City enacts new bike route network

By: Jessie Young

Posted: 2/21/08

The new bike lanes and signs in Charles Village are part of a Baltimore City plan intended to increase cycling as a means of transportation, health and recreation.

The Bicycle Plan lays down a network of routes that will, at their completion, connect all parts of Baltimore.

It also includes movements by the city to make bicycle routes safer and more accessible to patrons, such as striping bike lanes, putting up signs and installing bike racks throughout the city.

While other major cities have well-developed bicycle and greenway trail networks, Baltimore was lacking. City officials hope to expand Baltimore's bike route system to accommodate both need and demand.

Beth Strommen, author of the Bicycle Master Plan, acknowledged that the city recognized this lack of structure but also the existence of a biking community within Baltimore to utilize it.

"We needed to make the roads safer for not only the existing cylists, but to provide facilities to encourage more people to ride as well," Strommen said.

Strommen also emphasized the practical implications of expanding and making safer Baltimore's bike routes. "We felt that it was realistic to think that people would actually choose to ride their bikes because then they can get exercise and don't have to worry about parking."

The city is implementing these changes in phases, starting by working with the Baltimore Collegetown Network (which runs the Collegetown Shuttle) to implement the Collegetown Bike Route.

The participation of the Collegetown Network is due to student responses. In past Collegetown surveys, students have expressed a desire to use bicycle routes, citing that it was difficult to bike in Baltimore as compared to other cities.

"It's easy to ride your bike around on campus, but when you want to go someplace in Baltimore, it's really hard because roads aren't really set up for bikes. This plan should make everything much more accessible for students," said Kristen Campbell, executive director of the Baltimore Collegetown Network.

When completed, it will encompass several major institutions in the city, including University of Maryland at Baltimore, University of Baltimore, MICA, Loyola, Notre Dame and Morgan State, in addition to Hopkins.

Around Hopkins, some trails are placed through Wyman Park and along North Charles Street. When the trails are finally completed, bikers will be able to ride from Homewood to the Inner Harbor without having to rely on public transportation.

In Charles Village, work on the trails has been completed but work elsewhere has been stalled due to weather conditions.

The hope is that the rest of the project will be completed by the spring of 2009 in all other locations.

"If you were a Hopkins student, we would like to see you be able to get from, say where your apartment is, to shopping, or from where your apartment is over to the campus," said Doug McCoach, Baltimore City planning director.

The Bicycle Master Plan is a part of the city's larger Comprehensive Master Plan, entitled "Live, Earn, Play, Learn."

It outlines strategies to improve the economy and the quality of life in the city over the next six years.

The Master Plan is broken down into more specific categories covering the maritime plan, the economic development plan, the transportation plan and the bicycle plan, among others.