Route to work?

I've found the roads around east Baltimore to be safe. If you are still undecided on a neighborhood, I'd urge you to consider Lauraville, or Hamilton, which are just north of Hopkins. Also Waverly seems very nice. I'm sure there is a bus line that would take you straight to Hopkins from any of these neighborhoods. Good luck!

DONT EVEN THINK ABOUT IT. you will get mugged, assaulted, beaten up in east baltimore. it is not a question of if but when. if you do have the balls to do it, here are my two cents. 1. Never ever take madison st either way. I always bike on Monument st. you will be assaulted on both streets by teenagers. however the attacks on madison st are vicious because the teenagers hide behind the numerous trees on madison. 2. have all the jhmi security numbers on speed dial. you will NEED them. 3. if you see a bunch of teenagers approaching you, turn back and take a separate route - broadway to fells point then eastern av to inner harbor and finally go up n charles st. if you need more tips, let me know ali

I would consider a neighborhood within the city if you are planning on riding in the city. Getting in and out of the city takes a while and many turns/back roads to avoid the dangerous high volume roads. Many of the neighborhoods along the Charles street corridor are pretty nice and affordable to live in, and easy to get around without ever using a car. When you get here definitely know where you are going before cutting across a neighborhood as they shift from ok to really shady in a matter of blocks sometimes. to go from the middle of the city towards the east side where the campus is you need to travel south towards the harbor and then head straight east towards JHU. Don't cut diagonally across southeast towards the campus, for safety reasons. A great north-south route from the harbor northwards is Guilford (you have to ride on Fallsway going north when you're near I-83). Welcome.

i have never understood why most bikers prefer guilford over st paul. personally st paul is much safer. the cars on guilford run way too fast plus there are more shady neighborhoods on guilford. listen, cars are the least of your worries in east baltimore. the only good thing about biking here is that it is not illegal to bike on the sidewalks..... most jhmi students live in charles village, fells point or mount vernon...

I just want to note that sidewalk riding is illegal here and no study has ever shown sidewalk riding to be safer then the road so beware of the hazards (driveways and intersections) if you do bike on the sidewalk. Years back the police were requested not to ticket cyclists on the sidewalk but YMV and it may increase you chances of being found at fault in an accident. Motorist basically just look for other motorists so you are safer being (near) where motorist travel.

http://www.baltimorespokes.org/links/index.php?category=Must+read+for+bike+safety

well I completeky disagree. First, I have riding on the sidewalks in Baltimore for thee years and I use the road intermittently. My personal opinion is that you are much less likely to die on the sidealk than the road. second, i have asked the bicycle patrol police squad of JHU and these guys have told me that they pefer the sidewalks. So if the police is using the sidewalks, I don't see how that is illegal. besides, the MVA booklet has no clause on the legality of riding on the sidewalk. third, how on earth are you going to test how safe is it to ride on sidewalks compared to roads? most bike accidents happen on roads, fewer people ride the sidewalks and the list goes on....so that I dont understand how you'd do an unbiased study.... bottomline is that riding on the sidewalks is legal in baltimore. use it so that you dont have to worry about cars killing you and then your only worrry will be the violent teenagers

First off law in regards to sidewalk riding:
http://michie.lexisnexis.com/maryland/lpext.dll/mdcode/2185a/23078/23293/2329e?f=templates&fn=document-frame.htm
Baltimore does not (yet) have a local ordinance that allows sidewalk riding. Part of Baltimore's Bike Master Plan is to change that:
http://www.liveearnplaylearn.com/LinkClick.aspx?link=Baltimore+Bicycle+Master+Plan+_BMP__Revised_Francis_April_19.pdf&tabid=98&mid=434

Next as a cyclist of Baltimore you are extremely unlikely to die no matter where you ride so it comes down to reducing the risk of a crash and injury and sidewalk riding will increase that risk. (Baltimore has 0.7 cycling deaths per year on average vs 299 reported crashes.)

This is just one of many studies that have been done that highlight the risk of sidewalk riding:
http://www.bicyclinglife.com/Library/riskfactors.htm
This study is particularly good in that it accounts for the number of cyclists riding on the road vs on the sidewalk.


As far as state published materials, take a look at:
http://onelesscar.org/resources_safe_dvd_intro.php (Video by MDOT)
I also highly recommend getting Safe Bicycling in Maryland which can be obtained by following the instructions on this page:
http://www.sha.state.md.us/exploremd/bicyclists/oppe/Pamphlets/Bicyclists1.asp

With all that said I do believe you can mitigate the risk of sidewalk riding by being aware of the hazards and taking the appropriate steps to minimize those hazards. While I have yet to find any recommendations on the net here is my advice:
* Watch for cars pulling out of driveways and alleys. Motorists rarely stop before sidewalks and often don't stop at all if making a right turn - be prepared to yield.
* Watch for oncoming traffic making a left turn across your path - be prepared to yield.
* Watch for overtaking traffic making a right turn across your path (glance over your shoulder) - be prepared to yield.
* Be doubly vigilant if riding on the wrong side of the street on the sidewalk, motorists are not looking for traffic in that direction.
* Be extra vigilant when leaving the sidewalk to cross a roadway.
* Never "J-Bike" mid-block.

I dont like reterospective studies and conclusions based on them second, to the original poster - trust me early in the morning rush from 6-9am and in the evening rush hour 4-6pm, you do not want to be on the roads leading to JHMI campus......the drivers will be crazy