Strategic Plan
Bikemore’s Vision of a Connected City
At Bikemore, we believe a great city is a connected city. One where the amenities—and the opportunities—are for everyone. A city designed for face-to-face interactions, serendipity, mobility and sustainability. A city designed for people. All people.
In a city where isolation and segregation define our past and present, we believe it’s time for connection to define our future.
Who We Are
Bikemore advocates for policies and infrastructure that create thriving neighborhoods in Baltimore. We work to expand protected bicycle infrastructure between our neighborhoods and work within neighborhoods to ensure policies are in place so the goods and services people need are easily accessed on foot or by bike. We focus on putting people before cars and expanding opportunity for all of Baltimore’s residents. Bikemore is Baltimore’s always-on transportation advocate. We show up. We turn people out. We are always paying attention.
Our Strategic Priorities
Build community through creative events and programming that build a force for biking in Baltimore.
Our events are the way we touch base with our key supporters and cultivate new ones. Our core events have grown year over year and have allowed us to engage corporate sponsors, connect Baltimore residents to resources that help them bike more and bike more safely, and celebrate our wins. This includes expanding existing programming, like our successful Mobile Bike Shop, and developing new programming that focuses on our communities of color and local businesses.
Build bike lanes by educating and mobilizing key decision makers and voters.
We educate decision makers through technical assistance, hearings, community meetings, authoring white papers and policy recommendations, and providing educational experiences for city leaders, funders, business leaders, Department of Transportation, the Mayor, City Council, and developers to ensure best practices are being used. We provide information about candidates and issues through events and multimedia campaigns, and deploying community organizer to mobilize voters.
Build better transit by expanding Bikemore in Action to include advocacy around transit more broadly.
We will elect Complete Streets champions, and develop political platforms for transportation and land use to influence candidates’ positions. We will continue to advocate for or against specific pieces of legislation based on our goals of improving infrastructure, making streets safer and reconnecting communities.
How We’ll Measure Success
By 2022
Policy wins: tangible legislative and city policy wins create a healthier, safer, more livable bicycling city.
$3M of Capital Improvement for the construction of new bike lanes over three years.
Build a coalition of business leaders who believe in bikes.
Bikes are mentioned on the campaign trail and in policy platforms from all leading candidates for Mayor and City Council.
There is an overall increase in bike parking in the city and decrease in car parking.
At least 100 new bike racks are requested per year.
There are 10 miles of new protected bike infrastructure.
Our members reflect the city we serve.
1,500 individual donors give a total of $240,000 to Bikemore per year.
What will a city built for people look like?
Baltimore has a mayor who supports multi-modal transit.
The Separated Bike Lane Network Plan is fully implemented, creating 77 miles of protected bike lanes and supporting facilities.
There are 35 miles in the Baltimore Greenway Trail Network.
Baltimore has shifted from a majority car city to a majority bike, walk or public transit city.
The number of people who commute on bikes has increased to 3% of mode share.
Land use in the city promotes dense, walker friendly neighborhoods.
Developers are empowered to think beyond cars, and their visions aren’t impeded by parking requirements.
What We Need to Be Successful
It’s not by accident that we’ve proposed an ambitious plan for Bikemore; our vision for Baltimore is bold and, by all measures, necessary to stop population decline and improve the health and social and economic mobility of our most marginalized neighbors. We know that change won’t come easily—we must build a bigger tent to engage all citizens in the potential of a connected city.
To support this growth we’ll build the capacity and diversity of both Bikemore and Bikemore in Action’s board, we’ll add additional staff, and expand our physical infrastructure including office space and Mobile Bike equipment.
How We’ll Pay for It
Our revenue model for the next three years builds on our verified strength of individual giving, taps into emerging sources of strength such as corporate sponsorships and earned income, and pivots strategy where we haven’t been as successful as we know we can be. Overall, we will continue to diversify our revenue to maximize sustainability.
Why Support Bikemore’s Connected City?
When you design a city for biking and walking, you design a city that prioritizes people over cars. A Baltimore that is safe, equitable, healthy and prosperous has streets that connect people to each other and to opportunity close to home, not just in the suburbs.
Baltimore’s residents deserve immediate improvements to their quality of life. Transportation and land use advocacy bring about changes that are visible, impactful and cost effective. Success, even on a small scale builds trust. It creates momentum. It demonstrates that even a city rife with challenges can win, grow and improve.
Bikemore’s approach to civic engagement equips citizens with the tools to demand better, and we support city leaders to put forth bold solutions that meet those calls.
In just three years, Bikemore has achieved things no one thought was possible – nationally recognized Complete Streets legislation, safer streets, and powerful coalitions of engaged citizens and public officials who have become champions of improved transportation. We’ve stood up for what’s right even in the face of adversity, and maintained a seat at the table through strategic, skillful advocacy.
Now, with new programming and a growing reach in the city, we are ready to serve more neighbors, garner more wins and create positive lasting change in the city that we love.
See our PDF version of our strategic plan.