Bikemore Priorities Update Part I: Maryland Avenue Cycletrack

Early rendering of the Maryland Avenue Cycletrack shown here between 29th and 28th st. Updated designs include flex posts throughout the project. 

When Bikemore was formed in December of 2011, our board and stakeholders set forth advocacy priorities. These included the Maryland Avenue Cycletrack, Mt. Royal Streetscape Project, and Charm City Bike Share. While there have been many accomplishments along the way, these three priorities have continued to encounter critical challenges that have meant none of these projects have been completed. 

We wanted to start the new year by taking a moment to review and update you on how these priorities continue to fit into our organizational goals. In a three part series released over the next few days, we will discuss where each of these projects stand, and how you--our members--can support our advocacy efforts to see each of these priorities is achieved. 

Part I: Maryland Avenue Cycletrack

Summary

The facility is a two way cycle track on the east side of Maryland Avenue. The length of the facility is 2.6 miles and extends from 29th street to Pratt. The road will be narrowed to one southbound travel lane. Street parking will be retained throughout most of the corridor, and serve as the barrier “protecting” the cycletrack from moving traffic. Flex posts are also included in the design. 

Challenges

• Funded through state and federal grants, the project has been subject to the State Highway Administration (SHA) Review process. 
• Challenges in relationships and changing staff at both Baltimore City DOT (BCDOT) and at the Maryland Department of Transportation led to lengthy approval processes at each stage of the design process. 
• Maryland Avenue became part of a larger project--the Downtown Bicycle Network which includes protected bike lanes on Monument and Madison and conventional bike lanes on Preston and Biddle, which led to further engineering delays as new plans were drawn and ushered through the approval process. 
• Plans had to be reworked again in order to respond to community push back from the Mt. Vernon Business Association in order to retain hundreds of parking spaces. 
• In 2015, the project spent most of the year in a back and forth between agencies on ADA compliance at intersections. The facility is now ADA compliant. 

Where the project stands today: 

On December 16th, Bikemore received notification from SHA that plans for the Downtown Bike Network were officially approved and are now back with the city. It is now up to the City to advertise. This is the furthest in the process this project has been, and marks a significant milestone. The city must advertise for a minimum of 21 days before a contract can be awarded. According to our sources at BCDOT, much of the work to prepare the Request for Proposals has been complete. 

It’s our best estimation that if the city moves quickly, they can advertise and award in Feb/March. We believe that given all the delays, we will still be pushing for their estimated March 2016 groundbreaking. The construction will happen in stages, with Maryland Avenue being the first project to break ground. Construction is anticipated to last 90 days. The entire installation for the Downtown Bicycle Network is anticipated to last six months. 

Lessons Learned

Communication between agencies at the city and state level is critical. We are grateful for new leadership at Maryland Department of Transportation and State Highway Administration that seems committed to ensuring that city plans don’t languish unnecessarily in the review stage. Both agencies have been helpful in listening to our concerns about project delays and being proactive in uncovering where the plans were held up in the process. 

But even despite relationship building at the city and state level, both agencies engaged in a level of finger pointing that makes it difficult for us to truly assess where and why the delays occurred. It is our assessment that there are three factors at play that make it so difficult for Baltimore City to move quickly on state and federally funded projects. 

1. City and State engineers are not “on the same page” when it comes to engineering guidelines for biking facilities. The state has alluded to the city needing to produce stronger plans that would result in fewer revisions, and the city has alluded to the state needing to adopt more flexible design standards. We know from this recent article published by FHWA that this finger pointing is not a problem exclusive to Maryland, but our hope is that through our continued advocacy efforts we can get engineers at the state and local level to see eye to eye on where we can be innovative and flexible in our design choices to produce the safest, best infrastructure for our region. 
2. Lack of Political Will. When bike projects fall behind schedule, there is not a chorus of public outcry that follows. We’d like to change that. Many current elected officials don’t believe these livable streets projects are a priority of their constituents--so there is little incentive to act. But we found that often a few phone calls and in person meetings were all that it took to remind folks that people were watching and waiting on these projects to move forward. We wonder how much faster projects would move if there was more political leadership on these issues. That is why our advocacy campaign, I Bike, I Vote is so critical to changing the landscape for how and when these types of projects get built. When you have elected leaders that understand the intersectionality between public health, economics, safety and bike lanes, it's much easier to get folks to pick up the phone on your behalf. 
3. Lack of Accountability. As evident from the recent audit of DOT, it’s clear that while we know there is some great work occurring, we also know that there are few systems of accountability agency wide. Further, we know that because of the City’s procurement process that requires them to go with the lowest bid of a contractor, it nearly guarantees low quality work or excessive and costly change orders to compensate for the ridiculously low bid. We’ve seen this time and time again--facilities that are not installed to specifications that end up reducing the facility’s quality and safety. So the system of who installs and inspects these facilities is broken, and effects so much more than just bike and pedestrian facilities. 

