Welcome Nate Evans as our New Executive Director!

By Bruce Cohen - July 30, 2014

Bike Maryland is excited to announce Nate Evans as our new executive director. As a life long bicyclist and Marylander, Nate knows the current cycling conditions of the state and the challenges we face to make our home more bike-friendly. With diverse professional and personal experiences, Nate brings a unique knowledge to the organization which will benefit Bike Maryland.

Nate got his start biking at a young age when he discovered the freedom and fun of biking in suburban Baltimore. He began mountain biking the trails of Gunpowder and Loch Raven while in high school. Unlike his classmates who were buying cars, Nate bought a Trek bicycle which he still owns to this day. Nate earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography at Frostburg State University, concentrating in Urban Planning and Cartography. After college, he worked as a consulting civil engineer to the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) before joining Baltimore’s Department of Transportation as the city’s first full time bicycle and pedestrian planner.

During his time as Baltimore’s bike planner, Nate was instrumental in promoting biking as transportation and recreation through infrastructure, programming and policy initiatives. Nate planned and designed much of the city’s progressive bike infrastructure such as contra-flow bike lanes, the Wyman Park bike box and the Guilford Avenue bike boulevard. During his tenure, nearly 400 bike racks were installed citywide and Bike to Work Day participation increased from 150 to over 500. Nate also instituted the volunteer-based manual bicycle counts which documented a 75% increase in bicycle commuter traffic in 3 years. Where policy and legislative changes were needed, Nate worked with city council members and department leadership to pass pro-bike legislation such as mandatory bike parking, fines for parking in bike lanes and the city’s Complete Streets (CS) resolution. These changes helped Baltimore gain recognition as the state’s first Bike Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists. During the past year, Nate has been an on-site consultant with McCormick Taylor Associates at SHA where he managed bicycle retrofit and trail projects and made policy recommendations to increase the state’s bike friendly trend.

As a bike advocate, Nate assisted Baltimore County with the development of the Eastern and Western County Bike and Pedestrian Access Plans. Taking lessons learned from the city’s Complete Streets resolution, Nate assisted the county’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee to pass its own Complete Streets resolution, which was recognized as one of the Top 10 CS policies of 2013 by Smart Growth America. As a member of MORE (Mid Atlantic Off-Road Enthusiasts), Nate helped the organization develop a working relationship with the city’s Department of Public Works over disputed trails in Loch Raven.

Nate lives in Perry Hall with his wife, Heather and their three kids (who all ride).

Nate is excited to continue working with advocates across Maryland in his new capacity as executive director. With his knowledge of bicycle planning, engineering and funding, Nate hopes to empower advocates with the tools they need to make their Maryland communities more bikeable. Bike Maryland welcomes Nate and looks forward to working with him in this endeavor.