Advocacy

,

Take Action: Street Cuts Policy Update

,

A closure of the protected bike lane on Cathedral Street that is no longer legal under the Complete Streets Ordinance.

Baltimore City Department of Transportation is currently updating their Street Cuts Policy. You may not know what exactly that means, but there is a 100% chance you’ve been affected if you walk, bike, take transit, or drive in Baltimore City.

The Street Cuts Policy governs utility work on our roadways, bike lanes, and sidewalks. Prior to the Baltimore Complete Streets ordinance, it was common to see closures like the one in the image above— closures that prioritized keeping the road open for car travel and parking, even if it meant closing a bike lane or sidewalk.

The Complete Streets ordinance changed that, requiring detours to follow the modal hierarchy that puts pedestrians and bicyclists first. We’ve seen successful implementations of the ordinance on Aliceanna Street just before Boston Street or on Charles Street by 33rd Street, where construction is ongoing but safe pedestrian and bicycle access has been maintained.

While these projects are a start, Baltimore City Department of Transportation still needs to update their official guidance to reflect the Complete Streets Ordinance. This will ensure that future projects led by both the city and contractors will also comply with the Complete Streets law — that’s why we need to update the Streets Cut Policy. 

We have reviewed the draft of the new policy, and we would like it to include more specific guidance for maintaining access to sidewalks and bike lanes during construction, more aggressive timelines for restoring and repaving streets after work is finished, and to make sure crossings and traffic calming we stripe on that restored street is even better than what was there before and restores any community funded art that may have been damaged or removed.

Our sample language for recommendations is below, and we encourage you edit as you see fit and submit comment before February 22nd.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide comment on the Draft Street Cuts Policy.

  1. This is an opportunity to not only see street restorations, but street improvements. Whenever a complete streets treatment/vision zero treatment like a crosswalk or curb extension is affected, the entire treatment should be fully restored and if possible, enhanced. For example, a standard crosswalk should be restriped fully as a continental crosswalk, even if only a partial section of crosswalk was cut.

  2. Art in the ROW and all other decorative treatments that enhance an intersection or street need to be replaced/restored in-kind.

  3. Same side detours must be required for sidewalk or bicycle lane closures. This should only be allowed to be overruled by a written exemption and explanation from the Director.

  4. When same side detours are in place, they should meet or exceed the level of separation provided previously. For example, separated bike lane detour shall continue to be separated by a vertical element like flex posts, or water or jersey barrier. There should be minimum widths of 5 feet or greater for a one-way bike detour and 8 feet or greater for a two-way bike detour, just as there are minimum widths for sidewalk detours.

  5. When a written exemption for a same side detour is made by the Director, the approved detour shall meet or exceed the level of comfort for the detoured facility. For example, a separated bike lane detour must include separation on the entire detour, it can't just be signage to use an adjacent street non-separated bike lane.

  6. The 120 day period for full restoration is too long. This needs to be substantially reduced, to 60 days or less.

  7. Fines should be dramatically increased, and escalate significantly for continued violation by contractors. This revenue will be needed to hire more inspectors.

,

Creating more affordable housing through R7/R8 Conversions

,

This Spring, Bikemore interns Sumi and Patrick embarked on educating folks about R7/R8 conversions and how increasing housing density is good policy for advancing equity and strengthening our transportation. While the original bill, 21-0009 will likely not make it out of committee, we still wanted to share this information knowing that larger housing reforms are necessary. This blog post was written by Patrick Reid, and video interviews were conducted and edited by Sumi Kim.

—

The issues of redistricting of R-7 and R-8 zoning isn't a necessarily flashy and exciting policy agenda but is very important in the ways it lends itself to equity and an inclusive and complete neighborhood.

 The legislation before the Baltimore City Council, which was introduced by Councilman Bullock and endorsed by Councilman Dorsey and Burnett, is an effort to expand the types of housing available in the R-7 and R-8 designated zoning categories. These zones allow for higher densities and the ability to convert single family homes into multi-family units. Currently the process for this conversion is arduous. In order for a conversion to be carried out the City Council must pass a specific law in the form of an ordinance to allow the property to be converted. This existing process is cumbersome and very inefficient and the new legislation would do a lot to streamline the conversions!

If the legislation were to pass, then as long as the building met the required codes, the conversion could be allowed without the passage of an ordinance. Specifically this would mean that the large homes in Baltimore's neighborhoods like Bolton Hill could be converted from their current single family residency to multiple apartments within the building, increasing affordability. Converting a single family city mansion into apartments for 4 families could have a really profound impact on the equity of the city.  It would allow more people to access more communities that have better amenities and better access to jobs and transit systems. 

