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.

Cycling Q&A Recap: Winter Riding Tips!

Our Programs Coordinator, Menelik, hosted his first live Q&A session on Instagram last Thursday. He answered a few questions about winter riding - check it out!

And be sure to join us for future Q&A sessions if you have questions about cycling, buying the right bike for you, bike maintenance, and more! Q&A sessions will be hosted every Wednesday from 12-1pm over Instagram.

What’s the best way to carry a bike up and down the stairs?

One way is with one hand on the top tube and the other on the handlebars, and then lifting the bikes top tup above the shoulder. Another way to simply grab the top tube and handlebars in one hand and lift off the ground - this works better with lighter bikes.

What’s the best way to clean winter grit/salt out of my drivetrain?

First, let’s consider a common mistake of having too much lubricant on the chain, which attracts dirt and excess debris. That aside, here’s a suggested step-by-step process:

1. Preferably remove the rear wheel and install a “dummy hub” (Park Tool has one).

2. Use a stiff brush and apply degreaser to scrub jockey wheels (where applicable), sprocket, and chain below the chain stays to prevent gunk from entering the bottom bracket area.

3. Using a different, clean brush, apply soapy (e.g. dish liquid) water scrub and repeat step 2.

4. With steamy, hot water inside a spare water bottle (don’t use this for drinking!), rinse away the soapy water as a light rain would.

5. While turning the cranks, use a cotton shop towel to dry. Or you can also air dry.

6. Link by link, apply lubricant. After you’ve lubed the entire chain, go back and wipe off the excess with the cotton shop towel.

7. The rear cassette and cog can be handled separately by degreasing and scrubbing.

Do you have a recommendation for eye protection that won’t fog?

When wearing a mask or face covering, it helps to bring the material above the nose and under the glasses. There is also defogger spray that can be applied to lenses.

Who has good winter biking apparel?

Try out outdoor supply stores. Locally, you can go to H&H Outdoors (in Lauraville) or REI (there are a few locations in the DMV area).

What kind of gloves should I get to ride in the winter?

There are many different types, so depending on what you’re comfortable with, the answer will change. Camping and outdoors stores have great gloves for biking. Another tip you might try out is to put a couple dashes of cayenne inside gloves and socks for extra warmth!

Harford Road Bridge Redesigned with Complete Streets Principles

Last Thursday night, Baltimore City Department of Transportation hosted a meeting with eighty community members in attendance to provide an update on the proposed design changes to the Harford Road Bridge. 

The newly proposed design reduces four lanes of car traffic to two, and reallocates this space to a southbound bus travel lane, additional lanes for mixed-use walking and biking, and more buffer between moving traffic and pedestrians. Complete Streets Manager Graham Young cited the newly adopted Complete Streets Manual and Separated Lane Network Plan as guiding documents for the new design.

The design also extends changes on Harford Road to the north and south of the bridge, reconfiguring dangerous intersections and extending separated bike lanes that make both people biking and walking on the adjacent sidewalks safer from passing cars.

Overall, folks on the call were excited about the new design and also advocated to keep Lake Montebello closed to cars and for additional closure of Walther Avenue between Harford Road and Argonne Drive.

We encourage you to view the presentation and leave comments on the proposed design here, or email dot-community@baltimorecity.gov with your comments. 

Harford Road Bridge

Typical section of Harford Road Bridge looking north, with original design above and alternative redesign below.

Northbound Harford Road

Harford Road redesign north of the bridge (between Walther and Parkside).

Southbound Harford Road

Harford Road south of the bridge (between Erdman and Chesterfield)

Since the Harford Road bridge has been closed, the streets to the north and south have seen less traffic and have been adjusted to accommodate space for other uses, like added parking, outdoor cafes, curb extensions, and separated bike lanes. These were long-standing community goals that existed well before the bridge project began design and construction. 

It never made sense to have a bridge design with 4 lanes of high speed car traffic and narrow, unprotected bike lanes. But that’s what the original design called for. 

From the first community meeting about the bridge, Bikemore called for a road diet and addition of separated bike lanes to the project. Neighbors complained about the high level of speeds along the current bridge, and were nervous to see the existing guardrails on the old bridge removed in the new design, because they provided basic protection to people walking across the bridge next to highway speed traffic. We were joined in calls for a re-design by then-candidate for 3rd District City Council -- Ryan Dorsey, who made changes to the bridge design a major focus of his campaign.

Despite Dorsey’s victory in the election, along with broad community support for design changes and Bikemore’s advocacy, no substantial changes were made from the original bridge design presented. In 2018, the bridge project moved to construction. As reported at the time in the Baltimore Sun:

City Councilman Ryan Dorsey, who represents the area and runs a Facebook page dedicated to news about the bridge, criticized the new bridge’s design as “incredibly unsafe” because the bike lane is not physically separated by barriers from the road, he said.

If it had been designed in Montgomery County, Dorsey said, a separated bike lane would be required due to traffic volumes and observed speeds.

“It’s really a failing of DOT that a safer design was not planned from the outset, even worse that safer design was called for by community members from the earliest stages, but DOT insisted on this unsafe design,” Dorsey said. “This DOT has not really inspired much confidence so far, but I’m still holding out hope that a change will be made before we get to a point where it’s really too late.”

Over the past 15 years, the city transportation department has ignored calls from residents, advocates and public officials to build a new bridge that is safe and accessible for pedestrians and bicyclists, said Jed Weeks, policy director of Bikemore, a bicycle advocacy group.

“Instead, they've doomed generations of Baltimoreans to an unsafe design with minimum width sidewalks and unprotected bike lanes next to speeding traffic,” Weeks said in a statement. “This bridge is a total failure in planning and an example of why we had to pass an ordinance to force BCDOT to do better in the future."

