Delivering Meals and Good Will by Bicycle

Top row (L-R):  Ashley Beam, A.R. Rahmaan

Middle Row:  Mark Stephen, Eloise Hardy

Bottom Row:  Dale Johnson, Nick Lamb

Guest Post for bikemore.net by Susan Glenn

On a brisk March morning, Dale Johnson zips through the streets of Hampden on a classic green Bianchi road bike. Stopping on the porch of an insurance agency on Roland Avenue, he opens a cooler and loads up his bike basket and backpack with prepared meals destined for five home-bound Baltimoreans. In minutes, Dale and Meals on 2 Wheels are on the road.

Dale is the driving (or rather not-driving) force behind a small but growing band of volunteers who deliver meals by bicycle throughout Hampden, Waverly, East Baltimore, and soon even in Columbia. A retired geographer and now active volunteer, Dale charts bike-friendly routes through Baltimore streets, back alleys and “bike-likely” suburbs; recruits and guides cycling volunteers; and personally delivers meals twice a week with only the occasional “vehicular time-out” for snow storms.

It all began in September 2012 when Dale was looking for volunteer opportunities. “Meals on Wheels is a great organization and, checking their website, I saw this tiny notice for delivering meals by bikes. But that program had actually kind of died when the previous volunteer leader moved out of state. When I contacted Meals on Wheels about resurrecting the program, they were very enthusiastic.”

So with MOW’s blessing, Dale equipped his bike with a basket and Meals on 2 Wheels signage and hit the streets, delivering food and generating good will from clients, people on the street and in their cars.

“For the folks I deliver to, I may be the only person they see all day or all week. Riding up to their doors, just opens up the conversation. They see you out there on your bike, doing this on a winter day, and they just give you a lot of credit.”

"Take Ms. LaRue, for example.  She’s 97 years young and still so sharp and witty. It’s a joy listening to someone with almost a century of life to share. I still smile when I think about her asking me to make sure I tell my wife that she thought I have nice looking legs. At 61, I have to take those compliments when I get them. "

Dale loves the reaction he gets from drivers, too. “I pull up to a stop sign with my bike and Meals on 2 Wheels basket and drivers pull up beside me, roll down their windows, and tell me what a great thing I’m doing. Sometimes they’ll tell me stories about how Meals on Wheels helped their families. And you just feel like you’re out there doing something to help and having a great time doing it.”

From his initial “bike party of one”, Dale has grown the program to six cycling volunteers. And he’s planning new routes and looking for more recruits. As Dale explains, “You can volunteer just once a month, two times a week, or just during fair-weather months—whatever fits your schedule. Most routes only take 30 to 45 minutes, but you can get in a good training ride from your house to the meal pick-up point.”

If you love to cycle and want to help people who truly appreciate your effort, contact Dale at dale.johnson99@gmail.com or 443-841-4372. Donations of cycling equipment for volunteers are also needed and appreciated.

Meals on Wheels:
Founded in 1960, Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland is a nonprofit organization that enables homebound seniors and disabled individuals to eat well and remain in their own homes in Baltimore City as well as Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, Howard, Montgomery & Prince George’s counties.  In FY 13, a dedicated staff and volunteer core prepared and delivered over 1,000,000 nutritious meals to homebound seniors. www.mealsonwheelsmd.org

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.

Don't Miss 2014: A Bike Odyssey in Baltimore!

Credit: Katura Reynolds 

In partnership with Baltimore Green Works and Baltimore Green Week, Bikemore presents... 2014: A Bicycle Odyssey in Baltimore!

We will lead a panel discussion with planners from the Baltimore City Department of Transportation, and they will be on hand to answer questions and present their plans for new bicycle infrastructure to be constructed in 2014. Bikemore will be there to collect your feedback and ideas for a better bicycling city!

The event is free, no RSVP needed, but only about 100 people can fit in Gold Bar at any given time. See you there!

Don't miss it. RSVP on Facebook.

Save the Date for the Second Music to Your Gears

Hold the date, friends. Bikemore's 2nd annual Music To Your Gears, featuring food trucks, bands, relaxed cycling, and general good times, will return to Druid Hill Park Lake on September 20, from 4pm to 9pm!

This year, we are teaming up with our good friends at Charm City Cross to give you a full day's worth of good bike times. 

Stay tuned as plans coalesce, and in the mean time, RSVP on Facebook and keep your eyes peeled on bikemore.net/musictoyourgears for the latest details.

Contribute to the Bikemore GiveCorps Campaign

Sure – bikes are great for exercise, beneficial for the environment, save you tons of money on gas and they’re a fun way to see your city. But, put them in the hands of at-risk youth, and they're more than an alternative means of transportation. The Baltimore Bike Experience, in collaboration with Bikemore and teachers, conduct an after-school bike program at Digital Harbor High School to provide a creative, skill-based program for youth in motion.

Our curriculum fosters creativity, builds confidence and provides healthy activity to our students; many of whom struggle both academically and socially.

We do more than just teach them about bike parts, repair and maintenance. We give them a place to feel safe, express their thoughts in the open air and create something with their own two hands. We work directly with them to teach bike safety too, keeping them active and on the bike as much as possible. A few will even leave with summer jobs through business partnerships in Baltimore. Our students take home more than a custom bike and a sense of pride in having built something at the end of the 13 weeks – they leave with new friendships, employable skills and a brighter future.

$53 funds one week of bike maintenance and cycling instruction for a Digital Harbor student

$695 funds one students' participation in the Baltimore Bike Experience program

Make sure you head over the Bikemore GiveCorps page and contribute today!