MORE & Baltimore City Sign Loch Raven Trails Agreement

MORE (Mid-Atlantic Off-Road Enthusiasts), Bike Maryland and Bikemore are pleased to announce the signing of a Trail Stewardship Agreement with the City of Baltimore’s Department of Public Works (DPW) for the purpose of improved mountain bike access on watershed property, specifically Loch Raven Reservoir.

This agreement represents a new partnership between the City of Baltimore and volunteers to assist in the maintenance of natural surface trails while improving the overall quality of the Baltimore area’s drinking water supply. Together, DPW and MORE, the regional IMBA (International Mountain Bicycling Association) chapter, will identify specific trails for improvements while closing or re-routing unsanctioned trails. Over generations, the trail system at Loch Raven was created by many user groups without consideration for the effects on the reservoir’s water quality. By using sustainable trail practices, volunteers will enhance the natural surface trails through Loch Raven’s scenic areas while minimizing erosion, which harms the reservoir.

In addition to trail maintenance, MORE and Bike Maryland will conduct education workshops on sustainable trail design and proper mountain biking techniques to reduce user impacts on the area. MORE will continue to host the annual Project Clean Stream environmental cleanup, which removes tons of debris from Loch Raven Reservoir. The 2015 event will be held on April 11 in Cockeysville, MD.

The agreement is scheduled for approval by the City of Baltimore’s Board of Estimates on Wednesday, April 1st, 2015 at 9 am. After which DPW will verify the first official single track route through Loch Raven reservoir open to all user groups including hikers and mountain bikers. DPW, MORE and Bike Maryland will provide more information on the trail system as it becomes available.

As this new era of partnership with the City of Baltimore begins, MORE and Bike Maryland ask all trail users to respect currently closed trails and refrain from use in wet conditions.

MORE and Bike Maryland wish to thank our partners during this process including Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and her staff, the Department of Public Works, Bikemore, REI, the Gunpowder Valley Conservancy, and the Mountain Club of Maryland.

Recommended Improvement to Bike Master Plan

The proposed bicycle master plan update includes many ambitious and excellent proposals for improving safety and comfort for bicyclists in Baltimore, whether they ride for recreation or transportation. The proposed bicycle facility network, once fully constructed, would allow many thousands of Baltimore residents and visitors to be able to use bicycle-specific infrastructure to access their jobs, schools, grocery stores, favorite restaurants, and social activities by bicycle. The health, quality of life, and local economic benefits of a high quality bicycle transportation network are well documented, and the City should be commended for its plans to implement these measures.

However, recent events in our City underscore the fact that it is not simply the presence of a bicycle facility, but also the type of bicycle facility that really increase the safety and comfort of bicyclists. 

The Master Plan Update includes the possibility of standard bicycle lanes on "main routes," which are often identified to be located on arterial roadways, and shared lane markings, or sharrows for "minor routes." There may be some streets where these treatments are appropriate, but facility selection must be strategic and sensitive to the operating conditions of the street, in order to maximize the safety and comfort of all users.    

Bikemore's proposal is that facilities with some physical separation be the default preferred facility for streets with 85th percentile speeds above 25 miles per hour. This is the suggested threshold because it is an approximation of the speed beyond which crashes between automobiles and bicyclists or pedestrians become dramatically more likely to result in death or grievous injury. We propose using measured 85th percentile speeds as opposed to the speed on the speed limit sign because of the frequency with which drivers exceed the speed limit. 

Furthermore, sharrows are only an appropriate choice for local streets, and in conjunction with traffic calming and "bicycle boulevard" measures that keep 85th percentile speeds below 25 mph, or, ideally, closer to 20 mph. It may also be appropriate to use sharrows to connect short gaps between higher quality facilities. This position is consistent with NACTO Bikeway Design Guidelines and emerging research about the safety and functionality of different bicycle facility types. 

These recommendations will result in the selection of safer, more comfortable facilities, while also allowing for creative solutions in locations where space may be too constrained for a separated bicycle facility. 

For example: if the 85th percentile speed on a street is above 25 mph even though the signed speed is not, and a separated bicycle facility cannot be accommodated, we would find it an acceptable solution to install the standard lane or a paint-buffered lane in conjunction with bicycle friendly traffic calming measures. In severely space constrained locations, standard painted bike lanes may be acceptable in the absence of traffic calming measures for small lengths of narrower cross section on a street, if other factors such as adjacent parking, driveway conflicts, and door zones are taken into account. Where these compromises must be made, we recommend that Bikemore or other credible bicycle advocacy entities be consulted to help collaboratively develop the safest and most comfortable bicycle facility that is feasible in the space available.  

Join Us for the Bike Master Plan Final Review

The Baltimore City Department of Transportation is updating the bicycle master plan, and will be holding a final public review of the document before adoption.

The Open House will take place at the Enoch Pratt Free Library Central Branch on Wednesday, January 28th from 5:30 to 7:00pm in the Auditorium. 

Please let Bikemore know if you're coming via our Facebook Event.  Full details are below: 

Bikemore and Bike Maryland Respond to State's Attorney Press Conference

Photo by Brian O'Doherty

On the behalf of citizens in Baltimore and across the state, Bikemore and Bike Maryland appreciate the efforts of the Baltimore Police Department and State’s Attorney’s office in pursuing justice for Tom Palermo and his family. The death of a bicyclist in a car collision is a terrible event, but preventable if all road users slowed down and committed their full attention to the operation what can be a deadly weapon when wielded incorrectly.

When drivers choose to drive distracted and impaired, they are completely disregarding the value of the people around them. They choose the cell phone call, the text message, or the time they didn't spend sobering up to be more valuable than the lives of the people they may kill or injure. This is a choice, and our society cannot tolerate it when they choose to drive impaired. Children buckled in the backseat, pedestrians crossing the crosswalk, and bicyclists using the bike lane are in peril when our community allows this to happen. We stand with the State’s Attorney’s office as they make a stand against distracted and negligent drivers.

We would like to remind everyone that when you hit-and-run you are choosing to deny that victim immediate care. Slow down; pay attention; and treat all vulnerable road users like you love them…because someone does.

Memorial Ride and Vigil for Tom Palermo

Please join friends of Tom Palermo and the bicycle community for a memorial ride and vigil on Thursday, January 1st, 2015.

For those riding, please meet at 3:30pm at Bishop Square Park on the northwest corner of the intersection of Charles and University, adjacent from the Cathedral of the Incarnation. 

After a moment of silence for Tom, we will ride to the scene of the crash at 5700 Roland Avenue to place a white memorial bicycle in honor of Tom. Friends and members of the community who are not riding bicycles can meet us at this location. 

Due to the expected turnout for this ride we are asking that only close friends and family members of Tom make their way to Gallery 788 after the ride. The ride will now end at the crash site for other riders and community members.

Please consider making a contribution to the education fund for Tom's children.

Facebook Event Page