While the beginning of construction marked the end of advocacy for a smaller bridge design that could have saved millions of dollars in construction costs, we continued to advocate for an improved reconfiguration of the wide bridge that was to be built. In that time, we gained new leadership in the mayor’s office, new leadership at BCDOT, and Councilman Dorsey was re-elected, cementing that there is broad support for his complete streets vision within the 3rd District.

This redesign, combined with the closure of Lake Montebello to car traffic, the coming design and installation of trail along St. Lo Drive and 33rd Street, and future expanded separated bike lanes along Harford Road are a culmination of years of advocacy that would not have been possible without Bikemore’s supporters.

#FillTheRoom at Upcoming BCDOT Meetings

This Thursday, Baltimore City Department of Transportation (BCDOT) is hosting two meetings that will affect bicycle infrastructure connectivity. Bikemore staff will be joining to hear updates and provide input on equitable design. We hope you can come too, especially if you’re a resident of the areas where the infrastructure will be built.

Harford Road Bridge Meeting 

Thursday, January 21 | 6pm | On WebEx

Construction on the Harford Road Bridge over Herring Run began in 2018. The original design for the bridge included standard bike lanes next to four lanes of high-speed traffic, despite widespread community requests for the new design to slow down cars and provide safer space for biking and walking. 

We have been advocating alongside District 3 Councilman Ryan Dorsey for a Complete Streets redesign of the bridge that includes space in which people of all ages feel comfortable walking and biking. BCDOT will provide updates on the design changes under consideration during this meeting.

Details + Meeting Link

Wolfe/Washington Cycle Track Meeting

Thursday, January 21 | 6pm | On WebEx

As part of the Separated Lane Network Plan released in 2016, a North/South connecting separated bike lane is planned to be built on either Wolfe St. or Washington St. This meeting will kickoff discussion on a design and selection of which street would serve as the best connection.

A separated bike lane on Wolfe/Washington St. would be a critical route through East Baltimore for people of all ages and abilities to feel comfortable using. It would connect the Promenade and Monument Street for East/West travel and to a planned trail connection on St. Lo Drive that would provide access through Clifton Park to future separated lanes on Harford Road and the future Baltimore Greenway Trail Network on 33rd Street and Herring Run.

Details + RSVP (Required)

If you are able to join and show your support for biking and walking infrastructure on these corridors, please sign on to fill the virtual room. 

Have questions? Feel free to email us at info@bikemore.net. 

Reflecting on Bikemore's 2020: From Menelik

From food distribution at the Franciscan Center in September.

By Menelik Yeha, Program Coordinator

My personal reflection for this year is one that ultimately showcases a dance between ideals and their opposites.  Old philosophies versus new and fresher ones.  Personally and professionally there were many experiences that were shaped by external factors, yet propelled by an inevitable constant, change.  Prior to the pandemic, cycling was my preferred method of getting around the city.  It was also the preferred method to move about in times when I simply desired exploration.  Ironically, once COVID and social distancing became more apparent, I suddenly found myself walking more; initially for the sake of exploration and varied exercise.  Little by little, this reasoning morphed into the enjoyment of simplicity, pace, and ease of access to nearby destinations.  I realized that I could also wander in a kind of, “novice” way aimlessly, without necessarily having a clear destination in mind.  Experiencing the city in both capacities, walking and cycling at a different pace was definitely appreciated.  This allowed thoughts and ideas to flow and step forward into reality instead of the previous place of sub conscience living.  The imagination and passing thoughts of other times were now as tangible and touchable as both feet firmly planted on the ground.  Time seemed to stand still and at times, even disappear.

Now, at Bikemore towards the end of last year, we listed some team and personal goals for this year.  Listing such goals were of course from the assumption that things would follow a particular format, schematic, or sequence etc.  However, as we all watched life shift into an unfamiliar and strange place for most of us worldwide, as an organization (myself included) we were forced to place all previous concepts, ideas, and notions of spring/ summer programming on ice.   

Then, as spring began to peek from under the cover of winter and nature began to sing, anticipation of the cycling season approaching was also bubbling.  Typically, at Bikemore our programming would naturally and simultaneously begin edging towards the start line as these changes occur.  However, this time, 2020 would announce that this would be a ‘no go’.  ‘Riders please return all horses to their respective stable’... or so we thought.  The advent of a new appreciation for cycling was born. 

This birth not only took place locally, but around the world.  Additionally, and inseparably were fresh ideas and recognition of the practical uses, benefits, and possibilities regarding our relationship with something that many had only considered recreationally; a bicycle.  Although many people have benefited directly from biking, there were exponentially many people to benefit indirectly from folks being passionate about biking.  These are people that receive food via bike delivery. 

So, since programming had initially slowed and in some ways came to a halt before getting started, we were able to be a bit more creative in our approach to identifying solutions to other needs. An example of this has been the beautiful relationships we’ve cultivated with food delivery organizations, volunteers, and clients alike.  Also, we reached record numbers of mobile bike repairs both for city residents and many that had travelled into the city from areas beyond like, Randalstown, Owings Mills, Catonsville, White Marsh, and Parkville.  This speaks to our work not only being valued, but necessary. 

In conclusion, taking things a bit slower this year allowed us the ability to check in with ourselves individually and with one another collectively in ways we hadn’t before, therefore, opening space to analyze some specific practices.  In hindsight, I can say that an added mental flexibility has personally provided me with a sense of durability and I’m sure better is yet to come. 

Can you support us in 2021? Make your donation here to Bikemore in Action.

If you would like to make a charitable, tax-deductible donation instead, click here.