This type of housing can also be referred to as the “missing middle” in reference to a middle ground between low density single family units and then high density apartment buildings. Communities like this have huge upsides when it comes to transportation access. One source from the New York City region has found that “Higher density helps expand transportation choices by providing riders options like bike, bus, and rail. Investments in transportation systems need density to justify resource allocation and achieve returns.” By creating denser and more affordable housing options, cities can advance stronger transportation and biking initiatives that serve more people. 

Single family housing, especially in cities, is a really unsustainable way of organizing land. It forces land and property to be sold at large and unaffordable quantities, leaving many residents to struggle without stable housing. This kind of housing is also grounded in elements of classism and racism because of the way it was first developed. Initially, many areas that primarily used single family zoning were designated as “white” neighborhoods during the practice known as redlining. Redlining is the nefarious practice of refusing loans in areas deemed as high financial risk areas based on race and income that has historically excluded groups of people from buying homes and land. It is one of several systemic factors that has stunted the ability of many Black Americans to accumulate wealth. Locally here in Baltimore, the process also created a hugely unequal distribution of land wealth and placed it in the hands of wealthy, white Baltimoreans and displaced communities of color. Black and POC communities were left victimized by incredibly unfair zoning regulations. A specific example of this is Roland Park, where racial housing covenants made it impossible for Black Baltimoreans to own land or housing in the neighborhood.

By making it easier to rezone from single to multi-use, the city of Baltimore would be correcting these historical wrongs and helping to level the uneven playing field of housing inequality.  Mixed use housing and multi family units are a great way to connect people with affordable housing options in an urban community, improve access and quality of public transit and make walking and biking much easier and safer. 

,

What does a parking cashout mean for Baltimore?

,

Written by Patrick Reid, UMBC student and Bikemore Intern

The Baltimore City Council passed an important new bill in March that could change how some city government employees commute. The new bill aims to study something known as a parking cashout.

Parking cashouts are an incredibly effective way to increase the use of alternative modes of commuting to work. Basically, parking cashouts give employees the cost of a dedicated parking spot as cash, allowing them to use the money to pay for alternative modes of transportation. Free parking at work is often an included employee benefit; this takes the value of parking to create incentive for using other modes of transportation. 

Enticing local business leaders to support sustainable initiative can sometimes seem like a daunting task, especially when many have their profit margins to consider. But a cashout program is a win-win situation. Employees receive a cash benefit,  and employers can save costs and even receive a tax credit. A study by the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) illustrates how these savings work in an example below. 

A table showing how a parking cashout with the commuter tax credit would save employers money on employee benefit costs.

The table shows just how beneficial the parking cash out program would be for businesses who are looking to not only support sustainability and increase transit usage but also just cut down on their costs. By using the tax credit and maximizing the amount of money given to the employees who opt into the program the employer saves $7,500 while the employee makes an extra $50 a month or $600 over a year. 

The program is economically sound, but would it actually contribute to an increased use of alternative modes of commuting like bikes or transit?

According to a study in Washington D.C., it absolutely would. Looking at a sample of 987 Washington commuters who were faced with the prospect of not receiving free parking at their place of work, we see clearly some potential changes in behavior. For these commuters the options of biking or walking increased 15% while public transit usage increased by 31%. The number of commuters saying that they would get to work by “car alone” would fall by a staggering 50% to less than a quarter of surveyed commuters choosing to commute by car if the parking was not free!

parking choices dc.png

What these numbers look like in practice is a cleaner, more connected city that can shift focus away from cars and instead on new modes of transportation like bikes and public transit. It means a more environmentally sustainable future and many more options for commuting. The Washington-based survey data in addition to the economic report from MDOT show the feasibility of a parking cash out program for all stakeholders involved.

While the current proposal only looks at the city government, a broader rollout of a cash out program could really make a big difference in Baltimore. What the city needs are bold new ideas and the courage to pursue them. This program could have a really meaningful impact if it was rolled out to more industries throughout Baltimore. We have the chance to transform the way that Baltimoreans commute, to make it environmentally conscious, safer and even put a little extra money into each paycheck in the process. 

,

Dockless Vehicle 2020 Update

,
Screen Shot 2021-02-03 at 1.50.14 PM.png

Bikemore has supported the City’s Dockless Vehicle Program permit for e-scooters and bikes since before the pilot launched in 2018, writing the white paper that served as the basis for the pilot and supporting legislation to make the program permanent. 

While this year’s permit cycle was meant to end in August 2020, it has been on hold due to Maryland’s State of Emergency. So how has the scooter program been doing during pandemic times? 

Here are the highlights from the Department of Transportation’s latest update:

  • Vehicle trips in 2020 decreased 55.6% from 2019. We also saw a shift from weekday rush-hour commute trips to midday/weekend usage. 

  • Trips around the Inner Harbor, downtown, and at college/university campuses dropped significantly, while trips around parks and along transit corridors increased. 

