Bikeable Baltimore Region

A Plan for a Safe and Connected Bike Network

Introduction

Do you live or work in the Baltimore region? We want to hear from you, whether you ride a bike already or you’re curious about biking. Your input is valuable for the Bikeable Baltimore Region (BBR) project, which will identify a regional bicycle network of existing and planned bike facilities that is safe and comfortable for people of all ages and abilities. This bike network will benefit everyone by connecting our local communities and providing safe and equitable access to places people need to go like public transit, schools, work, and parks. Check out this website to learn more about the project. You can pick the parts to explore that you’re most interested in. We're especially excited to hear what you think in the Provide Feedback section. Share your ideas with us before July 26. Comments are also welcome at eight public meetings held throughout the region and two virtual public meetings held June 3 through June 27.

Why a Regional Bike Network?

A regional bike network will benefit the entire region by improving safe and equitable access to places people need to go through connections to public transit, schools, jobs, parks, and more.

Giving people more options to get around, such as biking, can increase job access, support physical activity, help the environment by reducing air pollution and vehicle emissions, and improve the economic growth of the region.

Draft Vision and Goals

Draft Vision Statement

The Baltimore region will work together to create a bicycle network that expands opportunities for users of all ages and abilities. This connected network will support improved safety, mobility, and equitable access to jobs, schools, housing, transit, parks, and other daily destinations.

Draft Project Goals

We created eight draft project goals to guide the regional bike network.

Advance Equity Expanding and enhancing the regional bicycle network will improve safety and accessibility by providing comfortable bicycle facilities for all users.

Connect People to Places The regional bicycle network will connect people to places by developing comfortable and continuous bicycle facilities that offer opportunities for people to bike to where they live, work, play, or learn. The network will also increase first- and last-mile connections to transit.

Consider Context The Baltimore region is diverse and biking needs vary by jurisdiction. The regional bicycle network will consider context in network design to prioritize the right types of connections in the right places.

Emphasize Collaboration The regional bicycle network will emphasize collaboration by being implemented cooperatively with the community, stakeholders, and local, regional, and state partners. This collaboration will also help facilitate connections to neighboring jurisdictions.

Improve Safety and Accessibility Expanding and enhancing the regional bicycle network will improve safety and accessibility by providing comfortable bicycle facilities for all users.

Maintain the Network The regional bicycle network must be reliable and remain in a state of good repair, which means working with MDOT and local jurisdictions to maintain the network by developing and supporting maintenance strategies and needs.

Set Attainable Ambitions The regional bicycle network will set attainable ambitions by prioritizing a network that can be feasibly implemented by member jurisdictions.

Support Community Development The regional bicycle network will support community development and economic growth by increasing access to transit, job opportunities, daily needs, and recreational and tourism opportunities.

Support Environmental and Health Benefits The regional bicycle network will support environmental and health benefits by increasing opportunities for comfortable and convenient bicycle trips which may reduce the use of motor vehicles assisting in reducing air pollution and vehicle emissions which negatively impact our community and environment, including increasing the likelihood of childhood asthma. The network will also increase opportunities for physical activity to be integrated into daily life.

Existing Network

The existing bike network in the Baltimore region includes a variety of different facility types.

Bicycle Facility Types

Shared-Use Paths

Shared-use paths include paths, greenways, or trails significantly separated from the road by open space.

Sidepaths

Sidepaths are separated paths that run adjacent to roads.

Protected Bike Lanes

Protected bike lanes are separated from vehicle traffic with vertical separation such as concrete curbs or plastic posts.

Standard Bike Lanes

Standard Bike Lanes are separated from vehicle traffic by a stripe of paint and may include a painted buffer space.

Shared Road Lanes

Shared road lanes are paved shoulders or roads with pavement markings and/or signage to show that bikes and vehicles share the road.


In total, there are over 758 miles of existing bicycle and shared-use facilities in the Baltimore region displayed in Chart 1.

