Bikemore’s Recommendations for the Downtown Bicycle Network

The Baltimore City Department of Transportation (BCDOT) has committed $3 million in 2014 to build a series of bicycle infrastructure projects collectively known as the Downtown Bicycle Network. We offer the following recommendations, based on BCDOT’s presentation of February 4, in the spirit of constructive input and ongoing collaboration. A letter nearly identical to this post was sent via email and snail mail to BCDOT leaders on March 27, 2014.

In this post, “Maryland Avenue Cycletrack” refers to the entire protected bicycle lane along Maryland Avenue, Cathedral Street, Liberty Street, and Hopkins Place between 29th Street and Pratt Street, while “Downtown Bicycle Network” refers to the Maryland Avenue Cycletrack plus proposed standard bicycle lanes on Centre, Madison, Monument, Biddle, Preston, and Dolphin Streets.

The proposed Downtown Bicycle Network to be constructed in 2014, plus the Mount Royal Avenue Cycletrack and the Guilford Avenue bicycle lane.

Assuming that, in the short term, pedestrian crossing signals are to be used as bicycle crossing signals along the Maryland Avenue Cycletrack corridor instead of bicycle-specific signals, BCDOT should install pedestrian crossing signals at every signalized intersection along the corridor that is currently missing any pedestrian crossing signals. If it were built today, northbound bicycle traffic at several intersections along the corridor would not have a clear signal of when to proceed without a pedestrian crossing signal.

Signalized intersection without pedestrian crossing signal at Maryland Avenue at 27th Street.

Add a 5-second leading interval for all bicycle/pedestrian signals and ban all turns on red in every direction at each signalized intersection that the Downtown Bicycle Network touches:

• Maryland Avenue / Cathedral Street / Liberty Street / Hopkins Place at Pratt, Lombard, Baltimore, Fayette, Lexington, Saratoga, Mulberry, Franklin, Centre, Monument, Mount Vernon Place, Madison Street, Read, Eager, Chase, Biddle, Preston, Mount Royal, Oliver, Lanvale, Lafayette, North Avenue, 20th, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 27th, 28th, and 29th

• Dolphin Street at Fremont, Myrtle, Pennsylvania, Druid Hill Ave, McCulloh, Madison Avenue, Eutaw, and Howard

• Preston Street at Cathedral, Maryland, Charles, Saint Paul, Calvert, Guilford, Greenmount, Ensor, Aisquith, Harford, Central, Caroline, Broadway, Wolfe, and Washington

• Biddle Street at Cathedral, Maryland, Charles, Saint Paul, Calvert, Guilford, Greenmount, Ensor, Aisquith, Harford, Central, Caroline, Broadway, Wolfe, and Washington

• Madison Street at Paca, Eutaw, Howard, Park, Cathedral, Charles, Saint Paul, Calvert, Guilford, Fallsway, Greenmount, Ensor, Aisquith, Harford, Central, Caroline, Broadway, Wolfe, and Washington

• Centre Street at Paca, Eutaw, Howard, Park, Cathedral, Charles, Saint Paul, Calvert, Guilford, and Fallsway

• Monument Street at Greenmount, Ensor, Aisquith, Harford, Central, Caroline, Broadway, Wolfe, and Washington

• Guilford Avenue at Pratt, Lombard, Baltimore, Fayette, Lexington, Saratoga, Mulberry, Franklin, Centre, Monument, Mount Vernon Place, Madison Street, Read, Eager, Chase, Biddle, Preston, and Mount Royal

This means that people on foot and on bicycles get a 5-second head start at every intersection, thus increasing their visibility and calming traffic by reducing potentially aggressive maneuvers from people in motor vehicles stopped at red lights. For example, as shown in the image below, a left turn on red is presently allowed from westbound Preston Street onto southbound Maryland Avenue; people in cars trying to make a left turn on red will be looking to their right for southbound car traffic here, which means they are less likely to see people on bicycles traveling northbound on the Maryland Avenue Cycletrack. Banning all turns on red would simply reduce the amount of things that people on foot and on bicycles would need to worry about.

Facing west on Preston Street at Maryland Avenue.

An existing leading pedestrian interval at Pratt and Light Streets.

Extend the Maryland Avenue Cycletrack from Hopkins Place across Pratt Street and along the east side of Sharp Street under the Convention Center, and create a high-quality connection across Conway Street to Sharp Street.

This view, looking north from Sharp Street across Pratt Street to Hopkins Place, shows in red the route that an extended Cycletrack should take.

