An Eye On Potholes And Crime

Crime Scenes

Planner Considers Safety When Mapping Bike Routes

Often, Evans said, bicyclists like to cut through Westport, a high-crime area. Rod Bruckdorfer, a 63-year-old retiree who lives in South Baltimore's Riverside neighborhood, found out the hard way in May. He said he was riding by the Westport light rail stop when a young man pelted him with rocks, hitting and denting his helmet.

"I was very fortunate I wasn't injured," Bruckdorfer said.

Bruckdorfer seems the ideal bicyclist for the mayor's plan. Though retired, he was working on a project and bicycling toward the Inner Harbor. His family went from two cars to one to help the environment. "I wanted to reduce our carbon footprint, and I can go places in the city much faster than I can with a car, and I park a lot easier," he said.

He was on Kolman Street, part of the designated Gwynns Falls Trail, when he was attacked in the late afternoon, but he has few complaints. He wanted to make sure that this article noted that he holds the rock-throwing youth somewhat responsible, but "at the same time I think society is culpable because we let kids fall through the cracks. It's quite possible he was angry that day, and I happened to be there."

He, as well as the mayor's spokesman, concurred that Evans is doing a service by helping people map out streets that are free of both potholes and criminals. "If we're going to encourage people to ride," Evans said, "we owe it to them to make sure the route is safe."