Biking around town, I discovered some very nice street treatments that diverted vehicular traffic but allowed pedestrian and bicycle traffic. Anywhere else in the world, this is a bicycle boulevard treatment. Here in Baltimore, I was taken a little off guard.
The two traffic diverters (Madison at Bloom and Robert), coupled with the Eutaw Marshburn Elementary School form an almost perfect bicycle boulevard. Riding at rush hour this morning presented no traffic north of McMechen and only a couple cars south of McMechen. Took this down to the future MLK, Jr. Sidepath and down around Camden Yards.
So, what do you think? With the community’s approval, should we push for this as a bike boulevard? Yes, Guilford Ave is still in the works, but Madison is already built.
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04.16.10 at 3:57 pm
Allan
Looks great, but I’m not sure I understand the reference to Guilford Avenue. The two streets serve different parts of town. I would hate to see this project replace Guilford, which is a direct route to downtown from Charles Village / North Baltimore.
04.16.10 at 5:12 pm
jed
I think that’s a money route.
If you could get bike signs for the sidewalk that cuts through the school yard, and get some sort of bike signal at North Ave and at Swan Dr, you’d have a boulevard that cuts from those cool Druid Hill Park gates right down to MLK/Seton Hill/Mt. Vernon.
04.17.10 at 8:48 am
Barry Childress
My complaint about biking through the traffic converters is they are too zig-zagy and you have to slow down too much so it feels too much like stop and go every block.
My kids are rather neutral on whether they prefer biking down Madison or Eutaw. And Eutaw is prettier with fewer stops/slowdowns.
04.17.10 at 9:04 am
dukiebiddle
I use this route all the time north of North Ave., and love it. I do have 2 concerns:
Basically, while I love the idea of bike boulevards, if they run through at risk neighborhoods, I don’t think they can serve as a substitution for bicycle infrastructure on safer and more populated routes. I haven’t used Guilford since my attack. I’ve been heading north on Calvert and south on St. Paul, sharing the right lane with sometimes hostile heavy traffic. It sucks, but it’s a reality. What makes bike boulevards so attractive, lack of traffic, is exactly what makes users more susceptible to cases of assault.
04.20.10 at 2:03 pm
rb2rider
Where is “the future MLK, Jr. Sidepath,” presently?
04.20.10 at 2:06 pm
rb2rider
Perhaps I should also ask *what* is “the future MLK, Jr. Sidepath,” presently?
How can I recognize it?
04.29.10 at 1:05 pm
Nate
Thanks all for chiming in.
I wanted to get a feel for cyclists safety in the area and I got it. I didn’t have an issue when I was there, but you never know.
Bike boulevards are not cycle tracks so don’t expect to go fast.
Getting a northbound route would require either a contraflow lane on Madison or bike lanes on Eutaw (already preliminarily designed)
MLK Sidepath is the wide sidewalk along the southbound (westside) MLK Blvd from State Center to Camden Yards. Yes, it has a few missing bricks, but consider it “traffic calming” for bikes as its a “shared use path”. The signing legalizes bike use.