A night at Druid Hill Park, and a movement to make it equitable

We’re are grateful to all of those that came out for our latest Friday Night Lights. These nights been a really fun way for Bikemore to bring people together and connect to Baltimore’s beautiful outdoor parks.

We believe in a city that connects people to people and opportunities. And a key piece of what creates a healthy, livable city is connection to our parks. We’ve been working in Reservoir Hill and Druid Hill Park since the start of Bikemore, and it’s been exciting to see some big changes afoot led with a vision of Complete Streets and restoring relationship between surrounding neighborhoods to Druid Hill Park.

• DOT released a study on the Big Jump. The big takeaways? There is virtually no impact on car travel times and 87% of survey respondents wanted some version of it to stay.

• ... which is why we're excited that the Big Jump is getting an upgrade to concrete barriers in Spring 2022! The water-filled orange and white barriers will be replaced by concrete Jersey Barriers. And, Graham Projects is leading public art to go on the barriers. We’re taking your input on what that art should look like: draw and share your design ideas.

• All of the work along Druid Park Lake Drive & Druid Hill Park is coming to the final planning stages. RecnParks will hold a meeting the week of 9/28 to show their plans for the redesigned park once the DPW work on the lake is done. DOT is leading a Complete Streets design effort on Druid Park Lake Drive to reconnect surrounding neighborhoods to the park, and will host a meeting on 10/7 to present plans. Check out the articles in Next City and the Baltimore Sun that highlights the advocacy of neighborhood leaders to increase accessibility and equity in the area.

• DOT has begun community meetings and gathering input on the Northern Segment of the Baltimore Greenway Trails Network, which includes Gwynns Falls Parkway and Wyman Park Drive, roads that would be connected through the Jones Falls Trail within the park. We suggest you continue to keep an eye on the project, and join community meetings to advocate for the trail and share your ideas of what it could look like.

To follow along, make sure you follow us on social media (links below), and please continue support the work of Divayogi, Black People Ride Bikes, and TAP Druid Hill.

Also, mark your calendars for the big Charm City Cross race on October 2&3!

If you have ideas for the next Friday Night Lights, let us know.

 Want to support Bikemore? Help us out by starting a small monthly donation. Even $5/month helps Bikemore build sustainability from grassroots donors like yourself. 

A year of food distribution by bike

When we first started brainstorming how we could distribute food by bikes, processing how we would physically make it happen felt like an eternity. We were about a month and a half into the pandemic, and sitting still at home felt both wrong and the only choice we had. From arranging zoom meetings to figuring out program design to posting on social media to recruit volunteers - it took about a month from an idea to go to an actual plan with people involved. 

That rush seems unnecessary in retrospect. Though, to be fair, we had no idea that this pandemic would affect our daily lives for over a year. And a year later, volunteers are still showing up to distribute food to those in need in Baltimore. This need didn’t arise because of COVID-19, although it became much more prevalent as folks lost stable employment and safe access to grocery stores and restaurants, being pandemic hotspots.

Part of that need was transportation. MTA ridership in Baltimore dropped 60%, the remaining 40% were essential workers that needed to board buses, subways, trains to get to work and other services. But many folks, especially older adults who were particularly susceptible to COVID, were caught at home without a safe way to get to essential services. The majority of the deliveries went to them. 

While we were still coming up with strategies of how to make food distribution by bike work, we were concerned about a factor we had no control over at all: how many people would show up to volunteer. But on the first day of distributing food at Civic Works’ Real Food Farms, we met over twenty volunteers during rain and a thunderstorm. For weeks afterwards, at least fifteen people came each week, taking more bags and deliveries than anyone had expected from people on bikes. 

We’re grateful for every volunteer that showed up, even just to deliver food once. Thank you for your generosity of time and spirit during a pandemic that was difficult for everyone. We are grateful for our partners that continue to work on distributing necessary resources throughout the city. Please continue to support them how you can - showing up to volunteer in other capacities or donating funds to keep their work going.

In the past year since May 2020, 68 volunteers have delivered 870 grocery boxes and bags and 1600 meals. 

If you’d like to get connected with one of our food distribution partners (Bmore Community Food, Civic Works, the Franciscan Center, No Boundaries Coalition, and United Workers) to support them on deliveries, get in touch with us at clarissa@bikemore.net and we will connect you. 

#FillTheRoom: Support the Greenway Trails Network

The Baltimore City Department of Transportation is hosting a meeting next Thursday, 7/22 at 6:00pm to discuss the Northern Segment of the Baltimore Greenway Trails Network, and we need you to join and make your voice heard.

This portion of the trail would be constructed along Gwynns Falls Parkway and 33rd Street, connecting to existing trails in Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park, Druid Hill Park, Wyman Park, and Lake Montebello/Herring Run. This is part of the ten remaining miles to complete the 35-mile loop of the Baltimore Greenway Trails Network. 