Chart 2 shows the number of miles of each bicycle and shared-use facilities per jurisdiction. Hover over the colored bars to see the totals in each category. Below are a few key takeaways of bicycle and shared-use facilities within each jurisdiction:

  • Baltimore City has the highest total miles of bicycle and shared-use facilities (183 miles) followed closely by Howard County (181 miles).
  • Howard County has the highest miles of shared-use paths in the region (136 miles) while Anne Arundel County has the highest mileage of sidepaths (47 miles).
  • There are limited miles of protected bike lanes in the Baltimore region with most located in Baltimore City (15 miles) and the rest located in Anne Arundel County (1 mile) and Howard County (2 miles).
  • Baltimore City (46 miles), Anne Arundel County (40 miles), Howard County (39 miles), and Baltimore County (37 miles) have similarly high miles of standard bike lanes.
  • Baltimore City (67 miles) and Baltimore County (62 miles) have the largest miles of shared road lanes.

Existing Network Map

Do you see any bike facilities that are missing or that need the bike facility type updated?  Let us know here. 

Where Can People Bike Comfortably?

The Bikeable Baltimore Region project focuses on a identifying a network made up of comfortable and safe bike facilities because nearly 60% of adults are interested in biking in those kinds of spaces, while only 5 – 9% of adults generally feel comfortable biking on the road in the same lane as cars or in bike lanes with just a stripe of paint.

Bicycle facilities and roads can be considered more or less comfortable based on the speed limit, the amount of car traffic, and the type of bike facility. A more comfortable or low stress bike facility or road would be separated or protected from traffic such as a shared-use path or protected bike lane or be located on a road with a 25 mile per hour speed limit and low car traffic. While a high stress facility would be a road with a high speed limit, high traffic volume, or a large number of lanes or a bike facility located on that type of road. There are also roads that do not allow bikes to travel on them such as interstates or limited access expressways. As you can see on the map, the majority of bike facilities and roads in the Baltimore region are low stress. However, many of them are not connected which prevents people from getting to the places they need to go. The next step for this project is to identify planned bike facilities that can create those connections. A connected bike network should offer bicyclists multiple, safe routes and support comfortable and efficient everyday travel. Imagine being able to comfortably and safely bike from your home to your favorite park, Elkridge to the BWI trail, work to dinner with a friend, the Baltimore Greenway to the NCR Trail, Towson to the Ma and Pa Trail, and so many more places.

Data Analysis

To prepare for identifying a regional network made up of comfortable and safe bike facilities and roadways the project team looked at how things are now in the region and asked the following questions.

  • Where are people biking now?
  • Where could more people bike?
  • Where are the region's most vulnerable communities?
  • Where are bicyclist-involved crashes happening?

Where Are People Biking Now?

In order to understand where people are biking now in the region, we looked at the percentage of trips that were made by bike in the region out of all trips (car, bike, public transit, and walking combined).

This map shows the percentage of all trips that were made by bike during a weekday in spring 2023 according to data derived from Replica.

Where Could More People Bike?

Identifying areas where new bike connections may be needed requires an understanding of where there are more opportunities for short trips because most bike trips are four miles or less. The map shows the Maryland Department of Transportation's Short Trip Opportunity Area (STOA) analysis. Areas where short trips are more likely are identified based on where people live or work, areas where people do not own a car, and where public transit and schools are located. The map shows the short trip opportunity areas in the Baltimore region. A low score means the area is less likely to have opportunities for short trips, while a very high score means there are more opportunities for short trips.

Where Are the Region's Most Vulnerable Communities?

Identifying where we need additional transportation options such as biking requires an understanding of what communities look like across the region. We looked at community characteristics using the Baltimore Metropolitan Council's Vulnerable Population Index (VPI). The VPI is a measure of community vulnerability based on seven populations:

  • Low-income
  • Racial minorities
  • Hispanic or Latino
  • People living with a disability
  • Elderly people (75+)
  • People that don’t speak English well
  • People without access to a car

The map shows VPI scores in the Baltimore region. A low VPI score means there are fewer of these populations in a community, while a high VPI score means there are more in a community.

