Bikeshare Lanes

The Maryland State Highway Administration is moving forward with plans to redesign Route 1 and create bike lanes on each side of the road, but some said the project should also include safety protections for cyclists.

The proposed plan would create a 4-foot bike line with a 1-foot offset along Route 1 between College Avenue and University Boulevard, SHA spokeswoman Kellie Boulware said.

“It would certainly be beneficial,” Boulware said, “and of course it would benefit all the students at the university. We do anticipate that it would be used.”

However, District 1 councilman Patrick Wojahn said he is concerned about the safety of an unprotected bike lane. The SHA originally had proposed constructing a cycletrack, a bike lane that is set apart from the road by a protective barrier, Wojahn said.

“It was very far from what they were originally considering doing with the cycletrack, so it’s somewhat disappointing,” Wojahn said. “If you want to encourage people to bike on Route 1, you need to make it safe.”

A third option would be to construct a bike lane that is not separate from the roadway but is still protected by a soft barrier, Wojahn said.

One factor that contributed to the SHA’s choice was the limited right of way available on Route 1, Boulware said. But Wojahn felt a safer alternative could have been achieved.

“It is possible to have a decent bike lane — a protected bike lane — within a narrower right of way,” he said. “It seems that they just sort of threw up their hands.”

Wojahn said that while each plan has not been priced out, there should not be a significant difference in the costs of these options.

Council members raised similar concerns when the SHA presented a plan for bike lanes on Greenbelt Road in February. Those lanes also did not include a barrier, nor do the ones currently in place on Rhode Island Avenue.

The Route 1 project is currently funded only for design and right-of-way phases, and a construction schedule depends on the availability of future funds, Bouleware said.

Sophomore special education major Katie Hein said biking on Route 1 is currently a challenge.

“When I have to bike along Route 1, I usually get off and walk it because there’s not really enough space,” Hein said.

First-year applied economics graduate student Mehrab Bakhtiar, who commutes to the campus by bike from Berwyn Heights, said he doesn’t feel comfortable riding on Route 1.

“There’s a lot of traffic,” he said. “There’s no designated path for bikes, so I don’t think that would be very safe.”

Bakhtiar currently uses smaller roads and trails to reach the campus. While the proposed plan could do more to protect cyclists, he said, the addition of a designated bike lane would make Route 1 safer than his current course.

“Something is better than nothing, so I think I would settle for it,” he said. “It’s not a bad idea.”

First-year interpreting and translation graduate student Nathaniel Goldstein said that while Route 1 is not particularly bike-friendly, he does not think it is especially dangerous either.

Goldstein questioned whether an unprotected bike lane would be a significant improvement.

“Sometimes cars here don’t really like to give bikers a lot of space, and so would a line in the road actually make them do that? Who knows,” he said.

Junior business management major Eric Schrock said the proposed plan does not offer any safety advantages over using sidewalks.

“[A bike lane] would encourage people to bike, but I think some people would maybe feel unsafe if they’re right there on the road alongside traffic,” he said.

Boulware said the administration will also improve sidewalks as part of the project.

Wojahn said that as new student housing developments have been built closer to the campus, biking has become more feasible for students. He said he would like to encourage it to possibly reduce automobile traffic.

“Route 1 is a very congested road, as we all know. We want to do whatever we can to encourage people to take alternate modes of transportation when they can,” he said. “If we can do more to get more cars off of Route 1, that benefits everyone.”