Hello Terps 4 Bike Lanes community! We hope everyone has had an excellent March including a relaxing spring break if you took some time off. Here are our updates from what’s been going on in March and what to look forward to in April!

Remember to sign our petition if you haven’t yet, and to share with other people who hope to see bike lanes at UMD.

Executive Board Elections

Please consider running for an executive board position for the 2023/2024 academic year! We really need strong leadership to continue engaging with University administration if we want to see bike lanes and other infrastructure on campus. If you are interested in being a part of the leadership team, please review our document outlining the positions and their expected time commitments. We do want to make a quick note that T4BL is still a new club, so these positions are subject to change and evolution as we learn more about the best way to advocate on campus. You can nominate yourself, or another person for positions using this google form. We look forward to seeing your nominations and transitioning the club to a new team of leaders!

General Body Meeting

T4BL will be having a GBM on Tuesday, April 25 from 6-8 pm in the Biosciences Research Building Room 1103. We look forward to meeting you all in person! We will be reviewing the efforts made this year and the progress we made toward getting bike lanes. This will also be a great time to share any thoughts or concerns that you have. We will also be hearing from members who are running for the Executive Board for the 2023/2024 academic year.

UMD Bike Week Part 2

One of the group rides from Bike Week last week has been rescheduled due to expected inclement weather, so that will now be on Thursday, 4/13. Sign up and hope for free tacos!

Regents Drive Pop-Up Lanes Proposal

The transportation and infrastructure (T&I) committee of the SGA drafted a bill supporting the creation of a Regents Dr Pop-Up Lane on campus which passed with unanimous support through the SGA! This project as proposed by T4BL would turn Regents Dr. into a one-way road going south and transition to the northbound lane to a two-way bikeway. The committee chair of the T&I committee, Paisley Brokemeyer, will continue to follow up in her regular meetings with DOTS about the status of this project, and how much progress is being made. Right now, DOTS is considering what kind of barriers to use and working with FM to ~*hopefully*~ create this experimental bikeway.

We are really excited about the progress made on this project and the support we have gotten from SGA and DOTS. We believe this has the potential to demonstrate to campus administrators the benefits of creating separate travel lanes for micro-mobility users and will provide the additional benefit of generating feedback and experimental data for the bike-lane feasibility study. The T&I committee is committed to continuing the dialogue with DOTS about the Regents Dr. pop-up lane, so we have a lot of optimism that this will happen!

Meeting with College Park City Council Member, Stu Adams

Meaghan and John met with City Councilmember Stu Adams over Zoom on Wednesday, March 22. Councilmember Adams is an advocate for micromobility infrastructure and creating a community centered around people instead of cars. He seems like he will make a great ally as we continue to push for micromobility infrastructure on campus and in the surrounding areas. To this end, he intends to elevate our Regents Dr. Pop-Up Lane Proposal when he meets with President Pines on April 11th in the annual meeting that City Council has with the UMD President. We are thrilled to have this kind of exposure for our pop-up lanes proposal and look forward to working with councilmember Adams and other members in the future!

Crash Reporting

DOTS has a crash reporting form for any crashes that occur on campus so that they can have a better understanding of the current road safety at UMD. We implore you to fill out this form if you have been involved in a crash because this information can be an important metric in determining the need for bike lanes on campus. A link to this form is also available on our website at https://terps4bikelanes.me.

Sidewalk vs Shared-Use Path Clarifications

We know that there has been some confusion about what is considered a sidewalk versus what is considered a trail/shared-use path suitable for riding since the implementation of the Safety Starts with You initiative. We had a conversation with Marta Woldu from DOTS  about a specific area, the CSIC Plaza, which connects the Paint Branch Trail to Paint Branch Drive.

