Congratulations to Hagerstown in their newly adopted Bike Master Plan but I’ll note that they seemed to have fallen into the same trap that other dormant bike plans have fallen into and that is the problem of funding. While we all read about the success stories across the nation and how they have successfully used Federal Aid to implement bicycling infrastructure but seriously what hope do we have in a state that ranks 45 out of 50 in spending of Federal Aid per the 2010 Benchmarking report?
Lets see if pictures can tell the story of Maryland’s funding vs oh lets say Oregon (since they have a reputation for being one of the best states that support cycling.)
On the pie charts note the Cat 1 (purple area) that’s spending on bike/ped projects and ours is notably smaller while we have a larger and more dense (by 15X) population then Oregon which should be ideal grounds for supporting cycling. On the charts on the right note the brown “Available” area,. we have $25 Million available, that’s a lot over what’s appointed and obligated. I seriously have to ask what’s the hold up on getting this money on the ground? This level of funding can’t do anything for cars but it can make a huge contribution for cycling, roughly by what Portland has done we have a potential here for 200 miles of on-road bike accommodations but the State would rather give the money back to the Feds then spend it on us, this is not right.
Note that per State Law: § 2-602. Public policy. The General Assembly finds that it is in the public interest for the State to include enhanced transportation facilities for pedestrians and bicycle riders as an essential component of the State’s transportation system…
So I have to ask how can MDOT deny funding to something that is essential per state law? We have an adopted State Bike Master plan with the stated goal of making Maryland the best State for cycling yet $25 billion in available funds is essentially denied by outrageous policies that make no sense after decades of neglect and totally inappropriate for cycling as transportation. Basically overall Maryland’s Bicycle Level Of Comfort scores for roads have not changed in 10 years because as the number of roads improve there is a near equal number of roads that become hostile for cycling. This trend of falling to make progress has to stop!
I’ll personally challenge MDOT to get its bike/ped spending up to at least the average spending per capita. Maryland being constantly noted as being in the bottom dregs of things related to cycling and walking has to end!
In case you are wondering what the other parts of the pie chart are:
Hagerstown Bike Master Plan home page
Aliance for Biking and Walking 2010 Benchmarking report
State Transportation Enchantments Program Profile
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