Advocacy Next Steps: 

• Vote and encourage others to vote. Getting the right political leadership in place this next year will be critical to ensure we don’t take steps backwards. Bikemore will begin releasing candidate’s responses to our questionnaire beginning in February to help inform voters of their choices. 
• Get involved in your community association. We find that a lot of the community backlash tends to concentrate here. Misinformation, anger over change are all things that can bubble up as projects begin construction. Having people that understand the facts and benefits of bike projects attending those meetings and building relationships with neighbors will go a long way. Not sure what your community association is or when they meet? Use this city website to look it up. 
• Follow our facebook page to stay up to date on upcoming opportunities to show your support for the Maryland Avenue Cycletrack. 

A year from now, biking in Baltimore is going to look and feel very different. Now is the time to continue to grow support for biking to make sure that these new facilities we fought so hard for are installed correctly, and not undermined by community backlash. 

Tomorrow: Mt. Royal Streetscape Project 

Bikemore 2015: A Year in Review

This year was an incredibly important year for bikes in Baltimore. From memorializing the life of Tom Palermo to galvanizing people who bike to get to the polls through the launch of our I Bike, I Vote initiative, our members have turned out in ways that leave no doubt that we are growing as a movement--that bikes and Baltimore fit together a little better than the year before.  As 2015 comes to a close, let's look back on all that we've accomplished together! Want to help us grow and do bigger and better things in 2016? Consider a year end gift. Together, we are building a force for biking in Baltimore! 

And now our year in review...

 Memorial Ride for Tom Palermo 

2015 began on a somber note. On January 1st, hundreds of bicyclists gathered to pay tribute to Tom Palermo. His death was tragic, and he will be forever missed. But his passing also deepened the resolve of those in the bicycling community to work harder to ensure another family doesn't have to suffer the same immense loss. 

Hundreds of people on bikes gather to pay tribute to Tom Palermo. Photo Credit: Baltimore Sun

Baltimore City Adopts Bicycling Master Plan 

The long overdue update of our city's bicycle master plan solidified Baltimore City's commitment to growing a bicycle network. And while our work has just begun to ensure this is a plan that doesn't simply exist on paper--but is implemented--this was a critical first step in mapping out the city's future as one where all modes are considered on our roadways. 

Mayor Signs Executive Order Forming Bicycle Advisory Commission

The Mayor's Executive order breathed life into a dormant committee by drawing on talent from the private and public sector to ensure the Bike Master Plan comes to fruition. Bikemore has been a part of the commission since its creation in March, and has been able to see firsthand the dedication of these commission members as they work to ensure the city better coordinates agency efforts and allocates proper funding for future projects. 

Hired a New Executive Director    

After an extensive national search, Bikemore hired Liz Cornish to lead Bikemore in its next phase of growth. Cornish came to Bikemore after working on national advocacy issues at the League of American Bicyclists. 

Community Bike Rides 

We upped our game when it came to providing programs that brought people together to share in their love of bikes. We hosted five new community rides that hosted over 200 participants. We hosted rides with the 29th St. and North Barclay Green Community Centers that brought youth and adults together, we hosted women from D.C. as they rode the MARC bike train to explore Baltimore with other ladies who ride, we toured architectural sites by hosting a ride for Doors Open, and partnered with Brewer's Art to host the Future of Biking in Baltimore ride that explored all the places slated to get improvements in 2016-2017. We know that group rides are a great way to introduce folks to urban riding, and build community among existing riders. We look forward to planning more rides in 2016! 