Her assessment of this area is that it is not a designated dismount area and offers a clear connection between the trail and the road, therefore it is suitable for bicycle traffic. Like any other area where cyclists are sharing a space with pedestrians, we encourage you to slow down and exercise caution. Marta also mentioned this area falls within their feasibility study, so there may be permanent infrastructure improvements in this area. Until then, we will work with BikeUMD and the T&I committee of the SGA to see if there are more immediate solutions, like painting lanes, to designate this as a shared-use path where cycling is allowed. If there are any other areas where you are seeking clarification, please email them to terps4bikelanes@gmail.com, and we can ask Marta and the BikeUMD team what their understanding is.

Projects for New Members

This is an advocacy group, and we need more active members to help us convince the university that they need to add bike lanes and other infrastructure. There have been many good ideas for events and other projects brought up, but we need people to take charge to help us realize them. Managing a project like one of these is leadership experience and would likely be a great résumé item.

• Work with one or more of UMD’s law professors to write to the university about MD. Transportation Code Ann. § 21-1202 (2021) and UMD’s stance that all off-road cycling and micromobility usage is illegal.

• Plan a protest bike ride to show the university how unreasonable the current infrastructure is.

• College Park is soon getting its first Capital Bikeshare station! Even more stations would significantly benefit the community and would connect College Park to the broader DC Metro area. Investigate whether or not a university sustainability grant can be used for a station on campus, and if it can be, write a grant proposal.

• Very few roads on campus have been measured for daily car traffic. Put a team together to do manual counts so that we can have an accurate description of campus traffic.

• A bike parade would be a great opportunity to get students excited about riding bikes in a safe environment. Work with DOTS to plan a bike parade. DOTS will likely sponsor, but we need students to manage the event.

• While we have plans for some pop-up bike lanes and DOTS is working on feasibility studies for some permanent ones, there are many areas of campus that have potential for bikeways, but there are no designs. Work with students and/or professors in urban planning to design bikeways for areas such as Mckeldin Mall, Chapel Lawn, and the area in front of Martin Hall.

• Are you a digital artist? Our logo could use an update and we need more digital assets such as a favicon for our website.

• The Diamondback accepts op-eds written by anyone in the campus community. Work alone or with others to write op-eds to help further the cause!

These are just a few examples that have been suggested, but this list is by no means exhaustive. If you have an idea that you want to try, then join our Slack and propose it!

Other Upcoming Local Events

MDOT Bike and Pedestrian Master Plan Virtual Kickoff Meeting

Date: Thursday April 13, 2023
Time: 6:00 – 7:30 PM
Where: Microsoft Teams – Register at the event page.

The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) is updating the 2019 Bicycle and Pedestrian Statewide Master Plan. The Plan will highlight accomplishments since the last plan was adopted while recommending initiatives to be taken over the next 5 years. Join us as we kickoff the plan with the public and seek your input on what’s important to you as we prepare the Plan.

WABA DC Advocate Training & Workshop

Date: Monday, April 17, 2023
Time: 7:00 PM
Where: Zoom – Register at the event page.

Join WABA’s campaign to build DC’s low stress bike network. If you are passionate about making DC’s streets more bikeable, walkable, and safe for all, then join us at this monthly meetup to learn, meet other advocates, and lend a hand. March’s training will cover the following topics: – DC’s Budget Process – we will review the steps, your opportunities to weigh in, and tips for getting buy-in on your priorities – Engaging your Advisory Neighborhood Commission for Safe Streets – ANCs can open doors for agency attention or keep them closed. Learn how to participate in your ANC and help other advocates more effectively engage. – Breakout session – we will break out into smaller groups to workshop testimony and coordinate ongoing safe streets campaigns.

WABA Confident City Cycling Class

Date: Saturday, April 29, 2023
Time: 10:00 AM
Where: Anacostia Park, Washington, DC

Confident City Cycling teaches you the skills you need to ride safely and confidently on streets and in heavily trafficked areas.The first half of the class will cover important bike handling skills and hazard avoidance maneuvers necessary while riding in traffic. Participants learn skills such as the avoidance weave, quick stop, rock dodge and instant turn, and discuss considerations for sharing space with other road users. The class ends with an on-street group ride, where participants put their newly acquired skills to the test.