New Baltimore Bicycling Advocacy Group in the Works

A few weeks ago, preliminary plans were drawn out to create a dynamic new bicycle advocacy group for Baltimore’s cycling community. Local bicyclists met with various people experienced in bicycling advocacy to discuss how the group will operate in years to come. Groups like Bike Maryland have done great work to make bicycling a more viable means of transportation in Baltimore, but it looks like theres a consensus that a new group could do a lot more on the ground and elsewhere.

Protect improvements like this

As new bicycling infrastructure takes shape around the city, and the number of bicycle commuters continues to rise, a strong advocacy group will become more and more essential to educate detractors and head off those who campaign against safety improvements for bicyclists.

If you have any intrest in attending the next planning meeting, shoot us an email and we’ll fill you in.

Posted in Baltimore Cycling Politics.

3 comments

By Liam – November 28, 2011.

Galen_52657

That’s horrible ‘bicycle infrastructure’. You never want a curb or narrow traffic island between cyclists and motor traffic. It’s as bad as bike lanes in the door zone. If a cyclist swerves left in an emergency or some other reason and hits that curb, they will be catapulted into the traffic lane with possible dire consequences. A wide curb lane is much better and safer for cyclists. If that’s what you are promoting, I can’t join you.

Liam

If you feel so strongly about it, I suggest you attend one of these meetings and warn the city’s bike planners how dangerous you think it is.

That said, what’s the difference between swerving into traffic and getting catapulted into it, if you’re going to end up getting hit anyway?

These buffers will prevent vehicles from intruding into the lane and parking in it, and I doubt anyone is going to catapult themselves into traffic due to them.

http://twitter.com/jedweeks Jed Weeks

Also note, this is not “bicycle infrastructure,” per se. It is actually a bike/pedestrian trail; part of the Jones Falls Trail and East Coast Greenway.

I have no idea how one would be catapulted into traffic from this infrastructure, but as a daily rider of that area, I’m confident it’s safer than riding amongst the highway-speed vehicles and rapidly accelerating/braking buses that use Fallsway.