Baltimore ’s status on becoming a bike-friendly community

Attached are the comments from League of American Bicyclists concerning Baltimore ’s status on becoming a bike-friendly community. While the comments were compiled by LAB, the actual reviews were done by local persons with knowledge of Baltimore ’s bike “culture”.

If you have any questions or comments, please let us know.


Feedback on Baltimore’s application to be designated a Bicycle Friendly Community.

The Bicycle Friendly Community review committee was impressed with the potential
and growing commitment to make Baltimore a great place for bicyclists. The Honorable
Mention given by the reviewers reflects their view that some of the key building blocks
of creating a bicycle friendly community are in place but that significant measures remain
to be done.

Some of the highlights of the application included Friday bike rides with Mayor Dixon;
hiring a full time bicycle coordinator; the aggressive Bicycle Master Plan and its rate of
implementation; and the Safety City program.

Reviewers provided the following suggestions to further promote bicycling:

Engineering
• Adopt a Complete Streets policy. Every street should accommodate bicyclists,
pedestrians, motorists and transit users of all abilities and ages.
<a href="http://www.completestreets.org/">http://www.completestreets.org/</a>;
• Fully implement the comprehensive bike plan and continue to close gaps in the
cycling network. Also, expand the encouragement, education, and enforcement
programs to increase usage. Set an ambitious, attainable target to increase the
percentage of trips made by bike in the city.
• Increase the number of arterial streets that have wide shoulder or bike lanes.
Continue to expand the bicycle network and increase network connectivity
through the use of bike lanes, shared lane arrows and signed routes. Set annual
targeted implementation goals until the bike network is complete. On-street
improvements coupled with the expansion of the off-street system will continue to
increase use and improve safety. These improvements will also increase the
effectiveness of encouragement efforts by providing a broader range of facility
choices for users of various abilities and comfort levels.
• Ensure that new and improved facilities to accommodate bicyclists conform to
current best practices and guidelines – such as the AASHTO Guide for the
Development of Bicycle Facilities and MDOT’s own guidelines.
• Provide opportunities for ongoing training on accommodating bicyclists for
engineering, planning staff, and law enforcement. Consider hosting a Smart
Cycling course for city staff to better understand cyclists’ needs, behavior, and
their right to use city streets as well as multi-use paths for transportation. Consider
a membership to the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals
<a href="http://www.apbp.org">www.apbp.org</a>; for city Bicycle and Pedestrian Staff. Training opportunities and
the listserv provided by this organization are excellent resources.
• Increase the amount of secure bicycle parking throughout the community – in
addition implement a regulation that requires bike parking. See Madison,
Wisconsin’s Bicycle Parking Ordinance and guidelines for choosing racks at
<a href="http://www.cityofmadison.com/trafficEngineering/bicyclingParking.cfm">www.cityofmadison.com/trafficEngineering/bicyclingParking.cfm</a>; Funding is
available -- The Chicago DOT used a federal Congestion Mitigation and Air
Quality (CMAQ) grant to provide indoor bike parking in Loop offices and
parking garages. For more information on this project see
<a href="http://www.chicagoareaplanning.org/cmaq/default.asp">http://www.chicagoareaplanning.org/cmaq/default.asp</a>;
• Continue to improve the access to public lands for mountain bicyclists as well as
the connectivity of the bicycle network to these open spaces.

Education
• Improve the reach of the community’s bicycle safety campaigns. Use valuable
information from the League’s Ride Better Tips in your outreach education and
encouragement efforts. See the Ride Better Tips pages at
<a href="http://www.bikeleague.org/resources/better/index.php">http://www.bikeleague.org/resources/better/index.php</a>; , PSA’s
<a href="http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bikemonth/psas.php">http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bikemonth/psas.php</a>; and the downloadable
Bicycle Safety Tips for Adults video at
<a href="http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/education/shortversion.wmv">http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/education/shortversion.wmv</a>;
• Work to get bicycling and motorist education messages added to routine local
activities such as tax renewal, drivers licensing and testing, or inserts with utility
bills.
• Start a motorist education programs for bus and taxi drivers in the city. See what
San Francisco has done <a href="http://www.sfbike.org/?drivertraining">http://www.sfbike.org/?drivertraining</a>; Also, use the
materials listed above for this purpose in addition to classes that can be offered by
League Cycling Instructors.
• Continue to improve bicycling education opportunities for children. Set goals of
increased participation in Safety City and in-school presentations with the WABA
safety trailer until all schools have this programming available.
• The community should work to increase bicycling education opportunities for
adults. Better utilizing Baltimore’s League Cycling Instructors will enable the
community to expand cycling education, to be cycling ambassadors, to deliver
education to motorists, provide cycling education to adults, and have an expert to
assist in encouragement programs.
• Implement a Safe Routes to School program that includes bicycling and
encourage all schools to get involved. In Arlington, Virginia every school in the
County was visited by a team with representatives from Department of Public
Works, the Police and Schools to access conditions for walking and biking to each
school. A list of problems and solutions was developed measures were identified
to address problems. Short-term projects such as painting crosswalks were done
right away while larger construction projects are on-going. Funding is available in
the federal transportation bill, SAFETEA-LU, among several other sources at
both the federal and state levels. See <a href="http://www.saferoutesinfo.org">www.saferoutesinfo.org</a>; for more
information.

