy, fun, and affordable — and should be something the city works hard to expand and get right.

We have to figure out the public/private partnership. Sponsors haven’t been clamoring to get on board. And following this setback, it may prove even more difficult to get corporate sponsors interested. The City needs to evaluate the plan and process for securing sponsors, and perhaps find ways to improve the system and expand through other means. Allow bike share a solid 12 months of success, and it will be much easier to ask someone to attach their brand to the system. Additionally, if bike share is to operate as public transportation the City must explore ways to fund with public dollars. Allowing the private market to solely dictate expansion rates and station locations will only further the inequity. Is there a way to allocate revenue from things like the parking tax or traffic citations to fund transportation improvements city wide? We want to see City Council and the Mayor’s office exploring these options.

Do more to make bike share for everybody. The Downtown Partnership’s subsidized membership program is good, but how is it being communicated? How easy is it to obtain? Getting equity right on bike share is a challenge that every city is confronting. No one has gotten it right yet, but many are headed in the right direction. We have to be one of those cities. We have to be willing to lead and be visionary in this area. Mobility isn’t something to be taken lightly. In no way is bike share a panacea in addressing Baltimore’s transportation inequities. But it most certainly should not exacerbate the inequity.