Install wayfinding signage at major bicycle intersections:

• Maryland Avenue / Cathedral Street / Liberty Street / Hopkins Place at 27th Street, 24th Street, Jones Falls Trail, Oliver, Biddle, Preston, Madison Street, Centre, Lombard, and Pratt

• Dolphin Street at Pennsylvania, Druid Hill Ave, McCulloh, Madison Avenue, and Eutaw

• Preston Street at Maryland, Guilford, Central, Caroline, Broadway, Wolfe, and Washington

• Biddle Street at Maryland, Guilford, Central, Caroline, Broadway, Wolfe, and Washington

• Madison Street at Eutaw, Park, Cathedral, Guilford, Fallsway, Central, Caroline, Broadway, Wolfe, and Washington

• Centre Street at Eutaw, Park, Cathedral, Guilford, and Fallsway

• Monument Street at Central, Caroline, Broadway, Wolfe, and Washington

• Guilford Avenue / South Street at Pratt, Lombard, Centre, Madison Street, Chase, Biddle, Preston, and Mount Royal

Existing bicycle wayfinding signage on Guilford Avenue (photo courtesy of BCDOT).

Increase the door zone buffer to three (3) feet along the entire Maryland Avenue Cycletrack corridor. Three feet is the NACTO Design Guide standard for door zone buffer width, and the Cycletrack plans currently only call for two feet. The door zone buffer delineates the space where people should not ride because of opening car doors.

A 3-foot buffer on the 15th Street Cycletrack in Washington, D.C., cited by BCDOT as a model for the Maryland Avenue Cycletrack.

Install a reflective bollard at the north side of each block along the Maryland Avenue Cycletrack corridor so that southbound automotive traffic cannot enter the bicycle lane.

Cycletrack in Vancouver with bollard. Photo courtesy of velotraffic.com.

Install traffic separators on the door zone buffer along the full Maryland Avenue Cycletrack corridor to increase the awareness and feeling of separation and to simulate curb for parallel parking.

Traffic separators on a bicycle lane in Barcelona. Photo courtesy of pedalforward.blogspot.com.

Volunteer for the September Baltimore Bike Counts

It's no secret to any of us that cycling is on the rise in Baltimore, and it is important to quantify the uptick so it can turn into good policy and infrastructure. To that end, the latest batch of bike counts are coming in this month on September 24-26. Like always, volunteers are needed to man different counting stations across the city.

If you can spare a few hours in the morning or evening on any of those days, it would go a long way.

The sign-up form is over at B'more Bikes. Sign up now!

Results of the Bike & Pedestrian Master Plan Survey

Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan Findings

Recently, the DOT asked cyclists and pedestrians to take part in a survey for its Bike & Pedestrian Master Plan.  Well, the votes are in, and some of the findings are below.  For more results, head over to the MDOT site and click on the reports tab, and you'll find the extensive report.

The top reasons survey respondents cited for investing in bicycle and pedestrian improvements included:

• Improving the safety of walking and biking

• Creating safe routes for walking and biking to schools

• Increasing physical health and activity

The top obstacles to walking reported in the survey results were:

• Pedestrian facilities such as sidewalks and paths are missing or bad

• Traffic is too fast or heavy

• The need to transport people or things

The top obstacles to biking reported in the survey results were:

• Motorists don’t exercise caution around cyclists

• Lack of or poor condition of bike facilities

• Traffic is too fast and heavy

The top priority objectives identified in the straw poll results were:

• Address gaps and physical barriers in the bicycle network; build connected networks with continuous bicycle accommodations.

• Address key gaps in trail systems and improve integration of trails and on‐road facilities.

• Provide assistance and/or incentives to local governments to improve biking and walking.

• Incorporate Complete Streets principles in all State transportation projects, and promote Complete Streets policies at the local level.

• Promote bicycling and walking as normal transportation modes that have a broad diversity of participants.

• Focus on improving bicycling and walking conditions in locations with the highest demand.

Put This In Your Bag and Read This Blog Post

We've all been honked at, but sometimes, some people do something about it. The Desegregated Cyclist made this flier and now keeps it in his bag when a misinformed motorist honks at him for taking the lane. Make sure you check out the whole story at the Desegregated Cyclist blog.

Put People Ahead of Cars

This Op/Ed piece, by Bikemore Executive Director Chris Merriam and Robbyn Lewis, founder of Red Line Now! PAC, will appear in the Baltimore Sun print edition tomorrow.

