Baltimore’s Next Big Bike Project

My pick would be something that connects the Jones Fall Trail’s downtown section (Guilford) with Harford Avenue (later Road). There’s a fair amount of east-west bike infrastructure in northeast Baltimore (Lake Montabello, Herring Run park) but very little north-south. If there was a way for people to bike down from Hamilton/Lauraville to downtown, I think you’d see more ridership coming from that area. The entire area around Old Town Mall is a bit of a mess, but some bike lanes there could at least make it navigable for bicyclists looking for a low-traffic alternative to get to downtown.

If you’re looking for a smaller project, bike lanes on Broadway from North Avenue to the Harbor would be really nice, as you would connect a major employment center (Hopkins), the redevelopment project north of the Hopkins complex, and Fells Point. You could even connect it to Loch Raven, Kirk and Harford through Bonaparte Avenue, which is also pretty low traffic.

There was this meeting about Howard Street earlier this week – http://baltimorevelo.com/2010/11/260000-in-additional-funds-for-howard-street-revitalization/

It doesn’t pertain directly to bikes, though.

I agree that Howard street needs serious attention, even if it doesn’t involve bike infrastructure. The speed limit on Howard Street between North Avenue and MLK is 25 miles per hour. 25.

From Hampden extending bike lanes coming down Remmington, quick Right on W. 30th, then Left onto Huntingdon Ave to connect with 25th street to allow riders to pick up downtown routes on Maryland, St. Paul or Guilford. This would be an almost continuous route from Hampden/JHU campus area to downtown by simply adding onto the sharrows already in the JHU/Hampden area. Huntingdon also has the very wide lanes. I have often thought that those lanes would be ideal bike ways without really affecting parking or traffic flow in that area.

A bike lane on Gay Street that accommodates Northbound bicycle traffic from the downtown area to connect with the Fallsway, and by extension the bicycle infrastructure network – somehow.

Some sort of safe connector between the inner harbor bike lane and southbound Light Street into Federal Hill that aren’t actually pedestrian crosswalks (which we’re technically expected to dismount and walk to use to not be held responsible for any collisions with motor vehicles, regardless of actual fault).

Perhaps a bicycle track on Maryland Ave.

Bicycle lanes on Mt. Royal.

I’m not familiar with the complete design of Guilford Ave., but perhaps a southbound bike lane on Guilford between Mt. Royal and Pratt Street.

Apparently, Mt. Royal will have bike lanes, at least near MICA, within the next couple of years.

Actually, I have only heard them described as “bike travel lanes”, and in Baltimore, a couple poorly placed sharrows seems to count for that.

Well, for starters, 80% of Baltimore’s sharrow markings were placed incorrectly well within the door zone and often partially underneath parked cars. Any inexperienced riders who may try to ride above the markings are in far greater danger than had the sharrow marking never been painted. Any experienced rider that rides 5 feet from parallel parked cars may potentially infuriate any drivers who think the sharrow makings designate proper cyclist lane position (which, as painted, is well within the door zone). Poorly placed sharrows have the opposite effect of their intended objective. Beyond that, all roads are sharrows anyway and I’m dubious as to whether they compel motorists to drive more courteously. I’ve certainly never felt more respected because of them, and was once intentionally driven off the road on a sharrow marked lane.

don’t worry, Liam, they’re bike lanes, not sharrows

On President St.: While I’ll agree that President is far from ideal, self-defense against right hooks is not a particularly difficult maneuver. Well, on a long stretch of road it is difficult, because it involves slowing to ~12mph and heightened awareness for something that is unlikely to happen for dozens or hundreds of potential right hooks, but President is only about two hundred yards with right hooks only possible at Stiles, Pratt, Baltimore and Fayette. There are no parked cars and the visibility of cyclists to motorists on the asphalt portion is pretty strong. Like I said, President is certainly far from ideal, but I think the trick to using it safely is going slower and heightening awareness for 200 yards. As for taking the lane there – well, that’s one road that I would never have had the courage to take the lane on before the installation of the bike lane. It may suck, but it sure beats riding up High Street and fighting the uncrossable median curbs on Fayette, or riding on the sidewalk around the homeless church and the cobblestones around the Shot Tower, which is what I had to do before.

But President to me is only good for connecting Fells Point and SE with the bicycle infrastructure grid. I completely agree with you that there needs to be a more efficient route connector between the harbor and points north that doesn’t involve crossing President St. (in all honesty cyclists will never do that, no matter how hard the DOT tries to encourage it). My vote for that is to allow the Inner Harbor bicycle lane to function as a hub with safe connecting bike routes projecting out like spokes. I agree that Charles and Calvert are both fundamentally flawed for that, and a better option would be to install a bike lane on Gay to connect from Pratt to the Fallsway, and to install a true and complete bike lane on the Fallsway past the prison all the way up to the corner of Guilford and Mt. Royal.

Cheers for no more new sharrows!

Is there a way to make the biking route around Druid Hill Park clearer? I have attempted to bike from South Baltimore to Mt. Washington several times to visit friends but always, always, always get lost in Druid Hill Park. As a result, I end up biking up one of the busier streets where the cars go too fast for me to feel comfortable.