Encouragement
• Continue to expand encouragement efforts during Bike Month. Have the Mayor
and/or the City Council proclaim May as Bike Month. Encourage local businesses
to promote cycling to the workplace. During Bike to Work Week set up a
commuter challenge or bike to work pit stop. Olympia, Washington holds a Bike
Commuter Contest during Bike Month and encourages people to participate in the
month-long Contest to see who can ride the most number of days or miles in the
month of May. The growth in participation has been stunning. Olympia also
offers city employees a $2 per day incentive for commuting by bike (as well as
for walking, riding the bus or carpooling). Each year, approximately 50 to 60 of
the City's 600 employees participate in the Bicycle Commuter Contest.
• Work to create more active involvement of bicycle community. Consider a
Bicycle Ambassador program like Chicago’s. This could be based out of a transit
or community center. Read this paragraph is from the Transportation Alternatives
newsletter:
Mayor Daley's Bicycle Ambassadors
The five summer Ambassadors attend 200 community events a year where
they teach the public about bike safety, sharing the road, bike lane and
bike path etiquette and how to bike to work and school. They also help
novice bicyclists bike more, fit helmets and per-form bike safety checks.
<a href="http://www.chibikefed.org/ambassador">http://www.chibikefed.org/ambassador</a>;
• Consider passing an ordinance or local code that would require larger employers
to provide bicycle parking, shower facilities, and other encouragement tools. The
city could be the model employer for the rest of the community.
• Develop a series of short (2-5 mi.) loops rides around the community and provide
appropriate way-finding signage. Integrate these rides into local bike map.
• Continue to increase the amount of way-finding signage around the community.
• Set up community celebrations and/or rides each time the community completes a
new bicycling related project. This is a great way to show off the city’s good
efforts and introduces new users to the improvement.
• For more information on encouragement ideas please visit
<a href="http://www.bicyclefriendlycommunity.org/tech.htm">http://www.bicyclefriendlycommunity.org/tech.htm</a>;

Enforcement
• Ensure that police officers are aware of the Share the Road message and have
general knowledge regarding traffic law as it applies to bicyclists. Host
Enforcement for Bicycle Safety seminar
<a href="http://www.bicyclefriendlycommunity.org/popup/enforcement.htm">http://www.bicyclefriendlycommunity.org/popup/enforcement.htm</a>; in addition to
the planned Chicagoland Bicycle Federation training. This is a great continuing
education opportunity for law enforcement.
• Encourage police officers to use targeted enforcement to encourage motorists and
cyclists to share the road. This could be in the form of a brochure or tip card
explaining each user’s rights and responsibilities.
• See the video put out by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA)<a href="http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/portal/site/nhtsa/menuitem.810acaee50c6511">http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/portal/site/nhtsa/menuitem.810acaee50c6511</a>;
89ca8e410dba046a0/ Here are some Law Enforcement Products
Law Enforcement's Roll Call Video: “Enforcing Law for Bicyclists”
Enhancing Bicycle Safety: Law Enforcement’s Role (CD-ROM Training)

Evaluation/Planning
• Create and fully implement a comprehensive bike plan and continue to expand
encouragement, education, enforcement, and engineering programs to increase
usage.
• Work to improve data collection methods on bicycle usage and evaluation of this
data. Consider creating a social marketing program to increase trips made by
bicycle. See what Portland, OR has done with their Smart Trips program:
<a href="http://www.portlandonline.com/transportation/index.cfm?c=43801">http://www.portlandonline.com/transportation/index.cfm?c=43801</a>;
• Continue to evaluate the crash statistics and implement the plan to reduce the
number of crashes in the community. Consider using these statistics to help focus
your educational outreach, targeted enforcement efforts and engineering priority
list.
• Continue to integrate the development of the cycling network into larger land use
planning and development projects and plans.

Comments (1)


Baltimore Spokes
https://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=20081219111852941