  • DOT used Dockless Vehicle Permit funds to perform an audit on bike facilities and completed work orders to replace 100 flex posts, convert two storm drains to be bicycle/scooter friendly, and added green paint to improve visibility at intersections.

  • DOT is currently working on installing over twenty bike/scooter parking corrals around the city, prioritizing transit connections, reducing vandalism, and equity zones.

  • After the State of Emergency is lifted, DOT will release an updated Rules and Regulations for the Dockless Vehicle permit for public comment before vendor applications open.

  • Currently, SPIN and Lime are the only two dockless vehicle vendors in the city after Lime acquired JUMP and Bolt failed to meet permit requirements.

  • Lime has re-launched JUMP bikes in the city, but the fleet is still quite small.

Also, Lime chose Bikemore as their “Lime Hero” partner back in September 2020! Riders can round up their rides to make a small donation to Bikemore and have the opportunity to learn about our work through the app.

Read the full memo from DOT here.

,

Harford Road Bridge Redesigned with Complete Streets Principles

,

Last Thursday night, Baltimore City Department of Transportation hosted a meeting with eighty community members in attendance to provide an update on the proposed design changes to the Harford Road Bridge. 

The newly proposed design reduces four lanes of car traffic to two, and reallocates this space to a southbound bus travel lane, additional lanes for mixed-use walking and biking, and more buffer between moving traffic and pedestrians. Complete Streets Manager Graham Young cited the newly adopted Complete Streets Manual and Separated Lane Network Plan as guiding documents for the new design.

The design also extends changes on Harford Road to the north and south of the bridge, reconfiguring dangerous intersections and extending separated bike lanes that make both people biking and walking on the adjacent sidewalks safer from passing cars.

Overall, folks on the call were excited about the new design and also advocated to keep Lake Montebello closed to cars and for additional closure of Walther Avenue between Harford Road and Argonne Drive.

We encourage you to view the presentation and leave comments on the proposed design here, or email dot-community@baltimorecity.gov with your comments. 

Since the Harford Road bridge has been closed, the streets to the north and south have seen less traffic and have been adjusted to accommodate space for other uses, like added parking, outdoor cafes, curb extensions, and separated bike lanes. These were long-standing community goals that existed well before the bridge project began design and construction. 

It never made sense to have a bridge design with 4 lanes of high speed car traffic and narrow, unprotected bike lanes. But that’s what the original design called for. 

From the first community meeting about the bridge, Bikemore called for a road diet and addition of separated bike lanes to the project. Neighbors complained about the high level of speeds along the current bridge, and were nervous to see the existing guardrails on the old bridge removed in the new design, because they provided basic protection to people walking across the bridge next to highway speed traffic. We were joined in calls for a re-design by then-candidate for 3rd District City Council -- Ryan Dorsey, who made changes to the bridge design a major focus of his campaign.

Despite Dorsey’s victory in the election, along with broad community support for design changes and Bikemore’s advocacy, no substantial changes were made from the original bridge design presented. In 2018, the bridge project moved to construction. As reported at the time in the Baltimore Sun:

City Councilman Ryan Dorsey, who represents the area and runs a Facebook page dedicated to news about the bridge, criticized the new bridge’s design as “incredibly unsafe” because the bike lane is not physically separated by barriers from the road, he said.

If it had been designed in Montgomery County, Dorsey said, a separated bike lane would be required due to traffic volumes and observed speeds.

“It’s really a failing of DOT that a safer design was not planned from the outset, even worse that safer design was called for by community members from the earliest stages, but DOT insisted on this unsafe design,” Dorsey said. “This DOT has not really inspired much confidence so far, but I’m still holding out hope that a change will be made before we get to a point where it’s really too late.”

Over the past 15 years, the city transportation department has ignored calls from residents, advocates and public officials to build a new bridge that is safe and accessible for pedestrians and bicyclists, said Jed Weeks, policy director of Bikemore, a bicycle advocacy group.

“Instead, they've doomed generations of Baltimoreans to an unsafe design with minimum width sidewalks and unprotected bike lanes next to speeding traffic,” Weeks said in a statement. “This bridge is a total failure in planning and an example of why we had to pass an ordinance to force BCDOT to do better in the future."

While the beginning of construction marked the end of advocacy for a smaller bridge design that could have saved millions of dollars in construction costs, we continued to advocate for an improved reconfiguration of the wide bridge that was to be built. In that time, we gained new leadership in the mayor’s office, new leadership at BCDOT, and Councilman Dorsey was re-elected, cementing that there is broad support for his complete streets vision within the 3rd District.

This redesign, combined with the closure of Lake Montebello to car traffic, the coming design and installation of trail along St. Lo Drive and 33rd Street, and future expanded separated bike lanes along Harford Road are a culmination of years of advocacy that would not have been possible without Bikemore’s supporters.

Our work is wholly supported by our donors. Help us make Baltimore a better place to ride a bicycle.