Charles Street Complete Street 

Photo Credit: Baltimore Sun

October saw the long awaited completion of the Charles Street "complete street" construction. The project created much needed pedestrian improvements, traffic calming, and the addition of buffered bike lanes. Charles Street is now much safer for all road users, and we hope this public-private partnership to create livable streets can become a model that is replicated elsewhere in the city to spur safer street projects. 

I Bike, I Vote Kick Off 

On November 8th, 2015 we threw a party to share our platform for the 2016 election. Our goal was to get people stoked on connecting their transportation and recreation choice--biking to voting. The event exceeded our wildest expectations. We had 5 Mayoral Candidates, 16 Council Candidates and over 200 constituents attend our rally to get out the bike vote. In the coming year, we have more opportunities to engage in the upcoming election and educate voters about where each candidate stands on creating a more bikable, walkable Baltimore. 

Baltimore's First Annual Cranksgiving

We hosted over 80 riders, who went on a scavenger hunt to procure $1000s in groceries to donate to Moveable Feast. We had a ton of fun, and learned a lot about how to grow and strengthen this new bikey holiday tradition. Can't wait for next year to be even bigger and even better! 

Transform Baltimore 

Sometimes fighting for livable streets means getting a little wonky and organizing against policies that don't directly relate to biking, but facilitate a way of thinking about growth that undermines the creation of bikeable places. Our new zoning code has been awaiting City Council adoption for years. Just when we are getting close to the finally adopting a form based code that will ensure that all neighborhoods are developed in a way that considers things like walkability, historic preservation, and safety, the Council began voting on hundreds of amendments at a rapid pace. Thanks to your support, we were able to mobilize dozens of Bikemore members to send emails to the transportation and land use committee and ensure that the amendments most harmful to livable streets were opposed. 

Roland Avenue Cycletrack

Christmas came early with the installation of the Roland Avenue Cycletrack. This two mile stretch of parking protected bike lane taught us a lot of lessons.  First, in what took only 14 months from project concept to completion--it showed the value of local dollars in speeding up the implementation of new bike facilities. To our chagrin, it lapped the installation of the Maryland Avenue Cycletrack--which spent the entire year under State Highway review due to use of Federal funds. So while this facility had some challenges in design and community support, as Baltimore's first parking protected bike lane, we decided it was important to throw our support behind the project and ensure its installation. As the Roland Park community and city continue to work out the kinks in terms of parking compliance, maintenance, and signage, the result is a beautiful reminder of what a complete street in Baltimore can look like. Change is hard, and we knew wherever the first facility of this kind was installed we would face some opposition. But seeing BCDOT's commitment to the project despite some divisive community opposition gives us hope that whatever opposition future projects face, we have turned a corner in terms of the city leading on complete street issues. And that is cause for celebration. 

Thank you for helping us build a force for biking in Baltimore in 2015! 

Update: Transform Baltimore

Last Monday, December 14, the Land Use and Transportation Committee held four hours of amendment voting sessions. We had asked our constituents to take action on a series of amendments we believed to undermine the purpose of Transform Baltimore--to create a uniform zoning code that encourages sustainable growth and livable streets. 

The voting sessions got through all of the Title 14 amendments and the bulk of Title 15. In our email we had requested opposition to amendments in Title 10, 14, 15 and 16. Voting on the text amendments will continue after the holidays. 

Of the six Title 14 amendments we opposed all were either withdrawn or failed to pass. 

Withdrawn: T-487, T-488, T-496, T-628

Failed due to no motion to proceed: T-499, T-504

Failed due to lack of votes: T-511

It should be noted that prior to going to a vote, Councilwoman Clark had revised T-499--the amendment that blocked the adoption of neighborhood commercial by creating an elaborate finding of fact to get approved--so that the findings of fact were agreeable to our demands. However, at that point it seemed that no committee member wanted to even be associated with it to move it to a vote. 

Title 15 amendments that we opposed were revised to become more amenable to livable streets or withdrawn. 

Withdrawn: T-528

Passed with revisions: T-523. T-522

amendment revisions 

Bikemore didn't plan on becoming so engaged in the discussion on Transform Baltimore, but when it became clear that members of council and outside interests were introducing amendments harmful to the livable streets spirit of an improved form based code, it became important for us to take action. 

