Repeal the Farebox Recovery Mandate!

As transportation advocates, it is sometimes necessary to zoom out on an issue and look to understand why Baltimore City has not seen the level of transportation investment of our peer cities. 

Repealing the fare box recovery mandate is the first wall people who care about progressive transportation reform must knock down in order to further the debate on how and where we make investments in public transport. 

So whether you ride a bike or take a bus, we urge you to contact your lawmakers and tell them to support HB0271, which will repeal MTA's farebox recovery mandate.

Tell your legislators to vote YES on repealing the farebox recovery mandate:

More On Repealing the Farebox Recovery Mandate

The farebox recovery mandate is a state rule that says 35% of the total operating costs for MTA's Baltimore area services must be recovered from fares and other revenues. This mandate only applies to MTA's services in Baltimore, not other jurisdictions. This mandate on public transport service in the Baltimore area is just one of three aggressive mandates nationwide, and it is the highest mandate in the country. 

The MTA has never met the farebox recovery mandate. But since they're legally mandated to try, they have had to focus on cost cutting instead of service improvements that could bring additional revenue and ridership. This forces MTA to be regressive, it stifles ingenuity in route planning and service delivery, and it prevents forward thinking conversations around public transport from occurring. 

If we want to advance the dialogue in our city and state around progressive transportation funding and safe, reliable access for all road users, we have to start by addressing this major barrier. 

Thank you to Delegate Brooke Lierman for introducing HB0271. Co-sponsors include Delegates Anderson, Barron, Beidle, Branch, Clippinger, Ebersole, Glenn, Hayes, Hettleman, Korman, Lafferty, R. Lewis, McCray, Oaks, Robinson, and M. Washington. 

Other advocates for this bill include: Get Maryland Moving, the Central Maryland Transportation Alliance, the Baltimore Transit Equity Coalition, the Baltimore Community Foundation, and the Baltimore Sun Editorial Board. 

Thank You Caitlin Doolin

Bike and Pedestrian Planner Caitlin Doolin with the Baltimore Sustainability Turtle, former BCDOT Director William Johnson, and Bikemore Board Chair Yair Flicker.

Biking in Baltimore has improved dramatically over the past few years. Miles of new infrastructure, the launch of bike share, and an energetic new wave of elected officials and advocates that believe in Complete Streets have signaled a sea change in how we think about and plan for transportation.

As advocates, our role is often to push the city to do more. But we would be remiss if we did not recognize that it has been the talent and dedication of key staff at Baltimore City’s Department of Transportation that has enabled our vision of a bike friendly Baltimore to begin to take hold.

Perhaps no one deserves more credit than Caitlin Doolin, our City’s Bike and Pedestrian planner. Today marks Caitlin’s last day with the city. She is moving to Charlotte, NC to begin a new chapter with her fiancé. Over the past two years of her employment, she has taken her role within the Department of Transportation to new heights. We are grateful both for her leadership and service.

Liz Cornish and Caitlin Doolin at the Baltimore Bike Share Launch.

During Caitlin’s tenure she managed the planning, design and implementation for over $9 million in capital projects over two years. Due to her talent and diligence in securing state and federal transportation funding, she dramatically increased our capacity for active transportation improvements, securing $3.6 million in new funding for Baltimore City. She led the planning process that delivered critical documents such as the 2015 Bike Master Plan and the 2017 Separated Bike Network Plan that propose 80 miles of new facilities over the next five years. In under three years, Baltimore has gone from 1 mile of protected bike infrastructure to 9 miles. When the Downtown Bike Network is completed this spring, Baltimore will rank among the top ten cities in the United States for miles of protected bike lanes.

For her work in supervising the planning and launch of the largest electric-assist bike share fleet in North America, Caitlin, along with her supervisor Veronica McBeth, was awarded the 2016 WTS Innovative Transportation Award.

Caitlin Doolin at the Maryland Avenue bike parade.

