Celebrating Bike to Work Week: Maryland Counties Unite for Cycling and Community Building

Bike to Work Week is an event celebrated across the United States each May to encourage bicycling and promote public awareness of bicycling and bike safety. This year representatives from several Maryland counties joined hands to bike their respective routes to work.

Baltimore Metropolitan Council (BMC) worked with local partners around the region to organize 2023 Bike to Work Week (May 15-19) programs promoting the benefits of biking, raising bike safety awareness, and building a connected community of cyclists in the region.

“Bike to Work has rebounded from the pandemic in a big way,” says BMC Executive Director Mike Kelly. “We are so excited to be gathering, gearing up, and riding together again.”

This year’s program included live Pit Stop events in Annapolis, Arbutus, Bel Air, Catonsville, Columbia, Towson, Westminster, and several locations in Baltimore City. With the support of the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) and Bike to Work MD, May 19th saw participants from Howard County, Harford County, Frederick County, Baltimore City, Prince George’s County, Anne Arundel County, and even Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller taking their respective bike routes to work. Here are some of the highlights from counties and agencies across Maryland.

 

Through this annual event, participants hope to promote biking as an equitable, safe, and healthy alternative to driving. They are also seeking to:

Improve health outcomes
Spending time outdoors is good for physical and mental health. Biking positively affects well-being, self-confidence, and resistance to stress.

Reduce air emissions
Switching from driving to biking to work, school, essential trips, and recreational activities will reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to the climate crisis and can have severe adverse health impacts.

Improve bicycle safety awareness. 
The promotion of Bike to Work Week helps raise awareness of the rules of the road for drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists. Also, it highlights the need for continued expansion of safe and comfortable sidewalks, bike lanes, shared-use paths, and safe crossings.

Improve transportation equity
Many people throughout the Baltimore region lack access to a car or cannot drive, especially in traditionally underserved communities. Biking can provide a meaningful transportation option while also improving health.

For more details on Bike to Work Week, visit Bike to Work MD and Baltimore Metropolitan Council.