Baltimore City Planning Commission Adopts Bicycle Master Plan

Today the Baltimore City Planning Commission adopted Baltimore City's Bicycle Master Plan. This document is a long overdue update to our city's original bike master plan, and Bikemore was pleased to support its adoption through testimony alongside Bike Maryland at today's hearing. 

We thank the Baltimore City Department of Transportation for adopting many of Bikemore's suggested changes to this plan and for providing answers to every public comment submitted on the plan. 

The next step is turning this plan into paint on the ground, and that will take advocacy from Bikemore and support from our members and allies. 

The full press release from the Baltimore City Department of Transportation is below: 

City of Baltimore’s Bike Master Plan Officially Adopted

New Bike Master Plan will expand City efforts to create a more bike-friendly Baltimore

The Baltimore City Department of Transportation Director William M. Johnson is pleased to announce that the City of Baltimore’s Bike Master Plan was officially adopted today by the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission voted to adopt the new Master Plan which will expand the city’s network of biking facilities and create a more bicycle-friendly environment in Baltimore.

“The 2015 Bicycle Master Plan seeks to uphold the vision of complete streets in Baltimore City which will enable more people to use biking as a viable form of transportation,” said Director Johnson. “Today’s adoption of the updated Master Plan provides the groundwork for the City to expand and enhance its biking infrastructure.”

Since the adoption of the City’s first Bike Master Plan in 2006, Baltimore has made significant progress in becoming bicycle friendly. Over 125 miles of bike facilities have been installed to provide city communities with a comprehensive network of bike lanes and trails. DOT has also installed over 600 bike racks in neighborhoods throughout Baltimore for safe and convenient bicycle parking.

Nearly ten years after the implementation of the original plan, we continue to develop additional improvements for the biking community.   The new Master Plan seeks to add over 100 miles of biking facilities over the next 15 years and commits to implementing 15 cycle projects within the next two years. This includes the installation of cycle tracks on Maryland Avenue/Cathedral Street, Madison Street and Center Street; improved bus/bike lanes on Lombard and Pratt Streets; and the addition of over six miles of bike boulevards in West Baltimore neighborhoods.

The Department of Transportation thanks the Planning Commission for adopting the updated Bike Master Plan, as we continue to invest in city communities to provide a multi-modal transportation system.

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Mayor Signs Executive Order Forming Bicycle Advisory Commission

This morning, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced the reconstitution and formalization of the long-dormant Mayor's Bicycle Advisory Committee.

This is a positive step forward and we look forward to serving on the new Mayor's Bicycle Advisory Commission and representing individuals who choose to or would like to ride bicycles for transportation or recreation safely and conveniently in the Greater Baltimore region.

We are thrilled that business leaders and public health experts who live and work in our city are also a part of this commission and that they recognize the numerous benefits of providing safe and convenient alternative forms of transportation.

The press release on the Mayor's Bicycle Advisory Commission is below:

Members of the Mayor's Bicycle Advisory Commission

The Commission’s purpose is to serve in an advisory capacity to the Mayor’s Office and City departments on issues related to promoting bicycling as a safe and convenient form of transportation and recreation.

Their responsibilities are to coordinate among City agencies the implementation and biennial updating of the Bicycle Master Plan; provide guidance and advice on policies, designs, trends and opportunities that support bicycling in the City; advocate for the prioritization of capital funding for facilities serving bicyclists; advise on the adoption of the Urban Bikeway Design Guide of the National Association of City Transportation Officials (“NACTO”) and other NACTO standards on bicycli ng; and to take any other action to promote safe bicycling throughout the City.

The Commission is comprised of 11 members which include: a representative of the business community; a representative of the architectural, engineering or urban design industry; a representative of the bicycling community; a community representative; a member at large, who shall be chairperson of the Commission; a representative from the Office of the Mayor, as designated by the Mayor, who shall be vice-chairperson of the Commission; a representative of the City Council, as designated by the City Council President; a representative of the Planning Department as designated by that department’s Director; two representatives of the Department of Transportation, as designated by that department’s Director; one with expertise in planning bicycle facilities or activities; and one with expertise in traffic engineering; and a representative of the Baltimore City Police Department as designated by the Police Commissioner.

The commission members are:

• Peter Rosenthal, Vice President at Constellation Energy
• David Hong, Founder and Principal at Living Design Lab, L.L.C.
• Greg Hinchliffe, Interim Executive Director of Bikemore
• Dr. Keshia Pollack, Associate Professor at Johns Hopkins University
• Jon Laria, Partner, Ballard Spahr, L.L.P.
• Dan Sparaco, Assistant Deputy Mayor of Operations
• A representative of the City Council, designated by the City Council President
• A representative of the Planning Department, designated by the Director of Planning
• Caitlin Doolin, Bicycle and Pedestrian Planner, Baltimore City Department of Transportation
• Traffic Engineer, Traffic Division, Baltimore City Department of Transportation
• A representative of the Baltimore City Police Department as designated by the Police Commissioner

Members appointed by the Mayor shall serve terms concurrent with the term of the Mayor. Members may not receive any compensation for their services, but may be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of duties, in accordance with the City of Baltimore policy set forth in the Administrative Manual and as provided in the City budget.

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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: