It’s nice having a bus and bike lane in Baltimore to bike to work in. Recently though, it seems that the cars have started to ignore this fact. Over the past month I’ve started to see drivers disrespect these lanes, pulling out randomly on bikers and other cars alike. Even though there are signs posted every other block and the city has (almost readable) bike lane markings, drivers feel that they should drive in these lanes and speed excessively. Not only are drivers pulling into these lanes without really looking, they are also taking the opportunity to go as fast as possible down the street – as if they have more important things to do than wait for lights, pedestrians, bikers, and buses.
There was a sign posted when the city first designated the far right lane on Pratt Street for buses, bikes, and turning cars. It stated, “Bus lane violation $90 and 1 point.” If the city would like, I would love to start snapping photos of all the violators, including the license plates. I am sure I could save a few jobs from layoffs with the amount of revenue I could generate.
This would also include the taxi cabs that still refuse to obey the no stopping signs by the ESPN zone.
