John Nethercut leaves his car in the driveway two or three times a week, hops on a bike and pedals the seven miles from his home to his office in downtown Baltimore. That, he says, is the easy part.
Things get more dicey once Nethercut arrives at work.
"I would say the two biggest problems bike commuters have are finding a place to park that is secure and the lack of showers," said Nethercut, the executive director of the Public Justice Center.
Baltimore's Parking Authority might have a solution to the first problem. The agency is considering a pilot program to install a secure parking facility on the first floor of its Baltimore Street garage next to City Hall.
With gas prices on the rise and an increasing focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the city is working to make cycle commutes more attractive. In 2006, the city drafted a long-term bike plan, and it has added dedicated bike lanes in several neighborhoods.
Mayor Sheila Dixon has recently drawn attention to the issue by biking to work - and asking that her department heads do the same.
Nethercut and other riders note that many bike commuters have mirrors, lights and other gadgets on board that can be easily stolen. For many, a chain wrapped around a light pole doesn't cut it any more.
"You can park your bike on the street, but it is subject to vandalism and theft," said Nethercut, who started biking to work about five years ago as a time-efficient way to get in some exercise.
The city's parking authority is looking for 20 to 30 people to express an interest in the concept. The agency could then move forward on building a facility that would cost from $5,000 to $15,000 and take up about two regular parking spots in the garage.
"Our name is the 'parking authority,' not the 'automobile parking authority,' " said Peter Little, executive director of the authority. "We are interested in finding ways to park all sorts of methods of transportation."
Contracts for the bike spots would cost from $5 to $10 a month. That would include access to a gated area with bike racks inside, and it would be within view of garage employees and monitored by security cameras.
Little said it might be difficult to replicate the concept at other city garages - many of which do not have first-floor space for such a facility or a safe and easy way for bikers to get up to the second floor.
