Stop Caving In To Baltimore's Bike Lobby

The bicycle lobby seems to have taken over Baltimore. This tiny group claims on its web page to — in essence — control our city government. “We elected a new mayor and a majority new city council,” it proclaims. Given the obstacles they have had the city lay in our streets, their boast seems true.

Bike lanes have created problems for motorists trying to park on Roland Avenue. On Maryland Avenue, the city has eliminated one traffic lane to create a bicycle lane, making it exceedingly difficult to go to the Inner Harbor. Many motorists now avoid that route by using St. Paul Street, which now is often clogged as well.

The city has been engaged in a mammoth project on West Mt. Royal Avenue installing a lane wide enough to accommodate two-way bike traffic. In the process, the city has eliminated all parking in the westbound lanes. Disabled people now have no easy access to the offices and businesses along the street. The mail carrier is blocked because the city has taken away his parking space. It is nearly impossible to deliver supplies to offices or provide maintenance services. Apparently to make room for all this the city also took out a row of trees along the median strip, which surely was not an environmentally friendly act.

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