Another attempt at Baltimore bikeshare

[PotomacCyclist]

The city tried to establish a program a few years ago with B-Cycle, but that company was responsible for covering all start-up and operating expenses. Obviously a difficult task, so the program was never started.

Now the state of Maryland has agreed to pay 80 percent of the $1.1 million start-up costs for a new bikeshare program. Baltimore has to come up with the rest. No decision yet on the source of funding. Perhaps that could be a problem.

The program will be known as Charm City Bikeshare. No vendor has been chosen yet, but Alta is one of the possibilities. I wonder if the Baltimore system could be made compatible with Capital Bikeshare, in that members of each could use their keys in the other system. Or at least have the option to add a reduced-cost membership to the other system. That could be useful for commuters and visitors between the two cities.

An interesting quote from someone at AAA Mid-Atlantic:

Ragina Averella, public and government affairs manager for AAA Mid-Atlantic, said motorists and bicyclists are both responsible for traffic safety. Cyclists are allowed to ride in the traffic lane, and motorists are expected to allow at least three feet of distance while passing a rider.

While her organization is designed to support motorists, she said it supports the bike-share program. “Bicycling is becoming not only a recreational activity or one used for exercise, but as an alternative, cheaper and greener way to commute to the workplace,” Averella said.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-bike-sharing-20130507,0,3560748.story

Topic

[PotomacCyclist]

Another article about the possible Baltimore bikeshare program, from Baltimore Magazine:

http://www.baltimoremagazine.net/bikeshorts/2013/05/mdot-green-light-for-baltimore-bike-sharing-program

If the program is approved, then Phase I could include 250 bikes at 25 stations, and similar numbers for Phase II. The launch date could be Spring 2014. Alta is indeed the intended partner. As for the spring launch date, we’ll see. That could actually mean summer or fall.

The article does mention Howard County’s interest in bikeshare. This would be key in building our non-stop Bixi network from Alexandria and Arlington to D.C., suburban Maryland, Howard County and Baltimore. Get your legs prepped for those 8 to 10-hr. bike commutes from Alexandria to Baltimore!

By the way, the MDOT’s bike representative is Michael Jackson. No word on whether dancing skills are required to rent bikes from Charm City Bikeshare next year.

[PotomacCyclist]

A blog post from a car-free city planner and Baltimore resident, who says that Baltimore is not ready for bikeshare because of the lack of good bike infrastructure:

http://carfreebaltimore.com/?p=2969

Since I’ve never biked in Baltimore, I won’t comment on his observations. I don’t think I’ve been to Baltimore since I started cycling. The last time I was there, I didn’t look to see whether the infrastructure was adequate for cycling. (I tend to do that now when visiting other areas, or even neighborhoods in the D.C. region that I haven’t visited before. I immediately think about how easy it would or wouldn’t be to bike — or run — in that area.)

But he does seem to enjoy riding in Baltimore, so maybe it’s not all bad: http://carfreebaltimore.com/?p=1907

[Mikey]

@dbb 51658 wrote:

The invertebrate house at the National Zoo has several cool salt water tanks with coral reefs, an octopus and other sights. It’s bikable and free.

And it has a cool open air Spider in spider web exhibit that gives just about everyone the willies. People really walk out of their way to avoid it when going through the exit.

[thucydides]

@essigmw 55201 wrote:

And it has a cool open air Spider in spider web exhibit that gives just about everyone the willies. People really walk out of their way to avoid it when going through the exit.

The Madagascar Golden Orb spider web? I love that. It could be my favorite part of the zoo. My daughter loves it, too. You can’t pay my son to go near it.

[Author]

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