Cycle tracks aren’t necessarily the answer

Being an enthusiastic road bicyclist, I feel that Baltimore City’s bicycle program should be more flexible and select what works best, rather than squeezing in separate cycle tracks where there’s no room (“Pugh to review Baltimore bike lanes, parking spaces to see if they comply with fire code,” June 7). The section of Roland Avenue between Northern Parkway and Cold Spring Lane comes to mind.

Roland Avenue had a decent conventional bike lane located between the parked cars and traffic lanes. Then the city relocated the bikeway between the parked cars and the curb. This cycle track was only 4 feet wide with a minimal 2-foot buffer — far below national guidelines.

As the Roland Park Civic League pointed out at their May 24 annual meeting, this cycle track failed in its objective to slow down traffic and persuade more children to ride their bikes to school. The track, however, has resulted in five cars totaled plus numerous side swipes and five cyclists hit by turning vehicles. The RPCL has recommended that the city restore curbside parking and revert to a wider, conventional bike lane while studying the possible removal of a traffic lane.

While some opportunities for cycle tracks exist, there are many other better ways to accommodate bicyclists besides walling off part of the street. Creating buffered bike lanes, like the ones along Johns Hopkins University on Charles Street, is one way. Traffic calming, very gradual speed bumps, and pavement markings like Share the Road Sharrows are another. Speed enforcement is helpful. Directing cyclists to secondary streets and installing traffic lights to enable cyclists to safely cross busy roads works. Cyclist and motorist education should be included.

Having bicycled 16 miles round-trip from my home in the northwestern part of the city to the state office building before retiring, I can empathize with those millennials who use their bikes for transportation and want better bicycling. However, I ask them to learn the craft of cycling and pay attention, rather than demanding that the streets be sectioned off for cycle tracks.