Where Are Crashes Involving Bicyclists Taking Place?

If data is not displayed, expand map and zoom in.

To understand where crashes involving bicyclists have been happening we looked at crash data from 2019 to 2023. The map shows the density of crashes bicyclist involved that led to serious or fatal injuries for the bicyclist. The darker red and orange areas on the map had a higher concentration of severe bicyclist involved crashes, while the lighter blue or green roads had a lower concentration.

Crashes that cause serious or fatal injuries are preventable and one death on our roads is one too many. A regional bike network will make it safer for people of all ages and abilities who are biking to travel to places they need to go. The bike network will also increase safety for everyone including drivers and pedestrians. Nationwide crashes involving drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists have been increasing instead of decreasing, however, safe and comfortable bike facilities have been shown to decrease crashes by 40% for drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists.

  • Darker red/orange = Higher crash density
  • Yellow = Moderate crash density
  • Lighter green/blue = Lower crash density

Your Feedback

Thanks for taking our survey and contributing to our input map!

If you have any comments you'd still like to send to our project team, you can get in touch with us in any of the ways listed in the "Stay Involved" section below.

Stay Involved

Visit the  project website  where you can give additional feedback, sign up for periodic email and text updates on project, view the public meeting flyer ( PDF  and  digital  version), and check out the Frequently Asked Questions section for responses to commonly asked questions about the project.

We want to know what you think!

You can share your thoughts about your vision for a regional bicycle network in a few different ways:

  • WEBSITE: Give additional feedback on the  project website 
  • EMAIL: Send an email to BikeBaltoRegion@publicinput.com
  • VOICEMAIL: Leave us a voicemail at 855-925-2801 x10292
  • TEXT: Text the keyword BikeBaltoRegion to the number 73224
  • MAIL: Mail a letter to us at Baltimore Metropolitan Council, 1500 Whetstone Way, Suite 300, Baltimore, MD 21230
  • SOCIAL MEDIA: Reach @BaltoMetroCo on social media with #BRTBListens

Need more information or help with something? Email us at  BikeBaltoRegion@publicinput.com  or leave us a voicemail at 855-925-2801 x 10292.

Next Steps

Discover Phase (Dec 2023 to May 2024)

COMPLETE The project team reviewed local and state bicycle plans and reviewed the existing bicycle facilities inventory. The team also analyzed mode share, safety, short trip opportunity areas, Level of Traffic Stress (a measurement of how comfortable a bike facility or roadway feels for a person biking), connectivity, and equity and developed draft vision and goals.

Listening Phase 1 (May to July 2024)

COMPLETE The project’s first opportunity to comment is from May 21 through July 26. Eight in-person public meetings will be held throughout the region, as well as two virtual meetings. We want to know what matters to you as we identify a regional bicycle network and update the project vision and goals.

Develop Phase (July to Nov 2024)

CURRENT Feedback from the public will be reviewed and will inform the update of the vision and goals and identification of the draft regional bicycle network. A network implementation strategy will be created which will sort projects into Priority Gaps (5 years), Intermediate Expansion (5-10 years), and Long-Range Network Expansion (10+ years).

Listening Phase 2 (Nov to Dec 2024)

UPCOMING During the project’s second opportunity to comment the public will be asked for input on the draft regional bicycle network and the draft implementation strategy. Two in-person public meetings will be held, as well as two virtual meetings.

Produce Phase (Dec 2024 to May 2025)

UPCOMING Feedback from the public will be reviewed and will inform updates to the regional bicycle network and the implementation strategy which will include cost estimates, policy recommendations, and benefit analysis.

Release of Final Report (June 2025)

UPCOMING The Bikeable Baltimore Region final report will be completed and published online. An interactive StoryMap will also be available that will provide an overview of the final report.

The Bikeable Baltimore Region project is a regional partnership between Baltimore Metropolitan Council (BMC), Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT), City of Annapolis, Baltimore City, and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, Howard, and Queen Anne’s counties.

Baltimore Metropolitan Council

May 2024