One of the goals of the Bath Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee is to make cycling a safe and pleasurable experience for Bath cyclists. Over the past month, three local cyclists have been involved in significant accidents.  Hopefully all involved will fully recover.

The Bike/Ped committee offers these reminders to cyclists of the basics of riding safety.

Wear a helmet!

• Maine State law states anyone under age 16 must wear a helmet.  No matter your age, wearing a helmet protects riders from serious head injury.
• Make sure the helmet fits properly and is certified with an appropriate sticker.

Obey the Rules of the road.

• Ride in a straight line and in single file if riding with a group.
• Always ride with traffic. Take the travel lane to set up for a left turn , to pass a vehicle or avoid an unsafe situation
• Use Hand signals. Extend left arm to signal a left turn, extend right arm to signal a right turn and left arm down to signal stop.
• Obey all traffic signs and signals! It’s the law!!
• Be alert and look ahead to avoid obstacles.
• Leave plenty of room when passing parked cars to avoid opening doors.
• Don’t ride on the sidewalk unless under the age of 12. It puts riders in a position where drivers and pedestrians are not expecting to see them.

Dress Brightly

• Wear brightly colored clothing and reflective materials so you may be easily seen
• Avoid loose fitting clothing, tuck in shoelaces and secure loose straps.
• Maine law requires a cyclist to have a headlight (visible for 200 ft.) and a rear reflector when riding after dark. These are good during the day also.

Quick Check of Bicycle

• Check tire air pressure. Proper pressure is indicated on the wall of the tire.
• Check you brakes. Properly functioning brakes are vital to insure safety. If you are unsure about the brake function, check with your local bike shop.
• Make sure your chain is clean and not rusty. After cleaning your chain some chain lube is a good idea.
• Give your bike a once over and make sure quick releases are secured.

Please be safe, responsible and enjoy your ride.

Happy Trails.
Bath Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee

Come visit the Bath Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee table on Citizen’s Involvement Day, October 12th at Waterfront Park and Register your Bike for Free with the Bath Police Department.

Bring your bike or if you can’t bring your bike, bring 1) the make of your bike and 2) the serial number (stamped into the metal under the bottom bracket).  If you cannot find the serial number there, you can refer to this image for other common locations for the serial number.

Having your bike registered means that if your bike is ever lost or stolen and then recovered, it can be returned to you.

For further information about registering your bike in Bath, Maine, call the Bath Police Department at (207)443-6154.

Bath Public Works recently completed new sidewalk construction on the East side of High Street between Getchell Street and Marshall Street.

Infrastructure is the built environment that supports our walking, running, and rolling transportation about the City.

North Street Sidewalk Updates

Since September 2019, renovations on the sidewalk on North Street between Middle Street and Washington Street has been completed. The north side of North Street features new asphalt sidewalks and curb cuts.

 

Results from Recent Transportation Studies

Results from several studies have been posted on the City of Bath website.

South End Transportation
Richardson and Western Traffic Calming

Thanks to Carl Zeis, one of our Citizen Committee Members, the Bath Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee is now maintaining an inventory of all the bike racks located in Bath, Maine.  Sometimes the bike racks in town feel a bit hidden and so this map should help identify rack locations for those needing a place to safely park their bikes.  Click on the slide indicator to the left of the Title, and you will see the complete list of bike rack locations. (photos of bike racks coming soon)

Are you looking forward to warmer weather? Would you like to reduce your carbon footprint while enjoying a Maine spring morning?

It is time to break out the bike and join in celebration of National Bike month! Your Bath Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee invites you to participate in a couple of fun activities.

Look for the Pop-Up Bike Rack

Beginning on May 6 you will see a “pop-up” bike rack at the corner of Centre and Front Streets by the House of Logan. The “popup” or temporary bike rack would replace an existing parking space and could be used by several bicyclists, thereby encouraging a healthy and environmentally friendly alternative to cars. Science teacher Monica Wright and her students from Bath Middle School, who are studying climate change, will monitor and gather data on the bike rack.

The Bike/Ped Committee is excited to collaborate with the BMS students, and will use their results to improve Bath’s biking infrastructure.

