Go DOT!

Relevant username 😂

Love this!

Can we also get a "citations for joggers running against traffic in the bike lane" rollout. Whether I'm in my car or on my bike, I'm dodging them about as much as double parked cars and delivery trucks, some times more.

Thanks! The bike lane on Monument between Central and Broadway is particularly atrocious. I frequently see cars using it as an HOV lane or to turn onto certain side streets and alleys. It's only a matter of time before there's a serious or fatal injury in that lane.

Also, my understanding is that BGE has completely shredded the bike lane on Cathedral by the Walters. Are there any plans to fix the damage?

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Please report any that you see!

BGE is required to restore the road completely (including repainting, reinstalling flex posts, everything) within 90 days of their work being completed.

We won't catch you because you don't park in bike lanes. 😌

awesome, great work

Will do! I admit that is selfishly motivated bc I run the bike race in Mt Vernon Place and that’s part of our course 😬

Is your staff authorized to give tickets to tractors trailers parked illegally? Or to tractor trailers who travel through residential neighborhoods where they aren’t supposed to?

I personally don’t mind joggers in the bike lanes, as long as they are actually aware of their surroundings and yield to faster-moving bikers (thus I can understand the annoyance). I think that’s more of an education issue than it is an enforcement one.

I’m so looking forward to BGE taking over the conduits… /s

The law (and probably best practice) is for pedestrians to walk/jog against traffic. The law also says to use the sidewalk where available, but given that many sidewalks don't offer a straight path (having to constantly dodge stoops and trees) or are downright dangerous to ankles, we will have to continue sharing the bike lanes and roads until the city decides to become more pedestrian friendly.

I believe that section of the cycle tracks had steel plates on it during the monument lighting ceremony, so it should be getting close to 90 days, if it's not already past. I'll add a report if it's still terrible the next time I'm there, but could there be an easier system for the DOT to track how long it takes for each section of utility construction?

/r/walkablecities /r/fuckcars

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My neighbor in Christ, please ensure your horse is tied up to an official city-sanctioned hitching post when not in vehicle lanes, and use regulation Baltimore Parking Blinkers when you need to stop in those lanes rather than the bike lanes.

I don't know you'd have to find an Arabber and ask em

Oh no, you want the place you live to have safe paved roads!?

What kinda first world society do you think this is?

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Well you don't have to call them anything to ask them about their horses

Bike lanes are awesome!

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Ok what's your word for them? Use that.

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All the more reason to have separate facilities from drivers and pedestrians!

A monster for sure!

There is absolutely no way BGE is following through on this requirement. Once BGE comes through the roads are left in a disastrous state. Their “repairs” are the just incredible bad. Mixing asphalt and cement does not work. Then maybe paving half a road in the end. They just leave our city streets looking horrible.

you do not gotta do that lol

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Thanks, my experience has been the Cathedral/Maryland bike lane especially has been much clearer recently than a few months ago!

>Arabber

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabber

Arabber

>An arabber (or a-rabber) is a street vendor (hawker) selling fruits and vegetables from a colorful, horse-drawn cart. Once a common sight in American East Coast cities, only a handful of arabbers still walk the streets of Baltimore. They rely on street cries to attract the attention of their customers.

^([ )^(F.A.Q)^( | )^(Opt Out)^( | )^(Opt Out Of Subreddit)^( | )^(GitHub)^( ] Downvote to remove | v1.5)

If you just camped on Central you’d write 29 a day

How? I nearly got hit by three cars making left turns during my morning commute. I was in a protected bike lane and had the green light each time.

Drivers that don’t pay attention are a pain in the ass and a major safety hazard.

We're on the fast track to Fury Road over here!

Roland, Maryland, the loop around JHU, areas around Montabello, Harford, and Morgan. All with plenty of sidewalks. But I’m left choosing between weaving through joggers like an Olympic slalom, or riding in traffic and becoming another ghost bike.

Yep, cars are the actual danger. People act like anyone who rides a bike has to account for every annoying thing any other biker has ever done, yet just shrug their shoulders when faced with any of the egregious things car drivers do all the time.

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Curious why you think it's a slur? Hard to find much information, but it seems as though the consensus is that it is not a slur. It is the "preferred spelling of the Arabber Preservation Society, created in 1994 for the support of arabbing, “an African-American folk tradition,”"

https://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/op-ed/bs-ed-op-0417-arabbers-20180416-story.html

https://www.pressreader.com/usa/baltimore-sun/20180417/281706910272370

Keep up the good fight!

