By Rachel Kamel
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Gov. Larry Hogan announced via Twitter Monday that the state will spend $16.8 million to improve 42 bicycle, pedestrian, and trail projects across Maryland.
Of this money, $12.4 million will come from the state’s Transportation Alternatives Program; $3.4 million will come from the Kim Lamphier Maryland Bikeways Program; and $1 million comes from the Recreational Trails Program.
The Bikeways program will fund 16 bicycle-specific projects.
One of the projects that will receive funding includes spending $54,080 on creating bicycle and shared scooter parking hubs in College Park.
Natalie Condzal, a senior University of Maryland student, said she frequently gets around College Park on her bicycle and believes bicycle and shared scooter parking hubs will lead to an increase in people biking and scootering.
Condzal said that the parking hubs tend to quickly fill up.
“By having more parking hubs, I would have a space to safely lock my bike rather than just barely finding a spot to haphazardly lock up only my front wheel,” Condzal said.
The section of funding that is allocated for the Kim Lamphier Bikeways Program will be used to help connect the state’s bicycle networks. The MDOT Kim Lamphier Bikeways Network Program provides grant support to projects that maximize bicycle access, improve the state’s bicycle network, and enhance transit.
The Maryland Bikeways money will help fund 16 projects across the state, including in Baltimore and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Salisbury, Prince George’s, Harford, Montgomery, Allegheny, Frederik and Charles counties.
The projects involve constructing new or widening existing trails, adding bike lanes, installing bike racks on transit vehicles, creating bicycle and shared scooter parking hubs, and adding bike repair stations, among other things.
A study done by the Alliance for Biking & Walking found that Baltimore has the 11th-largeset percentage of walkers and bicyclers among major U.S. cities. In addition, Maryland ranks 32nd for the percentage of people who walk or bicycle for their daily commute.