I used the 6th Avenue lane for my commute uptown this morning. It’s a good example of a lane that has seen a marked decrease in vehicular intrusion rates over the past couple of years. It’s not hard to remember how bad things used to get weekday afternoons between 10th street and 23rd street – it still happens but the violations are not quite as careless and egregious as 2006, 2007, 2008.

I saw only 1 truck blocking the bike lane between 10th street and 42nd this morning. If you’ve ridden in this lane for more than a year you’ll understand how remarkable that is. And the one truck was blocking the lane for no reason other than that the driver was too lazy to pull up in the easy curbside spot while he got coffee.

Beyond a motorcyclist using the lane as a shortcut, I saw 17 other cyclists commuting uptown in the lane, and none going the wrong way. All in all a pretty tame experience compared to what I remember from commuting in it during 2008.

The lane has gotten a repainting where the construction has finished up between 24th and 25th street. The area was a big danger spot for a couple years. Check back for more HARD HITTING BIKE LANE RAW NEWS.

It’s been more than a week since the snow storm ended. All major roads are clear. Side streets are passable. So why is the Inner Harbor bike path snowed in when all 4 lanes of Pratt Street are clear? There’s plenty of room for snow to be dumped right to the side of the lane, and just clearing a 2-4 foot path wouldn’t be terribly hard to do. The harbor is RIGHT THERE. That’s where all the snow is being dumped anyway, right?

Maybe the lane stays blocked for another week, maybe the rest of the month. Either way, this is pathetic. If Baltimore can’t get it’s best-used bike path clear a week after the snow storm, you can’t really ever expect them to do much more than give lip service to safe cycling. The truth is, those who commute home and use the Harbor bike path have a choice right now – ride on the sidewalk/the wrong way on Pratt in the bus lane, or go a block over to Lombard – one of the most dangerous and unfriendly streets for biking downtown.

“Better” bike infrastructure is coming to Baltimore City, but if they can’t clear a major bike thoroughfare in the heart of the city of a foot or two of snow, why should anyone expect them to properly maintain other infrastructure they plant to spend thousands of dollars on?

Anyone want to guess how long before the lane gets cleared?

As of today, there’s a brand new bike lane on the right side of St. Paul Street from University Parkway to East 30th Street. It’s about 4-5 feet wide (it seems to thin out near 32nd street). Pictures and video to come..

So this was the scene early last week on St. Paul Street in Charles Village – by Thursday morning Baltimore’s first on street bike parking was gone! But according to Nate Evans, Baltimore’s Bike Czar, it will return to St Paul Street sometime in November with some of Baltimore’s first bike lanes in a long time. He couldn’t speculate about an exact date since road resurfacing with Balt. city DOT is tricky, but cyclists in Charles Village have something to look forward to for their streets..

You know those Bud light and Budwieser trucks that park more dangerously than almost any other delivery truck on the streets? Like, everyday, in some of the most heavily used bike lanes around the city? You know, those trucks that force cyclists, kids riding with their parents, messengers, and others out into the streets? Yeah, the same ones that often use bike lanes when curbside parking is available.

Ever wonder who to email when you almost get killed because a Budwieser truck used the 8th Avenue Bike Lane when there was legal parking available? It happened to me more than a dozen times when I was in high school. The situation has improved because of increased ticketing and presence of cyclists on 8th avenue, but there is STILL work to do.

These trucks come from Anhesur Busch in the Bronx. Ever wonder who’s in charge of them? It’s Peter Caruso, and you should let him know by email when you see one of his drivers parking like a total asshole.

peter.caruso@anheuser-busch.com

Here’s a funeral procession that used the entire 2nd Avenue bike lane for over an hour on saturday morning between 3rd and 4th streets. I’m all for respecting the dead, but gimme a break.. there was an entire (and I mean entire) open curb length of parking across the street.

I sure hope my funeral services don’t put other people out into traffic. VERDICT : Assholes.