Caitlin’s passion for Baltimore and for bicycling has been a critical force in ensuring our advocacy efforts take root. We are also grateful for our relationships with other key staff at the Department of Transportation who remain steadfast partners and supporters. So while Caitlin’s absence will be felt, we are confident that both our partners that remain and whomever is selected to fill her role will continue to help us advance projects that make it safer, more comfortable, and more fun to ride a bike in Baltimore.

We are also lucky that Caitlin has accepted a position with Kittleson and Associates that will allow her to work from Charlotte and continue to visit Baltimore on occasion. We can’t wait to ride bikes together on those visits and marvel at how her hard work has planted seeds that will continue to grow long after her time here.

Thank you Caitlin! Happy (bike)Trails!

Why is family biking important for Baltimore?

On Saturday we welcomed 75+ kids, adults, and cargo-bike enthusiasts at our Family Biking Open House in partnership with Baltimore Family Bike Party! Peabody Heights Brewery was overflowing with local bike shops and advocacy organizations, and with a wide range of bikes — from bikes with kids seats on the front and back to custom cargo bikes to trailers. Attendees roamed and mingled among the bikes, asking questions and comparing notes on what has and hasn’t worked for biking with their own families.

Some of the questions we heard included: What helmet is right for this age? I used to bike all the time before I got pregnant, how do I get back into it now that I have a little one? My kiddo moved around too much in this seat for me to feel comfortable; are there other options? At what age can they ride on their own bike in the street? Where are good places to ride with kids in Baltimore?

And the most common answer to most of these questions? There are best practices and recommendations (many of which are in Family Bike Party's resource guide), but there’s a wide range of options and what works for your family is dependent on your own needs, level of comfort, and your own kids. The mentality we heard was very much "if this doesn’t work, try that." But it was clear that creating a friendly space for families to discuss pinch points with each other was a step in the right direction to getting more families riding.

WHY IS FAMILY BIKING IMPORTANT FOR BALTIMORE?

A city that is bike friendly, means one that's great to ride in no matter your age. And in order to make Baltimore this bikeable city, we need families to keep on riding. We need you riding in a park or on trails on the weekend, we need you riding to school or to the grocery store, we just need you out there, in whatever way your family enjoys.

Because families who bike stay connected to the city in a way that changes how they view transportation and how they view the design of our streets and sidewalks and trails. And families are a constituency that has significant political power, creating the demand for policy that creates more bikeable and walkable neighborhoods.

If you're a parent or caregiver that wants to feel safer riding with your own kids, or if you envision a future Baltimore where kids and adults alike can ride comfortably throughout the city, consider a donation to Bikemore. 
 

Interested in getting more involved in family biking in Baltimore? Join our Bikemore Family Committee!  

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Check out the full Facebook album for more photos.

Want Baltimore to be a safer place for kids to bike?

Many thanks to all the families that shared their experience and knowledge, Baltimore Family Bike Party, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, Baltimore City Department of Transportation, Race Pace Bicycles, Baltimore Bicycle Works, Peabody Heights Brewery, and Side A Photography!

Our Thoughts on the Separated Bike Lane Network Plan

The 2015 Bike Master Plan comprehensively maps out bike routes in every neighborhood in Baltimore. It's a robust guiding document for bicycling in Baltimore, but it lacks specificity in two areas: facility selection and prioritization of implementation.

Recognizing these faults, Baltimore City Department of Transportation has drafted an addendum to the 2015 Bike Master Plan, the Baltimore City Separated Bike Lane Network.

Like our neighbors in the DC region, the addendum begins by mapping the level of "traffic stress" on each of Baltimore's streets, and then identifies a network of protected lanes and supporting bicycle facilities, like bike boulevards, to connect to existing facilities and existing "low-stress" streets. 

