The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) is requesting a total of $922,000 in federal funds for the implementation of a Baltimore City bikeshare program and a feability study of a similar program in Howard County.

MDOT is requesting $882,000 to implement a bikeshare program in Baltimore City and $40,000 for the Howard County feasibility study, according to an announcement Monday from the Baltimore Regional Transportation Board (BRTB). Baltimore's bikeshare program, according to the BRTB, is aimed at providing an affordable and healthy transportation option for residents, tourists and employees in and around the city's core neighborhoods. Currently, 35 percent of Baltimore households do not have access to a car and local bike counts show a 35 percent increase in commuter bicycling between 2009 and 2010, according to the BRTB.

Charm City Bikeshare plans include placing stations in a variety of areas, including low-income neighborhoods near downtown, with initially 425 bicycles at 44 stations.

At the Mayor's Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting earlier this month, Nate Evans, Baltimore's bike and pedestrian planner, said the city has continued to look for a way to bring a bike-sharing program to Baltimore after negotiations with B-cycle fell through last year. Evans said Baltimore City was seeking approval from MDOT and the State Highway Administration to begin contract talks with the bicycle-sharing company Alta, which operates the very successful and ever-expanding Capital Bikeshare program in Washington, D.C.

The Capital Bikeshare program in Washington, D.C., Alexandria and Arlintonton, VA, now includes over 1,670 bicycles at more than 175 stations. The bikes have been used to make nearly 3 million rides in the two years since the program was introduced. There are now also plans to expand the Capital Bikeshare program to Montgomery County.

In Howard County and Columbia, preliminary demand analysis indicates a strong likelihood for success, according to the BRTB. "A week-long survey to gauge community support received 700 responses with 77 percent expressing strong support for implementing a bikeshare program," according to the BRTB press release.

Welcome, March equinox! With the official first day of spring at hand, it seems like a good time to post some links to upcoming Baltimore bicycling events and activities — mostly pure fun.

1) Baltimore Bike Party, March 29: Last Friday of every month ride around the city, including after-party. This month's theme is Superheroes and Supervillians.

2) Project Clean Stream, April 6: Nonprofit MORE (Mid-Atlantic Off-Road Enthusiasts) and the Department of Public Works team to clean up the Loch Raven Reservoir area. Post-clean up barbeque.

3) East Coast Greenway Conference, April 26-27: Friday Happy Hour reception and ride, followed by day-long conference at the Inner Harbor's World Trade Center. From their blog: "The East Coast Greenway is a developing trail system, spanning nearly 3,000 miles as it winds its way between Canada and Key West, linking all the major cities of the eastern seaboard. Nearly 25 percent of the route is already on safe, traffic-free paths." More info on Greenway network here.

4) Kinetic Sculpture Race, May 4: Sponsored by the American Visionary Arts Museum, simply the wildest bicycling event in Baltimore. Maybe anywhere. Check the photos of last year's bicycled-powered, amphibious "race."

5) Bike to Work Day, May 17: Organized in the Baltimore area by the Baltimore Metropolitan Council and includes events in Columbia, Annapolis, Towson and Bel Air. Last year, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake joined in the fun.

6) Bike Jam, May 19: Annual day of men's and women's bicycles races, including the Kelly Cup Pro Race, and family activities at Patterson Park. International and local racers competing. Two casual, recreation rides around town, a 12-miler and a 31-miler early in the morning.

The monthly Baltimore Famliy Bike Party goes touristy this weekend with an easy, "no hill," separated bike lane cruise around the Inner Harbor.

The all-ages bike ride meets at the Frederick Douglass-Issac Myers Maritime Park at 1417 Thames St. near Fells Point at 1 p.m. The whole event lasts about two hours and will pass by the Maryland Science Center, the USS Constellation and Port Discovery, among other family-friendly stops.

From the Baltimore Family Bike Party:

"The Baltimore Family Bike Party is a safe and fun bike ride for kids and families inspired by Kidical Mass and the Baltimore Bike Party. Our rides are short and comfortable for young children on two-wheeled bikes (sorry, no training wheels on this ride) or adults with children in trailers or bike seats."

The Baltimore Family Bike Party's Facebook page can be found here.

Maryland may soon follow in the steps of Montgomery County and Washington D.C. and enact legislation that would impose a 5-cent charge on disposable plastic and paper bags handed out by retailers. If the proposal is adopted, Maryland would become the first state to impose a statewide disposable bag fee.

The Community Cleanup and Greening Act, House Bill 1086, introduced by Del. Mary L. Washington of Baltimore City, has 33 co-sponsors in House and had its initial hearing Friday in the Environmental Matters Committee. The companion bill in the state Senate has 10 sponsors. The bill is supported by the Trash Free Maryland Alliance, a network of more than 50 environmental and community groups.

The legislation is designed to reduce the number of bags consumers use, substituting reusable shopping bags, for example, and thereby cutting down on trash and water pollution.

Craig Muckle, manager of public affairs for Safeway, told the Capital News Service that in Montgomery County, Safeway saw a 70 percent drop in plastic bags usage at checkouts in 2012, the first year after a 5-cent fee went into effect there.

Laura Chamberlin, program manager of the Trash Free Potomac Watershed Initiative for the Alice Ferguson Foundation, told the Capital News Service that her organization “saw a 50 percent reduction in the number of bags that our volunteers collected from cleanup sites in Montgomery County.”

The Washington Post reported that D.C. Council members Tommy Wells and Marion Barry, who supported the District’s 2009 bag fee law, have urged the Maryland black caucus to get behind the proposed legislation. Wells and Barry made the case that lower-income neighborhoods are hurt more by trash from bags than higher income neighborhoods and that a bag charge could lower expenses for local residents.

According to The Post, Wells noted that some stores, such as Aldi’s and Save-A-Lot, already charge for bags instead of working the cost of bags into their pricing.

The Anacostia Watershed Society reports that the D.C. bag fee, which took effect in January of 2010, is already helping clean up the Anacostia River.