Frederick Bicycle Coalition

For the 2010 Safe Routes to School grants cycle, Frederick County Public Schools received $180,000 to be used to develop a  ”Walking” School Bus program, infrastructure improvements including sidewalks, crosswalk marking, pedestrian signals, and bike racks at numerous elementary schools throughout the county.  The bulk of these funds were to be used on the construction of a sidewalk along Opossumtown Pike , leading to Monocacy Middle School.  Although funds have been secured, Frederick County Public Schools (FCPS) continues to delay construction due to their inability to develop a maintenance plan.  Technically, these sidewalks would become the responsibility of neighboring homeowners. Because these sidewalks border residents’ backyards, FCPS is expecting resistance to maintenance compliance.  If FCPS were to assume the responsibility, maintenance costs would roughly amount to two thousand dollars annually.  This is not a cost FCPS is willing to incur.  Until someone is willing to take responsibility for sidewalk maintenance, Safe Routes to School funds will go unused and Monocacy Middle School students will continue to walk the gravel shoulder of Opossumtown Pike as they make their way to school. 

The Frederick Bicycle Coalition will continue to stay updated on the progress of this project and will coordinate with local officials as necessary.

Myersville will be having a ribbon cutting Saturday for some new paved trails they are opening. The trails connect the town to nearby Doub’s Meadow Park. As part of the celebration there will also be a free Band Jam featuring local music. Details at the Gazette.

We’ve started a Where To Ride Section (linked at the top) to help readers check out some of our favorite places to ride in Frederick County. It’s a work in progress, so continue to check back we’ll be adding more rides in the future.

If you have a favorite route that you would like to contribute, email me and I’ll let you know what we need. Thanks!

This one is for kids and adults alike. Baseball, bicycles and free tickets to the baseball game? Yes, we are leading a ride to the Frederick Keys game in August. Mayor McClement will be coming along and participating riders will get free admission thanks to the Frederick Keys. That’s a deal that’s hard to pass up. Full details here. Hope to see you there!

A big thanks to Spokes magazine for donating ad space for the event!

This Sunday, August 8th will mark the first time a race has ever been held on Schaeffer soil (as far as I am aware). Come out and take part in this historical event! More information on the Cranky Monkey Series HERE.

It’s summertime, get on your bike and ride!

Check the Frederick Bicycle Coaliton calendar, there are several great bicycle events happening in Frederick County this month.

The Frederick News-Post had a few bicycle stories this past week. One covered the Catoctin Challenge and a few FBC members were interviewed. This year’s event featured Greg Lemond and it sounds like it was a great success.

They also have a story about a cyclist who was a victim of a hit and run. We reported on this recently.

Finally, there was coverage about bicycle infrastructure that is in the City’s tranpsortation plans. This is good news, but the timeline is unfortunately very far out. We can use these improvents now, not in 2028 (no, that is not a typo!).