Towson U gets grant to design bikeway
Loop will circle campus, connecting it with the Towson Core
Towson University has been awarded a grant from the Maryland Department of Transportation Bikeways Program to design a bicycle loop around the university campus.
The $603,622 grant will fund a 1.8-mile neighborhood bikeway consisting of “shared use path, bicycle lanes, bike route signage and improved intersection crossings,” according to a state grant listing of award recipients.
University President Kim Schatzel said in a statement that officials are “excited about the opportunity to make Towson University even more accessible for cyclists and pedestrians.”
“Having dedicated bike lanes around campus advances our priorities around wellness, sustainability, and provides a better connection to the greater community,” Schatzel said.
The work is expected to be completed in 2020.
Baltimore County Councilman David Marks, who represents Towson, had written a letter to the state Department of Transportation in June supporting the university’s grant application. He noted its importance in light of new student housing that is planned in Towson’s downtown core. “To support economic development, increased density and increased travel demand between Towson University and the Towson Core, safe, connected, multi-modal infrastructure improvements are sorely needed,” Marks wrote.
The Bikeways Program offers grants “to fill missing links in the state’s bicycle network, improve safety and enhance multi-modal connectivity,” according to the state’s announcement. Towson University is one of seven awardees receiving a slice of the $1,996,245 the Bikeways program doled out this year.
The bikeway is not the university’s first bicycle initiative. In February, San Francisco-based bike share company Spin launched operations on campus, distributing about 100 dockless, bright orange bicycles around campus for students to rent starting at $1 for 30 minutes.
Marks said Towson University’s initiatives are part of a broader effort to make Towson more bike-friendly. “Over the past eight years, we have worked to make Towson friendlier to bicyclists and pedestrians,” Marks said in an email. “New construction must have bike parking, and we have implemented bike lanes on many of our major corridors.”