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Looks like you do this kind of thing a lot, whether as a joke or seriously. Can't honestly tell if trolling or not, but would genuinely like to see a source on why you think it's a slur.

Thank you!

The horror.

You bet! We did a crackdown on truckers who were parking in Pigtown last month.

Steel plates mean the work is still ongoing and hasn't completed yet.

And yes, we do track these things, but it also helps our staff immensely to have the public eye on it as well.

Neigh.

We have not gotten any reports of Arabbers parked in bike lanes, but they do use them! It's nice to have a slower lane to keep their horses safe and calm.

Bicycle lanes are not just for bicycles.

In addition to making things safer for pedestrians, they also are used by mobility chairs. They're used by people on scooters. They're used by people in wheelchairs. They're used for jogging. They're used by busses and emergency vehicles.

They are a huge benefit to everyone in this city.

If we get reports of substandard restorations, and our investigations find this to be true, we fine them and force them to redo it.

Thank you!

We talked about this very idea in another post.

Thank you!

Great work. It makes plenty of sense. New traffic patterns, rules, etc, should be accompanied by PSAs, signage, education, and then enforcement. Glad you’re doing so much.

Unrelated, can you consider a left turning lane on Lombard to Central? The left and center lanes on Lombard appear to be through traffic lanes, and the 30° turn immediately followed by street parking after the deli is hair raising.

I forgot to add - I didn’t realize that the enforcement campaign is the result of increased complaints. I am VERY happy to see that there is finally a feedback loop from residents to 311 to DOT and now, back to residents! Thank you.

Thank you for responding. Is there any way you can do a crack down in Oaklee, Violetville and Saint Agnes? The same district as Pogtown but often we don’t get the same services. Truckers park along Southwestern Boulevard, the 3800 block. They idle the trucks which makes a terrible noise and pollution for the people who live over there. They dump trash, the bottles of urine and bags from their travel potties with toilet paper and feces on the side of the road. It’s not a fun time to clean up. I go to the Oaklee block meetings, people are moving away because of this problem. Another area for crackdown could be Haverhill Road and Pine Heights Avenue, one way short cuts for trucks between Benson Avenue and Wilkens Avenue but these are residential only streets, no through trucks are allowed. This area is worse than it has ever been in my years living off Wilkens, I won’t walk through there because of the trucks going off the road onto sidewalks to make the turns. The old Violetville Community Association had speed bumps installed on Pine Heights which helped, there are still trucks driving through.

I live in Saint Agnes, Little Violetville the kids call it. The trucks park along Wilkens Avenue, Unetta Avenue, Primson Avenue, sometimes for a short while sometimes overnight for days or weeks. These roads are small it’s difficult to navigate out to Wilkens Avenue around the trucks. A dear friend of mine was in a terrible accident because she couldn’t see around the trucks. This was a few years ago, I believe the motorcyclist she hit passed away from his injuries. The old community association had bollards installed to prevent this type of accident. With more trucks here now it is a true safety concern again. I greatly appreciate your help, we’ve been without a community group for a long time the neighborhood is getting forgotten.

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Certainly! The more 311 reports we get, the more hotspots will be in that area, and will be subject to targeted enforcement.

Wheelchairs??

I forgot to mention the corner of Bloomfield Avenue and Saint Benedict Street. This is not a tractor trailer parking, it’s a car with an expired license plate used by a heroin dealer as his shop. He sits in the car during the evening and night to sell, he stays inside a vacant home during the day. Every now and then In” see him drive to the gas station, for the most part the car is on the corner for weeks at a time without moving. The city police said they can’t do anything because this is a DOT matter, because of the expired licensed plates. The county policeman who comes to our block meeting is certain city police could mark the car for towing if they wanted, but he hasn’t worked for city police for years so the process may have changed. The car is parked past the no parking sign at the corner, making it hard to see around the corner to turn, plus the people who come to the area to buy from leave litter around. I asked my neighbor, she has called 311 about the expired licensed plates multiple times. There should be 311 requests about it. Do you need the 23- number from her?

Hmm. The best thing to do in this situation would be to call 311 back with the SR number, and ask for a status update. It may already be marked for towing.

When calling, you can say “I’d like to check on the status of my service request. Would you mind looking up the details in the Salesforce system for me please?”.

This will get you the most information.

Yes.

DOT closed the requests as “gone on arrival”, even though the car is still there.

That's not right. Did you inform 311 of this?