Lindale Bike Safety Park

Bicycle Advocates for Annapolis & Anne Arundel (BikeAAA)–an all-volunteer non-profit that promotes bicycling for transportation, recreation and fitness–installed Anne Arundel County, Maryland’s first two Bike Safety Parks in 2022. BikeAAA engaged Kathleen Hayes Design to create interpretive signs for both Bike Safety Parks to inform users about the parks and provide guidance on their use.

The Lindale Bike Safety Park was created through a collaboration of many partners led by BikeAAA and Lindale Middle School and includes the Anne Arundel County Public Schools STEM program, Leadership Anne Arundel, Anne Arundel County Recreation & Parks, Anne Arundel County Police Bike Patrol and Anne Arundel Arts Council. Funding for the park was provided by BikeAAA and the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County. Mural artists Future History Now worked with the Lindale M.S. Arts students to design and paint the artwork in the “island” areas of the course. The artwork features a tribute to Mo Gaba, a former student at Lindale, who became a beloved and inspirational super fan and radio personality of the Baltimore Orioles and Ravens. Mo bravely fought cancer from the age of 9 months and dealt with blindness and other disabilities through his school age years. He graduated from Lindale in June of 2020 and succumbed to cancer on July 28, 2020. The Lindale Bike Safety Park course became a perfect canvas to create a mural in memory of Mo.

The Lindale Bike Safety Park is generally open to the public and conveniently located near a main access point to the BWI Trail, an 11-mile paved trail popular with local cyclists. To increase the visibility and usage of the bike safety park, BikeAAA wanted to offer amenities that could serve both users of the bike park and the BWI Trail. To accomplish this, BikeAAA reached out to Kathleen Hayes, a local landscape architect who specializes in the design of trails, wayfinding and interpretive signs. Kathleen designed a small amenity space with bike racks, a bike repair station, and an interpretive sign for the bike park. The interpretive sign engages users of the park and trail with the story of the collaborative creation of the park, the significance of the tribute to Mo Gaba, and tips and guidance on how to use the park.

iZone Imaging was the obvious choice to produce the signs. Their Custom High Pressure Laminate material provides high quality color and graphic clarity with excellent durability. Their knowledge and responsiveness make them a joy to work with.

–Kathleen Hayes