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Busy January Across The State

By Bruce Cohen - January 29, 2015

Work across the state has continued as we entered the new year. On January 13th, Nate presented the official (and physical) bicycle friendly community award to Hagerstown. We know that we have been singing the praises of Hagerstown over the last several months, but they certainly deserve it.

Meanwhile, in College Park we have been working with WABA and local cyclists on the issue surrounding Route 1. The City of College Park, the University of Maryland College Park, and local residents and cyclists want a protected bicycle facility along a very busy road; SHA is planning on a four foot unprotected bike lane along the right side of traffic. Please review Jeff Lemieux and Patrick Wojahn’s most recent article on their issue with SHA’s plan for Route 1.

On Wednesday, January 14th, Nate and I went to Annapolis for the beginning of session to meet with legislators and others from non-profits, advocacy groups, and of course local government.  Since then, we have been making the rounds in Annapolis to educate elected officials on important cycling issues as well as working with Baltimore City officials to implement more bike-friendly policies and practices.  (We’ll have more details soon.)

To finish up the week, I headed to Harford County on Thursday to meet with cyclists ready to organize and effect change in their community. The Harford Cycling Alliance is our newest local advocacy group, and they are already active planning Bike to Work Day, meeting with local elected officials, and planning awesome events for Bel Air (hopefully a soon-to-be “Bicycle Friendly Community”).

Shortly thereafter I attended a North Bethesda Transportation Management District meeting and presented on becoming a Bicycle Friendly Business, focusing on what changes employers within their district could make to encourage their employees and customers to arrive by bike. We discussed fun, encouraging events and our Bike-Minded Safety Program, which offers free workshops for kids and adults. If you would like to host a Bike-Minded workshop, these are free events that can include a rodeo or on-road component, or can be a classroom or brown-bag lunch event.

In other exciting news, Howard County is another step closer to completing and adopting its Bicycle Master Plan! This brings them yet another step closer to ultimately pursuing a Bicycle Friendly Community designation.

Everyone at Bike Maryland is still hard at work keeping up with issues across the state. If you haven’t already, please mark your calendar for St. Patrick’s Day (March 17th), when we will be hosting our annual Bicycle Symposium in Annapolis!