Put people ahead of cars

Under new leadership, Baltimore's Transportation Department must prioritize bicycling, walking and public transit

By Chris Merriam and Robbyn Lewis

12:37 PM EDT, June 4, 2013

Baltimore City is at a transportation crossroads. We can move in the direction of a safer, healthier, more sustainable and economical city — the direction in which dozens of cities across America are moving — or fall back on prioritizing cars over people.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake recently selected William Johnson as the new director of the Baltimore City Department of Transportation. The priorities that the mayor and Mr. Johnson set for Baltimore's transportation future will have a significant impact on neighborhood livability and our ability to retain current residents and attract new ones. Their leadership in following through on recent plans and expanding existing livability initiatives will be critical:

• The Department of Transportation's Strategic Transportation Safety Plan echoes years of requests from community groups to improve safety on our streets, especially for pedestrians and bicyclists, as key to making communities safe and enjoyable.
• Baltimore's Sustainability Plan and Climate Action Plan both call for increased walking, bicycling and transit to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other negative environmental impacts.
• The city's Healthy Baltimore 2015 plan recognizes the importance of incorporating physical activity into our everyday lives to improve our quality of life and reduce chronic disease.
• Department of Transportation planners are crafting plans for a Downtown Bicycle Network, which would include the Maryland Avenue Cycletrack, a 2.6-mile, physically separated bikeway between Pratt and 29th streets.

But will we turn these plans into reality? Baltimore cannot and should not compete with the suburbs for wide, car-centric roads and ubiquitous parking. Instead, Baltimore should capitalize on our population density, connected street grid, and diverse economic and cultural nodes to make sure that residents can find work, entertainment, recreation and shopping within a short walk, bicycle ride, or transit trip. It's not about forcing people out of their cars; it's about providing a variety of convenient, safe and affordable transportation options for all Baltimore residents.

Accessible sidewalks; dedicated space for bicycling; and high-quality, modern transit encourage more physical activity and less driving, leading to a healthier, safer and more environmentally sustainable city and more cohesive neighborhoods. Baltimore has made strides in this direction, implementing over 100 miles of on-street bicycle facilities since the development of the 2006 Bicycle Master Plan, contributing to a doubling of bicycle commuters; and committing to build the Red Line. Perceptions are also shifting, as evidenced by the success of the Charm City Circulator and Baltimore Bike Party.

But much more needs to be done to make Baltimore a place where people of all ages and ability levels will feel safe, secure and comfortable walking, bicycling and taking transit for their daily needs.

Political will — not money — is the greatest challenge; most of the changes needed are relatively low-cost. Washington, New York, Philadelphia, Portland, Denver, Seattle, Minneapolis and other American cities have demonstrated the value of investment in a diverse urban transportation system. (Mr. Johnson, in fact, was streets director in Philadelphia when that city began its efforts.) They have reclaimed roadway space for bicyclists and pedestrians, established extensive bicycle sharing systems, supported new transit projects, and focused on pedestrian safety. Chicago's new Complete Streets Guidelines are a great example, clearly stating: "All transportation projects and programs, from scoping to maintenance, will favor pedestrians first, then transit riders, bicyclists, and automobiles."

Baltimore was a streetcar city, built before the automobile came to dominate our environment. We can easily build on the historic framework of connected streets, by making it easier and more enjoyable to get around on foot or by bus or rail. However, that goal can only be accomplished if those modes are given priority in all of our transportation and development decisions.

• Making this happen will take a team effort on issues including:
• Partnering with the MTA on transit signal priority and expanded QuickBus service;
• Fully implementing the city's Complete Streets resolution;
• Building the Downtown Bicycle Network and a system of "bicycle boulevards";
• Building the Red Line to create a modern transit network;
• Developing and implementing a Pedestrian Master Plan;
• Establishing a public bicycle-sharing system;
• Executing the Strategic Transportation Safety Plan;
• Retiming traffic signals to reduce speeding and improve safety; and
• Pushing for a more progressive regional transportation plan.

We hope that Mayor Rawlings-Blake and the City Council will ask Mr. Johnson and other department heads to give walking, transit and bicycling the highest priority in all transportation and development decisions and help transform the city's ambitious plans into on-the-ground action. Much has been done, but we need to act now to maintain and build on the momentum.

Chris Merriam is executive director of Bikemore and Robbyn Lewis, is founder of the Red Line Now! PAC. Contributing to this article are Carol Silldorff, executive director of Bike Maryland; Susan Sgroi, transportation chair of the Patterson Park Neighborhood Association; Klaus Philipsen, FAIA, president of ArchPlan Inc.; and Rob Bennett, chairman of BMore Streets for People.