How does bike parking on the MARC affect ADA?

Back in May during Bike to Work Week, MDOT and MTA announced that starting on June 1, all MARC trains would accommodate full sized bikes. This means that now the Camden, Penn, and Brunswick lines all have bike parking spots. This is huge news in improving accessibility for regional, multi-modal transit. Previously, only certain trains accommodated bikes and this was only consistent on weekend Penn Line service.

After the announcement, a number of folks have expressed concern about bike parking on the MARC trains taking away ADA spots on some cars. We reached out to the MTA for clarification on this issue and have some follow up details.  

There are four different MARC car styles with bike parking. One type of car is a “bike car” and has 10+ horizontal parking spots. Two types of cars have 2 vertical spots at each end of the car with exterior green lights to signal space availability. And finally, one car where bikes can be secured over folding chairs with bungee cords. These are the same style of the seats that can be used for users with wheelchairs and other accessibility needs.

Each MARC train will have a variation of cars, and therefore a variation of bike parking. It’s likely that people will have multiple options for parking their bike on the train, not just folding chair spots.

On cars with folding chairs, only one of the two entrances will be allowed for bike parking; cyclists should look for a green “Bicycle Entrance” sign adjacent to the car doors to know where to park their bike. The other end will have blue ADA signs to indicate the ADA entrance.

One side of these cars will always have dedicated ADA seating, and the MTA stated that people with disabilities will have priority over bicycles for all spots and people sitting in the folding seats on either end are not required to move for bicycles. 

Obviously conflict between users could still arise and this has the potential to lead to harm. MTA is using the 90% decline in ridership to test the new policy. Ultimately as demand for the MARC increases, they must expand capacity for all types of users and prioritize ADA needs. The MTA should receive more funding for all of its services; including MARC trains, which could all have a dedicated bike parking car to increase accessibility and reduce conflicts.

MTA recently released a video that demonstrates how to park your bike on the various types of MARC train cars, available to watch here. For more details about using bikes with MTA services, visit MTA’s website.

We hope this helps answer some questions.

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. 

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!

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

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.

Detours Done Well

In the infrastructure world, it’s called “Maintenance of Traffic.” Really, it’s just a detour. And traditionally, it’s something that’s been awful in Baltimore.

We’ve all experienced it. You’re riding down a protected bike lane, and suddenly there’s construction blocking the lane and nowhere for you to go. Or you’re walking down a sidewalk and suddenly there’s a sign that says “sidewalk closed, use other side” but no crosswalk or curb cut to get you there.

It’s against the law to do this. Baltimore City Department of Transportation has Maintenance of Traffic regulations for contractors that require them to provide a safe detour around construction that closes sidewalks and bike lanes. This usually means closing the adjacent car parking or travel lane to allow pedestrians or bicyclists to use it to go around the construction. But in practice, this rarely happens. Instead, we see dangerous closures like this:

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Baltimore City Department of Transportation needs more and better trained inspectors to regularly issue fines for this kind of illegal, dangerous work. And, our city needs to aggressively collect those fines from some of our biggest offenders. The agency is working on a new street cuts manual, and we have advocated for increased fines and more diligent inspections, as well as for the additional resources the agency needs to follow through.

But we also wanted to use this post to show some examples of great maintenance of traffic implementations—exactly the kind of work that contractors should be doing and Baltimore City Department of Transportation should be demanding.

The first is the utility work along the Jones Falls Trail on Falls Road by the Baltimore Streetcar Museum. On prior trail-adjacent projects like the Druid Hill Reservoir tank construction and the Edmondson Avenue bridge replacement, trails were and continue to be closed without detour for years. Contrast that failure with Falls Road, where the street was closed to car traffic and a detour was created to ensure the Jones Falls Trail remains accessible:

Falls Road Maintenance of Traffic

Another recent example is the Harbor Promenade closure for construction by Aliceanna and Wolfe Streets. In the past, the promenade has been closed for construction without adequate detours. At first, this closure looked like it would be a similar situation. But thanks to advocacy from neighbors, community associations, Councilman Zeke Cohen, and Delegate Brooke Lierman, a high quality, physically separated detour was put in place along Aliceanna Street for people biking, walking, and rolling.

Aliceanna Maintenance of Traffic

We’re happy to see great examples of proper, safe detours adjacent to construction being implemented in Baltimore City, as the law requires. And, we will continue to advocate for more resources for Baltimore City Department of Transportation so they can adequately enforce quality work in our roadways.

Slow Streets Update

On Monday, Baltimore City began rolling out a citywide #SlowStreets program, thanks to legislation introduced by Council President/Democrat nominee for Mayor Brandon Scott and passed unanimously by Baltimore City Council. 

#SlowStreets are a public health response to the pandemic, closing streets to speeding traffic using the street as a short-cut while still allowing local traffic, deliveries, parking, and emergency vehicle access. The goal is to allocate more street space for people walking, biking, and recreating while traffic volumes are lower and physical distancing is required due to COVID-19. 

#SlowStreets are being rolled out district-by-district, with about 8 miles to be completed this week. The City will continue installations until they meet the 25-mile minimum outlined in the legislation. Then, they will conduct an evaluation period to determine next steps, which could include swapping streets or expanding the program. In all, the city has identified more than 65 miles of candidate streets, and has taken numerous additional submissions from community members and community associations.

When we first called for #SlowStreets treatments in April, we recommended equitable implementation, robust community input, and transparent evaluation. While the legislation highlighted the need for equitable implementation, the mayor’s (ultimately unfulfilled) threat of veto forced BCDOT to begin this process late, which presented an additional barrier to robust community input. 

We will continue to monitor implementation of #SlowStreets, and encourage Baltimore City Department of Transportation to work with advocates and community partners to program #SlowStreets so neighbors understand the purpose of the re-allocated space and can fully participate in the benefits that additional space provides.

The National Association of City Transportation Officials has released a guide for Streets for Pandemic Response and Recovery that details potential programming for re-allocated street space. Baltimore City has taken many of these recommendations into account for programming outdoor dining and retail spaces through Design for Distancing. We need a similar focus on these residential installations, and real resources for communities so they can utilize these spaces safely for physically distanced play, outdoor schooling, community gathering, protest, and more. 

Other cities have used the #SlowStreets opportunity to count residents for the Census, distribute meals to seniors and youth, provide pop-up health services and COVID testing, and create spaces for play when parks or playgrounds are not nearby. 

We hope Baltimore City will use this as an opportunity to think comprehensively about “Complete Streets” and use a multi-agency approach to ensure the success of #SlowStreets through programming and subsequent evaluation.