Last year, a study showed that the potential economic benefits to neighbors and businesses along the corridor far outsize the $28 million needed to complete the trail. This is an investment that would impact generations to come, and our city leadership knows it: Mayor Scott has made building the network a first-term priority.

Some loud voices oppose the development of the trail network. But we know that the majority of Baltimore residents want safe spaces to travel, play, and connect with others. This multi-use, all ages and abilities trail would bring benefits to a diversity of residents and improve the connectivity, accessibility, and economic vitality of our city.

Please attend this meeting to make your support for the Greenway Trails Network heard, and contribute your knowledge of our neighborhoods and streets to strengthen the design of the project! 

Also - the Mid-Atlantic Off-Road Enthusiasts (MORE) is collecting community interest in Mountain Biking at Loch Raven Reservoir via a brief survey. They are a partner non-profit organization representing thousands of MD, DC and VA mountain bikers that maintains hundreds of miles of trails in the area. Please take a few minutes to fill it out if you can. Thanks!

The Big Jump had a big win

This month, the Big Jump had a big win -- Bikemore and Baltimore City DOT were awarded a major grant from NACTO to improve traffic calming along the Big Jump and Lake Montebello and make the Big Jump semi-permanent infrastructure with concrete barriers and art. This is a huge step forward in our commitment to equitable and sustainable transportation. 

Back in 2018, Baltimore City DOT installed the Big Jump as a temporary protected pathway that allowed for alternative forms of transportation across the 28th St. Bridge over the Jones Falls Expressway. For the first time, people could safely bike, run, stroll, skate, or otherwise travel across the bridge without a car between Reservoir Hill and Remington.

The implementation of the Big Jump worked to dismantle the systemic racism that divided these two neighborhoods sixty years ago – the nearby car-only JFX had sacrificed the connectivity of neighborhoods for more convenient commutes and white flight. For the 50% of households next to the Big Jump that lacked access to a vehicle, this was a game-changing development and opened up access to Druid Hill Park. 

Most importantly, the Big Jump signaled that the Baltimore City DOT cared about re-designing our city to make it more accessible, sustainable, and equitable. 

Now, we’re able to go even further: this money will help us strengthen the Big Jump with the help of our community: Graham Projects will lead enhancing the corridor with community-based art, Black People Ride Bikes will provide bike rides and safety lessons, and DOT will implement permanent traffic calming infrastructure in nearby areas. 

Originally, we convinced the city to try out the Big Jump as a pilot project. But your support for the Big Jump changed the course of this story. Now, it’s a permanent example of equitable, accessible, and sustainable infrastructure. 

Your donation means we can push harder for more innovative and equitable developments. Can we count on you to keep the momentum going? 

Donations made through this form will go to our 501(c)(4), Bikemore in Action, our greatest need. To make a charitable donation through our 501(c)(3), click here.

Friday Night Lights: creating connection in our parks!

Photo credit to Matthew D’Agostino (DAGFOTO.co)

At the core of Bikemore's work is our vision of a connected city - one where people know each other and can access the resources & opportunities they want. We are grateful that we had the opportunity to foster connection last week at Friday Night Lights. Thank you to all of those who came out and made it happen! Photos from the event are available on our Facebook album.

Bikemore believes that Lake Montebello and Herring Run Park should be accessible to the neighbors surrounding the park and people without cars. Thankfully, a lot has been happening to create greater connection between these parks and the rest of the city through improvements to our infrastructure. Here's what we've been working on around Lake Montebello:

• Lake Montebello will likely remain closed to car traffic permanently. We are advocating for changes to the parking configuration at Lake Montebello Elementary/Middle to ensure car traffic does not interfere with all-ages, safe access to the lake loop. Councilwoman Ramos and Councilman Dorsey are supportive and moving forward with plans to make this change permanent. 

• Baltimore City DOT and Bikemore have won a grant from the National Association of City Transportation Officials to make the entrance to and parking surrounding Lake Montebello safer for people walking, biking, and driving, and will be partnering with Black People Ride Bikes and Graham Projects on implementation and celebration of this work.

• Harford Rd. Bridge now has a Complete Streets design with a mixed-use protected walking/biking/rolling path, a bus lane, and reduced car traffic to two lanes.

• Mayor Brandon Scott has committed to building the Baltimore Greenway Trails Network as a priority in his administration. This 35-mile loop would connect Lake Montebello and Herring Run to Druid Hill Park and Canton Waterfront Park by protected trail infrastructure.

If you're interested in seeing more events like this in the future, please let us know! Want to support Bikemore? Help us out by starting a small monthly donation. Even $5/month helps Bikemore build sustainability from grassroots donors like yourself. 

Please continue support the work of Divayogi, Friends of Herring Run Parks, Impact Hub Baltimore, and Rails to-Trails Conservancy who led our yoga & hike sessions. 

We’re excited about the success of this event and are looking for other ideas of how we do Friday Night Lights in other spaces in Baltimore!