Baltimore's bike infrastructure is slowly becoming safer for bicyclists, pedestrians
BALTIMORE -- At Monday night's city council meeting, Council Vice President Sharon Green Middleton called for an informational hearing to take a look at Baltimore's bike infrastructure.
"We want to create a win-win solution for everyone involved," Baltimore City Council Vice President Sharon Green Middleton said.
Baltimore adopted an ordinance called Complete Streets in 2018 to make roads safer for bike riders and pedestrians.
But recently, there has been concern over bike lanes in certain parts of the city. Middleton said it's time for the council to hear from city agencies and community members on the issue.
"Let me be clear, this hearing is not an attempt to undermine Complete Street Ordinance," Middleton said.
Last October, the Council held a Legislative Oversight Hearing about the Complete Streets Ordinance, Lawrence Bell, the president of Friends of Gwynns Falls Parkway, had attended it.
He believes the lanes slow down traffic, reduce parking and make it difficult for ambulances and firetrucks to pass through.
"We need a moratorium on any new bike lanes," Bell said.
Council Vice President Middleton named Bikemore, an organization that advocates for safer streets for pedestrians and bike riders, as one of the groups she wants to participate in the upcoming hearing.
WJZ spoke with Interim Executive Director Jed Weeks.
"Complete Streets and bike lanes are something that are, like, globally accepted as the best practice," Weeks said. "I'm not really sure why we keep having hearings questioning the value of things that are empirically proven to be better for the city."
A date for the hearing has not been set yet.
However, Friends of Gwynns Falls Parkway will be holding a meeting with the Baltimore City Department of Transportation on Tuesday night to discuss their concerns.