Join our Community Ride on May 17th

During Bike to Work week, the Bike/Ped Committee will also sponsor a ride around the city with students from the Bath Middle School Riding for Focus Program and their teacher, Lawrence Kovacs. will. We will depart from the Bath YMCA at 7:00 am on Friday, May 17th and head to the BMS, do a loop around the city and finish at the temporary bike rack on Front St. Anyone wishing to participate should meet at the Bath YMCA at 7:00 am. Please wear a bike helmet and if you wish, bring money to purchase a snack and/or coffee at a downtown business.

Get Ready to Bike

If you haven’t had your bike out this spring here are some suggestions to make riding more enjoyable.

• Have your bike checked over at one of our local bike shops
• Always wear a properly fitting helmet
• Ride in the right most lane that goes with the direction traffic is flowing
• Obey all stop signs, traffic lights and and lane markings
• Look before you change lanes or signal to turn, signal your intention and proceed
• Be visible and predictable at all times, wear bright clothing and signal turns and stops

The Bath Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee is an advisory group, appointed by the city council, that strives to provide citizens of Bath with a safe and inviting walking and cycling environment. Enjoy being on your bike and be safe!

By Kevin Shute, Committee Chair

Use this google map to take a 1 mile walk through Bath, Maine with an emphasis on trees.

Born and raised on the West Coast, Mark practiced medicine in Portland, Oregon for 30 years then moved to Maine and lived for twenty-two years in Woolwich before moving to Bath. Mark first started riding, like most of us, about the age of 8. After experimenting with running, but having seen so many patients with blown-out knees from the sport, he decided biking was infinitely safer and better on the body. He got into biking seriously in 1994 and in 1996 rode across America. This cemented his love of the bicycle (and also gained him many new friends.) There’s nothing like experiencing this great land at 10 miles an hour in the company of like-minded people, meeting people along the way, and absorbing the incredible landscape. What can you see at 70-mph on an Interstate? He has also made it a point of really seeing the state of Maine having participated in every one of the annual BikeMaine five-day rides through some part of the state.

Since the 1990s he has made it a mission to introduce other people to the joys of riding (and as a result has made many more new friends.) In Maine beginning in 1999, he and another avid rider began leading bicycle trips to the Hudson Valley and on a “Four Island” trip in Maine for a company, Bike Escapades. For the past decade he has planned and led Saturday morning and Tuesday rides for cyclists of mixed abilities, rides which range from 20-30 miles, taking advantage of the marvelous rural road network around Bath, Brunswick, and Wiscasset always with a stop for coffee, a treat, and good camaraderie.

In the meantime, he “interns” at the Bath Bike and Ski shop in Woolwich and has added to his medical skills a very handy competence in bike repair. For those who ride with him there’s nothing like the security of having a physician and mechanic along.

Some years back, Mark began collecting unwanted bicycles for the Community Bicycle Center of Biddeford which provides some good life skills for kids by teaching them bike building and bike repair and giving them a chance to earn a bike. More recently he has been fixing up appropriate bikes himself and delivering them to Catholic Charities of Maine, the state organization authorized by the federal government to manage the settlement of refugees and asylum-seekers. Bikes provide essential transportation.

Mark has also been a strong supporter of the state-wide bicycling advocacy group, Bicycle Coalition of Maine, and is a member of their “Yellow Jersey” group.

When asked, “What’s important about bicycling to you,” he replied, “The most gratifying thing is the pleasure of moving along and being part of the landscape, not whizzing by at 50 mph. I enjoy greeting folks along the way, stopping to check something of interest, and especially sharing the experience with fellow riders.

“I’m tired of cars. I hope that people will come to their senses and live in communities where they can walk or take a short bike ride to their usual destinations—grocery store, pharmacy, restaurant, doctor’s office, or friend’s house and Bath is a great example of the kind of place where such a life style is possible.”

Updates to the built environment to improve bicycling and walking in the City of Bath during the past six months include:

1. Restriping along High Street to calm traffic and encourage a safe environment for all road users.
2. Creation and widening of the sidewalk on Congress Street over Route 1. In addition to improving the safety of this stretch of road, this improvement joins the multi-use path from the junction of High and Congress Streets, past the future high school and Atlantic Townhouse, over Route 1 to the CVS on State Road and the adjacent Residence Inn. See picture below.
3. Installation of additional signage at the intersection of High and Center Street and Court Street to improve safety of all those transiting the intersection.
4. Repaved sidewalks on Middle (Centre to Winter), Chestnut, and Andrews Streets in conjunction with natural gas work.