We will continue to monitor the amendment voting process that will likely stretch on for a few more months. We will continue to keep you apprised of opportunities for action, and ways you can communicate to our city's leaders how important vibrant, safe, bikeable and walkable places are to the future of Baltimore. 

Thank you for taking action. 

Take Action: Transform Baltimore Amendments

Today's blog post was written by Ben Groff and presented in partnership with Citizens Planning and Housing Association Ben is a transportation advocate with background in legal and policy issues. 

TAKE ACTION

The Transform Baltimore zoning code rewrite was launched nearly 10 years ago to modernize Baltimore’s zoning code and implement the vision of the city's last master plan, 2006's LIVE EARN PLAY LEARN.  

That vision included many goals that can only be furthered with livable streets, and a key strategy to accomplish this was to be the Transform Baltimore zoning code rewrite. 

The LIVE category, there were three overarching livability goals: 

1. Strengthen neighborhoods, 
2. Improve the design and quality of the built environment, and 
3. Improve transportation access and choice for city residents. 

Other categories included livable streets goals, too.  

• The EARN category called for improving transportation access to jobs. 
• The PLAY category spoke to improving recreation for residents and visitors alike and emphasized open space.  It's the PLAY strategy that called for Baltimore to develop its Bicycle Master Plan and build out park/trail systems.  
• The LEARN category called for safe and convenient transportation to educational facilities. 

The Transform Baltimore Legislation

In 2012, the Transform Baltimore legislation was finally unveiled as Council Bill 12-0152.  Over the years, CPHA and others have closely monitored progress on the bills which has been slow and painstaking.  

Earlier this year, 29 community organizations signed a letter calling for the code to be implemented as soon as possible, and making some general and specific recommendations to maintain the implementation of a livable streets-style vision.  CPHA's Gregory Friedman published an article in Greater Greater Washington urging the same. 

In about the last two months, City Council's Land Use and Transportation Committee has sprung into action, moving rapidly through hundreds of proposed amendments that have been accumulating since 2012. 

Some of these amendments jeopardize the livable streets vision that Transform Baltimore was meant to implement.

How the Code Promotes Livable Streets

At the highest level, the zoning code gives Baltimore a form-based code, instead of a code based on "Euclidean" segregation of uses and restrictive regulations.  It promotes livable streets by: 

• removing development barriers to mixed-use, walkable neighborhoods, 
• requiring designs to meet minimal standards related to quality place design
• eliminating wasteful parking requirements, and
• encouraging pedestrian, bike, and transit use 

In short, the code creates livable streets by enabling an attractive and diverse urban fabric throughout Baltimore, and removing last-century requirements that effectively force car ownership and subsidize or encourage access-adverse development. 

What's Happening Now

There are three types of amendments: 

1. Amendments to the text of the bill itself (Council Bill 12-0152), 
2. Amendments to the tables (that set forth in concise form things like parking requirements for different types of uses), and 
3. Amendments to maps (the maps show, for the whole city, the zoning district of each property on adoption of the Code. 

This Monday, December 14, 2015 the Committee will work through some especially important amendments to Titles 14 and if time permits, 15 and 16.  As I understand it, the considered amendments are amendments to the bill text – the titles – only.

• Title 14 contains provisions related to uses (including neighborhood commercial)
• Title 15 contains provisions related to site development, (improvements made to an existing site)
• Title 16 contains provisions related to parking. 

Additionally, amendments to the Title 10 provisions affecting parking in the C-5 (downtown) district will also be voted on with Title 16. 

How the Amendments Undermine Livable Streets

Amendments generally undermine the livable streets vision in the code when they:

1. Reassert wasteful parking requirements that promote access-adverse development
2. Restrict mixed-uses in favor of segregated uses
3. Needlessly restrict residential density in favor of low-density, access-adverse development
4. Undermine the central goal of enabling well-designed places for people instead of cars

The worst of the worst amendments include: 

Amendment T-545.  Section 16-601 contains exemptions to minimum parking requirements, and amendments were introduced to eliminate most of the exemptions, including T-545, T-633, T-699, T-546, and T-547.  In particular T-545 would reassert parking minimums in the C-1, C-1-E, C-5, R-MU, and D-MU districts, which under the present code are exempt from minimums.

