Check out this new bike rack at the Bond Street Wharf! Previously, there was only one rack, and it was routinely packed beyond capacity. After feedback from tenants in the area, Harbor East has gone ahead and installed an additional rack. Looks good!
New Bike Racks Hit Canton
I'm sure this spot looks familiar to anyone who lives in Canton or has gone out there. I speak of course of the area in the middle of Canton Square, which has always been surprisingly lacking in terms of bike parking.
That all changed this week. Elliott Plack took the photo above yesterday evening, which demonstrates brand spanking new bike parking in Canton.
I look forward to using this bad boy rather than meandering around for minutes on end trying to find signage to lock up to. Good work!
Upgraded Train Station Bike Parking
Bike parking locations at Penn and Camden Stations
Something good came out of the rainy day today--upgraded bike parking was installed at Penn Station and Camden Station. To accomodate the new high-density covered racks, bike parking has been relocated slightly at both stations. See the graphics below for the new locations.
To use the new racks, hang your front wheel on one of the protruding hangers, and lock your wheel and frame to the "D" bar next to your bike. When parked correctly, your bike should look like this:
Examples of Properly Parked Bikes
The new racks will provide more--and better--bike parking at both station locations. Enjoy, and don't hesitate to let us know what you think.
Check Out The New Inner Harbor Bike Parking
The former bike racks that many riders--myself included--locked up to went AWOL during the mixed trail construction, and the racks outside of Noodles and Company went missing sometime ago, too.
Although we went rack-less for awhile, we now officially have replacements, according to reports at B'more Bikes. Make sure you give them a try next time you're downtown.
Bikemore Works with Harbor East to Change Sticker Policy
Over the past few months, Bikemore has heard several accounts of Harbor East security employees placing stickers on bicycles locked to any object that Harbor East Management Group did not explicitly install as bicycle parking (e.g. a standard No Stopping from here to intersection sign). These stickers were intended as "courtesy notices" instructing people to lock to bicycle racks rather than street signs–even though locking to street signs is legal (with some exceptions), and the stickering amounts to defacement of private property. A few weeks ago, Harbor East Management Group issued a memo to Harbor East residents and employees, titled "Bicycle Safety and Security Tips." The memo contained some great information about locking up your bike; for instance, a recommendation to use a Kryptonite U-lock rather than a cable lock to secure a bike.
However, the memo also contained information that is patently false. One paragraph reads:
"It is illegal to chain your bicycle to a city light or sign pole, benches or parking meters. Baltimore City Police are authorized to cut your lock and impound your bicycle should they chose to do so. Out of courtesy, Harbor East Security will place an "illegal parking" sticker on your bicycle as a simple reminder to use an authorized bike rack to prevent your bicycle from being impounded."
Quite simply, this is incorrect. Now, it is prohibited for a bicycle to be in a location where it would “obstruct or impede vehicular traffic or pedestrian movement,” so in that situation, the Police would have the authority to remove it.
However, these situations are few and far between in practice.
Since the initial memo, Bikemore worked with Harbor East Management Group and the City and confirmed the stickers were being used based on inaccurate information.
After working with Bikemore, Harbor East Management Group is no longer placing “courtesy notice” stickers on bicycles. That said, Harbor East continues to issue non-sticker “courtesy notices” on bicycles despite Bikemore’s efforts to reverse this procedure altogether.
As we move forward, Bikemore encourages riders to keep us abreast with the situation in Harbor East. If stickers return, notify us and we will work with the City and Harbor East Management Group to rectify the situation.
We ask the city government to issue a press release clarifying this issue of legal vs. illegal bicycle parking, and asking all public and private city stakeholders to stop spreading misinformation about bicycle parking.