Bike Parking at Convention Center

For years, visitors to our fair city have asked where to park their bikes at the convention center.  While the fence along Howard Street was the closest place to lock a bike, it certainly wasn’t a formal place to park nor was it inviting to cyclists. 

This morning, a new red bike rack appeared at the corner of Howard & Pratt Sts.  Definitely an eye-catching bike rack on a main corridor into downtown.  Given the location, another rack or two like this could be needed.

B-Cycle Employment Opportunity

As bikesharing expands worldwide, it is also expanding in Baltimore.  With Mayor Rawlings-Blake announcement of B-Cycle coming to town, employment opportunities are becoming reality.

B-Cycle is hiring for the position of system manager.  This position will manage the Baltimore B-cycle organization and operations. Must have experience with city bicycle advocacy on a local level. This person needs to enjoy the challenge of a dynamic environment, be adaptable, enjoy working with a variety of people, and be committed to cycling as a better way of transportation .

Lollypop Ride – Bike Ambassador Training

If you think you might would be interested in volunteer opportunities with Bike Maryland, come join this ride. Katie Gore & Marla Streb will be leading a fun but informative training ride on Sunday November 20th at 8:00am from Joe’s Bike Shop, 723 S Broadway in Fells Point. There will be coffee and doughnuts. The ride should be about 1 and 1/2 hours. We will meet at 8:00am go over a few safety tips and then cover more along the ride as well as follow up questions after the ride. You can rsvp on meetup.com it is under Downtown Lollypop Ride with Bike Maryland

MBAC Meeting Tomorrow

The Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Committee (MBAC) meets tomorrow, Tuesday November 15th, 6pm in the Department of Planning Conference Room (417 E. Fayette St, 8th Floor). Please send agenda items to Gary Letteron

Feel free to bring your bikes inside and up to the 8th Floor

Who Bikes in Baltimore?

Morgan State student Andre Stone is conducting a survey on bike culture in Baltimore.
This survey looks specifically at the demographics of cyclists in Baltimore.  Results from the survey will be shared in December

TAKE THE SURVEY HERE

Bikeshare One Step Closer in Baltimore

Contributed from an official press release from Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake

This morning, Mayor Rawlings-Blake celebrated the approval by the Board of Estimates
of an exclusive negotiating agreement between the City and B-Cycle, a company which
specializes in bike sharing programs across the nation. Bike sharing is a vital
transportation option that provides bikes to the public for short-term use.
Today’s Board of Estimates approval brings Baltimore one step closer to operating
a successful bike share program in the city.

“I want to thank the Board of Estimates for approving the exclusive negotiating
privilege with B-Cycle,” said Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. “We are proud to
partner with B-Cycle, which is a distinguished leader of successful bike sharing
programs in progressive cities throughout the nation. By building on the alternative
transportation system that is already in Baltimore, which includes the Charm City
Circulator, new bike lanes, hybrid car charging stations, and car sharing with Zipcar,
we can make our communities more livable and help our neighborhoods grow.”

“B-cycle is extremely excited and honored for the opportunity to work with the City
of Baltimore to bring world class bike sharing to your city,” said Lee Jones, Director
of Sales at B-Cycle.

Bike sharing allows for short-term bicycle rental to replace the need for a car when
taking short trips in and around urban areas. Members can join a bike share system on
an annual basis and have unlimited use of bicycles at half hour intervals. With stations
established at key locations across the city, users take a bike from one station, pedal
to their destination, and return the bike to another station. Bike sharing works with
other transportation systems to reduce traffic congestion, improve air quality, and
provide an inexpensive option for short-distance trips.

Since making its debut in Denver, CO in 2010, B-cycle has been utilized over 100,000
times within that city, 43% of which replaced a car trip in the city’s downtown area.

The exclusive negotiating privilege provides B-Cycle with the opportunity to secure
sponsors and recruit membership in the system. Within 180 days, B-Cycle must enter
into a contract that guarantees no annual operating expense to the City. The City of
Baltimore looks forward to having a vital bike sharing program, which will provide an
inexpensive transportation option, reduce traffic congestion, and create a healthier
environment for everyone.

In closing today annoucement, Mayor Rawlings-Blake annouced that she recently got back into cycling and is excited about bikeshare coming to Baltimore!

Spooky Ride Film

Spooky Ride Baltimore 2011 from Marc Hartley on Vimeo.

Thanks to Marc Hartley for filming the ride! A lower turnout, but still a fun time…

Baltimore Partners with PA on Sustainable Transportation TIGER 3 Project

The Pennsylvania Environmental Council led a consortium of municipalities in appying for a USDOT TIGER 3 grant titled The Mid-Atlantic Region’s “Sustainable Transportation for Livable Cities.” This project, submitted on behalf of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, addresses improvements in the City Of Baltimore, MD;  the City of Newark, NJ; and Camden County, NJ.  The package requests approximately $42 million in federal support for 5 projects in PA, 3 in NJ, and a bucket of projects for Baltimore, MD with a total project cost of a little over $60 million.  Aspects of the “Sustainable Transportation” project include:

• Broad Street Complete Street in Camden, NJ
• Market Street & JFK Complete Streets and Cycletrack in Philadelphia, PA
• Bensalem State Road Complete Street and Trail in Bucks County, PA
• Manayunk Bridge Trail in Lower Merion Township, PA and
• Bicycle Enhancement Projects in Baltimore, MD

The Baltimore project requests:

• Start-up funding for Charm City Bike Share
• Construction of the Downtown Bicycle Network – cycletracks and bike lanes
  across the city center
• Construction of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Trail – connecting the Jones Falls
  and Gwynns Falls Trails along MLK Blvd
• Bicycle Parking Enhancement at transit centers and other downtown area

Special thanks to Congressmen Dutch Ruppersberger, Elijah Cummings and Senator Ben Cardin for their support of this project. 

The application is available online for review

BBC/BBW Trainer Sessions

Good News Baltimore

A few weeks ago, I noticed a film crew documenting the traffic on Lombard St.  Good News Baltimore was making a PSA promoting alternative transportation for public & environmental health. The Good News Baltimore (TGNB) is a non-profit organization that produces television programming that promotes positive news by highlighting leadership in the areas of small business, education and public service. Check out the finished product here

Green PSA: City Emission from The Good News Baltimore on Vimeo.