Bike-Lash Erasing Baltimore's New Bike Infrastructure

Baltimore took a while to get rolling with new bike infrastructure projects, but now a new mayoral administration is rolling back recent projects around the city.

1 minute read

June 26, 2017, 7:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Maryland Avenue Bike Lane

The Maryland Avenue cycletrack while under construction in October 2016. | Elvert Barnes / Flickr

Luke Broadwater reports on the growing bike-lash in Baltimore, which has succeeded in pushing back the city's recent progress in bike infrastructure development.

Residents of the waterfront neighborhood of Canton complained that a bike lane there made the road too narrow for fire equipment, and the city decided to tear it out. The Roland Park Civic League has asked for a bike lane in North Baltimore to be removed, citing similar safety and design concerns. Now Mayor Catherine Pugh has ordered a review of all bike lanes and parking spaces citywide.

Bike advocates concerned about this trend also note that the city's bike director job has been vacant for more than a year. 

Mayor Pugh's case against bike lanes is a familiar one, claiming the redesigned streets are a detriment to the fire department. The article includes more of the specifics of each controversy, the original decisions, and the reaction to each.

Sunday, June 18, 2017 in The Baltimore Sun

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