[B’ Spokes: A very nice article by Michael Byrne which I’ll highlight the conclusion. If it catches your interest follow the link for the whole article as it gives a nice overview of where we are and how we got here.]
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By Michael Byrne, City Paper
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Overall, we’re at the crucial tipping point in Baltimore where cars will have to start giving things up, starting with budget dollars, but also road space. City government caved pretty fast last year when drivers complained about a new bike lane on Monroe Street replacing a car traffic lane, giving back the car lane with nary a protest and giving cyclists the finger. The same might happen on Mount Royal Avenue too, with resistance to the loss of a car lane to bikes coming from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Bikemore, is already fighting that battle (see page 12). And those battles will get more heated in the future as more necessary bike improvements in the city present themselves as things that are not free. The challenge for cyclists is to return fire with the economic (and beyond) benefits of that give and take. That is, cyclists have to demonstrate how we can’t afford to not make those compromises. And then do it again and again and again.