Dear Col. Foxx:

At the risk of becoming a pest, I write to ask for your help in resolving a problem which has been plaquing Baltimore bicyclists recently.

The "Trolley Lane" along Pratt and Light Streets around Harborplace is under design now to become a bicycle facility as part of phase two of the Jones Falls Trail. Area cyclists excitedly look forward to its completion when, in combination with the Gwynns Falls Trail and the beautiful new Westshore Park, it will provide a safe and scenic cycling route to and through the Inner Harbor. I appreciate the effort your department is putting into making this a quality facility.

In the meantime, the "Trolley Lane" serves as the de-facto bike route around the harbor, as it has ever since it was built, and especially since the "Trolley" tourist service for which it was created ceased operation. It is not a perfect bike facility, but offers cyclists some refuge from the heavy, high-speed traffic downtown. We have always had to dodge the occasional taxicab or delivery truck which ignores all the "Do Not Enter" and "No Stopping" signs and parks in the space, but for the last several months there has been one particularly obstructive presence: the "Ride the Ducks" amphibious tourist service almost always has one of their enormous vehicles parked in the "Trolley Lane" right at the Pratt/Light intersection at a point where it is very difficult for a cyclist to get around it.

Dear Mayor O'Malley:

As chairman of your Bicycle Advisory Committee, I was quite pleased when the city's Bicycle Master Plan was completed and even more so when it was adopted by the Planning Commission. The plan was the result of a good deal of time and effort by this committee, the hired consultant, and city staffers, mostly from the Departments of Planning and Transportation. It is a good plan and its unanimous adoption by the Planning Commission on May 4, 2006, making it "the law of the land", will improve the ambiance and livability of this fine city.

That is, the Bicycle Master Plan will start to improve the city once we start to implement it. I realize the plan calls for an impressive amount of paving, striping, and signing and that money has already been set aside to start this process, for which I am grateful. However, one of the most important aspects of the plan is hiring a Bicycle Coordinator for Baltimore City, to advocate for implementation of the various facets of the plan, to coordinate between the different departments and agencies within the city, and to liaise with other jurisdictions to ensure that the Bicycle Master Plan does not just gather dust on a shelf. According to the Plan, this position is to be filled by the beginning of 2007, but to my dismay, the position has not even been defined yet, which puts the timetable in jeopardy.

I write to urge that this important position be created and filled to meet the timetable set forth in the Plan. I would like to further ask that the position not just be filled with a "warm body", but the individual hired not only be fully qualified, but an enthusiastic and forceful advocate for bicycling in Baltimore, and occupy a position within the city bureaucracy that ensures adequate visibility and influence in the decision-making process.

I understand that you and your administration have a lot on your plates at this time, but I feel strongly that this is an important matter that must be addressed. The Bicycle Master Plan is a fine document of which the city should be proud, but it will come to nothing if it is not implemented, and promptly hiring a Bicycle Coordinator is a crucial piece of that implementation