A "low-stress" street is far more likely to be used by people identified as "interested but concerned" bicycle riders. For example, only about 38% of "interested but concerned" bicycle riders would use a standard bike lane, but that number grows to 80% if protected bike lanes are present or if the street is slow, calm, and has a neighborhood feel.

Draft facility selection flow chart

The goal of this addendum is to make the majority of Baltimore City neighborhoods accessible by a barebones network of protected infrastructure, supporting facilities, and existing low-stress streets in just five years.

The plan is ambitious, and it is a giant leap forward in planning and prioritizing bicycle infrastructure in Baltimore. 

Things we really like about the plan

• It creates a sensible and appropriate selection process for the type of bike infrastructure applied to streets.

• It focuses on building infrastructure that will make a wide range of people comfortable riding bicycles.

• It focuses on building out from, and connecting gaps in, our existing infrastructure.

• It prioritizes building infrastructure in historically marginalized communities with low car ownership to connect those communities to existing infrastructure in areas of opportunity.

Things we don't like about the plan

• It purports to be data-driven, but North Avenue and other major, high-stress roads were left off the map for protected infrastructure, despite qualifying by the plan's own metrics. This suggests "hard limitations" were placed on the planning process by BCDOT because they don't want to make North Avenue Rising better.

• Already planned and funded infrastructure is counted in the "Within 2 years" implementation map, despite an overall Bike Master Plan goal of 17 miles of infrastructure per year.

Here's what we want you to do:

1. #FilltheRoom! Show up for the public meeting on Tuesday, February 21st at 6:30pm at the War Memorial Building.

2. Leave feedback online by filling out this survey by March 15th.

3. Show up to the Planning Commission hearing (TBD) to support the addendum with incorporated community feedback.

Parallel facilities can't replace direct, protected routes.

We ask that in your feedback, you demand that high-stress roads like North Avenue, Belair Road, Liberty Heights Avenue, and Edmondson Avenue be prioritized for infrastructure as the plan's data shows, instead of making the easier and cheaper political choice of building "parallel facilities."

Our Next Campaign: Complete Streets

Separated bike lanes on Guadalupe Street in Austin, TX. Photo courtesy of the Plantizen, City of Austin.

In Bikemore’s short history we’ve managed to deliver tangible wins for people who bike. But the bike has always been a tool to tell a bigger story, to do bigger work. We value principles, standards, and policies that make cities healthy, safe, vibrant places to live. The time has come for us to be bolder in our advocacy and think beyond a single bike lane or a crosswalk. We must seek comprehensive policy reform for how we design our streets.

Today we launch our campaign for an improved Complete Streets Policy for Baltimore. Partnering with lead sponsor Councilman Ryan Dorsey, we are building a coalition of diverse stakeholders who believe all neighborhoods deserve streets that prioritize the safety of people over the movement of cars. Complete Streets save lives by preventing chronic diseases, reducing injury and death from traffic crashes, and improving environmental health — while stimulating economic development and ensuring access for all people.

This legislation builds on an existing resolution established in 2010. The previous bill lacked specificity and contained significant loopholes that resulted in little forward progress since its enactment. Millions of dollars were spent on road improvement projects that did little to improve the safety of people who walk and bike. Our new policy does two key things: It creates a framework to distribute resources for Complete Streets through a lens of racial equity, and creates a policy that requires that design solutions consider all modes of travel — not just driving in a car. This means more bike lanes, better sidewalks, safer intersections, cleaner bus stops and more street trees.

How can you help?

Sign on to support our Complete Streets legislation and read our policy brief. This is the best way to get advocacy alerts related to Complete Streets. Be on the lookout in the coming weeks for requests for testimony and prompts to encourage your representatives to support this ordinance.

And lastly, consider a donation to Bikemore. Your financial support will determine the scale of our campaign. Complete Streets are better for everyone, regardless of if you choose to walk, bike, take the bus or drive a car. Let’s make sure we have the resources to build widespread support for this common sense legislation.