Amendments T-374-380. Section 10-503(I) in Title 10 transforms parking and access in the C-5 downtown district.  This district is roughly bordered by the waterfront/Key Highway, MLK, President Street, and Franlkin Street.  10-503(I) currently bans new surface parking lots, requires active ground-floor uses, and bans new curb cuts on primary streets (Baltimore, Charles, Eutaw, Pratt, and Howard).  Amendments T-374 through T-380 would eliminate all of these requirements.

Amendments T-499 and T-628.  These amendments would seek to amend Title 14 to eliminate the Neighborhood Commercial use.  T-628 has been purportedly withdrawn.

Amendments T-542 and T-528.  This amendment to Title 16 removes the provision allowing for land banking of 25% of required parking (by setting aside open space) and fee-in-lieu parking, allowing developers to fund alternative transportation instead of providing all the required parking. 

Today, Bikemore and CPHA urge you to TAKE ACTION and OPPOSE HARMFUL ZONING CODE AMENDMENTS on this issue by emailing the members of the Land Use and Transportation Committee. We've created a form email you can send to all members of the committee by clicking this link. 

Below are tables detailing the amendments in Titles 14, 15, and 16 that would do the most damage to the livability goals of the Comprehensive Master Plan and the new Code. 

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Table 1: Title 14 Amendments 

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Table 2: Title 15 Amendments 

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Table 3: Title 16 Amendments 

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Table 4: Title 10 Amendments 

Audits Shine Light on DOT Inefficiencies

A bicyclists rides down Maryland Ave. Photo Credit: Baltimore Sun 

Baltimore City is undergoing a series of agency audits for the first time in thirty years. That it took thirty years to conjure the political will to conduct financial and performance audits is in and of itself infuriating. That the first audit released, a financial and performance review of Baltimore City’s Department of Transportation revealed that the agency "provided no evidence of policies, procedures, internal controls, or accountability" for its workers' performance in most categories is maddening, although not surprising. 

While Baltimore DOT has made some internal shifts toward promoting more bike and pedestrian friendly designs, we have yet to see a single project from this new line of thinking get installed. That the response to citizens waiting years for projects like the Maryland Avenue Cycletrack is  that it has been hampered in State Highway Administration (SHA) review is so far past adequate that one is left to wonder--how can we believe you anymore? And if it is true, where is the political will from our Mayor and City Council to deliver on promises to Baltimore citizens and hold SHA accountable? 

Since beginning my tenure as Bikemore Executive Director in May, I’ve been promised countless dates of when the Downtown Bicycle Network will go to bid. Going to bid before the end of the year is critical to ensure a March 2016 groundbreaking. This is a project that has been fully funded for years. How can we tell if the back and forth between SHA is a product of poor performance at DOT, SHA or both? The answer--we can’t. When you have no policy or procedure to measure performance or to hold an agency accountable to actually deliver on the projects it promises, the results are what we have today. Very little accomplished, very few projects even close to completion. And what incentive do employees have to actually follow through on their promises when they can rest assured knowing there will be zero consequences for failing to meet their self appointed deadlines? 

What’s more, specifically in relation to the Downtown Bicycle Network--which includes the plan for the Maryland Avenue Cycletrack--DOT as of today remains firm in their statement that they are waiting for SHA approval to be finalized. Meanwhile sources at SHA have confirmed that they have released the plans to the city--although we were not able to confirm a specific date the plans were released, and still other SHA employees in their communication to DOT today have stated that approval has not been finalized. That this level of inconclusiveness is considered status quo is unacceptable.  

This is just one small example of how poor performance from DOT has been allowed to remain “unchecked”. This is in no way an indictment of individual employees, who for the most part have exhibited a willingness to hear Bikemore’s concerns and help us find answers. But rather a system that forces well intentioned employees to patronize people who are merely seeking clarity--clarity that without strong systems of accountability and performance measurement seems outside their ability to provide. 

I hope those running for office this election cycle recognize there is a new crop of informed voters who want more than platitudes about job growth and crime reduction. We want candidates to bring forth actual plans to rid our city of the horrible abuses those with power have allowed to go on for too long. Abuses that are well documented across all agencies, not just the Department of Transportation. We want candidates that understand the nuances of operating a cash strapped independent city, and are realistic about our locus of control. Good government isn’t something that should be aspirational for Baltimore, it’s something as voters we should demand.