FAQs
Make it easier for people using bicycles, scooters, wheelchairs to access parks, schools, the hospital, and more. Installing a 2.1-mile cycle track on Washington St will make it easier for people to access key destinations using bicycles, scooters, and wheelchairs. It will expand the connected network of existing separated bicycle facilities from 8.9 miles to 11 miles and provide new connections to households in East Baltimore.
Reduce speeding with traffic calming improvements. Since 2016 fatalities and serious roadway injuries have increased in Baltimore City, one major contributor to these types of crashes is excessive speed. Traffic calming design elements, including protected bike lanes lower average driving speeds, thereby reducing the likelihood that crashes will result in serious injuries and/or fatalities.
Maryland Ave (2016) – 41% reduction in total crashes from 2016 through 2022, including 14% fewer injury crashes
Potomac Street (2017) - 39% reduction in total crashes, including 100% fewer injury crashes
Hartford Road (2019) - 53% reduction in total crashes, including 51% fewer injury crashes
Monument/Centre (2019) – non-motorist crashes decreased by over 40% from 2019 through 2022 and bicyclist crashes decreased by 70%.
- Bicycles, including electric bicycles
- Scooters, skateboards, and rollerblades
- Pedestrians. This includes people using manual or powered wheelchairs, as well as people pushing strollers.
- Emergency vehicles
- Updated ADA Ramps. Many existing ADA curb ramps will be updated to provide smoother, less steep surfaces.
- New pedestrian walk signals. “WALK” and “DON’T WALK” traffic signals will be added to many intersections, which direct pedestrians on when they are clear to cross streets at signalized intersections.
- New pedestrian bumpouts. Bumpouts will be added to many intersections to:
- Reduce the amount of time pedestrians spend in the travel lanes
- Slow Traffic. When travel lanes are narrowed, even for brief stretches, studies have shown that travel speeds are reduced.
- Increase visibility for pedestrian waiting to cross the street.
- Repaving and newly painted crosswalks. The project will repave Washington Street which, when combined with new reflective crosswalks and line striping, provide crisp/clear delineation to motorists.
- New bus boarding islands. These bus boarding islands will extend the sidewalk out to the travel lanes, allowing transit riders to board their bus without having to step down to street level or walk in travel lanes.
- Daylighting crossings. This project will provide “daylighting”, which formalizes prohibiting parking directly adjacent to crosswalks. (It is prohibited to park within 20 ft of a crosswalk at all levels of government.) By preventing cars from parking too close to crosswalks, pedestrians entering the crosswalk from the sidewalk are visible earlier.
What is the Washington Bikeway and Traffic Calming project’s goals?
Washington St was prioritized for improvement in transportation plans approved by the City and Planning Commission. Specifically, Washington St was recommended for separated bicycle facilities in the 2015 Bike Master Plan and 2017 Separated Bike Lane Network Update plan due to the connections along the streets and role in creating a citywide connected bicycle network.
The inclusion of Washington St in the city-adopted plans provides an opportunity to:
What happens to motor vehicle traffic when a travel lane is removed?
This project will introduce a “road diet” to Washington Street. A “road diet” is a traffic engineering term used when one or more roadway travel lanes are converted to serve another purpose. In this case, one northbound travel lane will be removed from Washington Street and will be converted to a “two-way cycle track”, which is a wide bike lane that is designed for two-way travel by people using bicycles, scooters, wheelchairs, as well as pedestrians and other low-speed travelers.
The existing traffic volumes along Washington Street are low enough to allow this “road diet” with minimal interruption to normal traffic flow. A road diet is intended to slow traffic while still providing acceptable mobility. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) identifies roadways with an average daily traffic (ADT) of less than 10,000 as prime candidates for road diets. The highest average daily traffic (ADT) along Washington is 4,960 (2022). In short, the traffic volumes on Washington Street can accommodate a road diet without increasing congestion.
How will the proposed improvements slow traffic and increase safety? What are the benefits of road diets and protected cycle tracks?
Through adoption and implementation of traffic calming projects, Baltimore, like many American cities, is making steady progress in addressing fatalities and serious injuries from traffic crashes. From 2016 through 2023, the annual number of crashes in the City of Baltimore has decreased by 40%, including a 30% reduction in non-motorist crashes.
When BCDOT has implemented traffic calming projects, the safety benefits have been undeniable. Here are a few examples:
At the core of these project results is the principle that lowering vehicle speeds along these Baltimore streets led to lower numbers of crashes and a decrease in crash severity, which resulted in fewer fatalities and serious injuries.
Nationally, research shows that separated and protected bike lanes are associated with better safety outcomes. A 2019 examining the efficacy of implemented protected facilities in 12 major US cities showed a 44% decrease in injuries and fatalities on average.
Who can use the two-way cycle track?
The following low-speed travel devices and users are permitted in Baltimore cycle tracks.
I don’t ride a bicycle, but regularly walk or roll along and across Washington St. How will my safety improve?
The project design includes a road diet and two-way cycle track. Both these design elements improve safety for pedestrians. When roadways are narrowed, vehicles drive slower, and pedestrians have a shorter distance to walk when crossing the street.
This project will also implement improvements like ADA ramps, pedestrian signals, traffic signs, pavement markings, sidewalks, ADA ramps, and bus boarding islands which will improve safety for people walking, rolling, driving, and biking.
Here are some specifics:
How will emergency vehicles connect residents to nearby hospitals, like Johns Hopkins?
The roadway will be designed to accommodate emergency service vehicles to ensure they can provide safe and timely emergency response services to Baltimore communities. The design of the improvements to Washington Street have been, and will continue to be, reviewed by emergency services, including Baltimore Fire Department. In Baltimore, emergency vehicles can use the cycle track to access emergency incidents and travel to/from emergency service providers, like hospitals.
How will this project impact existing bus routes along Washington Streets?
All current bus stops and routes along Washington Street will be maintained following completion of construction and we will work to minimize disruption to these stops during construction. Proposed improvements include “bus boarding islands”. Boarding islands use curb and concrete to extend the sidewalk into the adjacent parking lane so that transit riders can board and alight/exit buses without stepping down to the roadway. These tools improve safety for transit riders.
How will the proposed improvements on Washington Street be maintained?
BCDOT understands the importance of properly maintained Baltimore’s roadways and traffic devices, like traffic signals, pavement markings, traffic signs, and flexible posts. It is also BCDOT’s responsibility to regularly maintain bike lanes and cycletracks. BCDOT is currently developing a regular maintenance program for Baltimore’s bike lanes.
Can I park in the bike lane?
No, parking and idling are not permitted in the bike lane. Parking in bike lanes puts people biking at risk and leads to fines. Tickets for parking in bike lanes are $225 each.
Can I drive a car in the bike lane?
People driving motor vehicle may only enter the bike lane when leaving an alley, private road, or driveway. They must yield the right of way to people biking.
Do people biking have to follow the same rules as people driving motor vehicles?
Yes. Bicycles are considered vehicles under state law and people using them must follow the rules of the road. People biking are required to obey stop signs and signal their turns, just like people driving.