Maryland Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety Called Into Question

From Maryland-law.com:

Bicyclist Struck and Killed by Bladensburg Police Car

Just yesterday we examined Maryland's deficiencies in the realm of pedestrian and bicyclist safety ( see <a href="http://www.maryland-law.com/library/maryland-pedestrian-safety-an-oxymoron.cfm">http://www.maryland-law.com/library/maryland-pedestrian-safety-an-oxymoron.cfm</a>; ).

Today we learn from the Washington Post that on Saturday November 7th, 2009 a local bicyclist was struck and killed in Bladensburg by a Bladensburg police officer.

Reportedly, the cyclist was emerging from Bladen Plaza shopping center onto Annapolis Road when he was struck by a Bladensburg Police vehicle operated by Officer Alex Salinas.

The cyclist was transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead. <a href="http://www.maryland-law.com/blog/?keywordid=58103">http://www.maryland-law.com/blog/?keywordid=58103</a>;

The Surface Transportation Policy Partnership has created a mechanism for evaluating the safety of pedestrians in the nation's cities. The Pedestrian Danger Index (PDI) attempts to come up with an accurate scheme for determining which cities are America's most deadly.

It is tricky to compare pedestrian death rates directly because there are cities where walking is far more prevalent than others. Additionally, the study examines rates of states and localities expenditure of federal funds designated for pedestrian safety.

The conclusions of the study focus on the poor design of roadways and their contribution to pedestrian deaths and injuries.

Four guideposts are suggested. The first is &quot;traffic calming&quot; in roadway design. This is essentially traffic engineering focused on slowing down traffic and providing more safe refuges for walkers and riders.

The second involves &quot;complete streets&quot; increasing engineering design for the needs of more than merely vehicle drivers. Sidewalks, bicycle paths, medians, and frequent crosswalks are among the suggestions of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention toward &quot;complete streets&quot;.

The third element involves the &quot;Safe Routes to Schools Program&quot; which is precisely what the name implies. Taking a more comprehensive approach to school areas both from a design and enforcement standpoint can save lives.

The final suggestion involves &quot;More Walkable Neighborhoods&quot;.

So how does Maryland perform when it comes to pedestrian safety?

Of the 52 largest metropolitan areas Baltimore comes in as the 29th most dangerous city and Washington, D.C. 32nd. Salisbury, Maryland came in as only slightly less dangerous than Baltimore and overall the state is subject to criticism for failure to use federal funds designated for pedestrian safety.

This criticism stems from the fact that Maryland has lagged behind every state but Virginia in using federal funds designated for pedestrian and bicycle rider safety. <a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/commuting/bal-pedestrian1109,0,5992815.story">http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/commuting/bal-pedestrian1109,0,5992815.story</a>;

<a href="http://www.maryland-law.com/library/maryland-pedestrian-safety-an-oxymoron.cfm">http://www.maryland-law.com/library/maryland-pedestrian-safety-an-oxymoron.cfm</a>;

by B' Spokes

Like most people I live a hectic life and who has the time for much exercise? Thanks to xtracycle now I do. By using my bike for daily activities I can get things done and get an hour plus work out in 15 minutes extra of my time, not a bad deal and beats taking the extra time going to the gym. In case you are still having trouble being motivated; the National Center of Disease Control says that inactivity is the #2 killer in the United States just behind smoking. ( http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/bb_nutrition/ ) Get out there and start living life! I can carry home a full shopping cart of groceries, car pool two kids or just get lost in the great outdoors camping for a week. Well I got go, another outing this weekend.
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FWIW, the Federal Highway Administration's publication on road safety audits is excellent.:

http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/rsa/guidelines/documents/FHWA_SA_06_06.pdf

And we will be analyzing pedestrian and bicycle accident data in the context of the Baltimore County Western Pedestrian and Bicycling Access Plan (Jan-July 2010). We just got the data from the Baltimore County Police Dept. last Thursday(!) for 2006 and 2007. (2008 data isn't available yet.) And we are looking forward to working with the Police Dept. and their traffic division over the course of the study.

All in all, there aren't "a lot" of accidents in Baltimore County, but that's likely due to relatively low numbers of walkers and bicyclists. There are places where 2 or more accidents have occurred over the 2 year period, and for sure we will look closely at those locations.

Richard Layman
Every time I read about an unintended pedestrian or cyclist death in a suburban area, 9 times out of 10, I notice the same thing - there is a freeway/parkway exit or "cloverleaf" ramp about 200 to 400 meters away from a shopping center parking lot entrance nearby a mall. Similarly in this case, the incident is at a shopping center parking lot entrance, 300 meters from the exit ramp of the 295 Baltimore-Washington Parkway exit, also near a mall - the Capitol Plaza Mall in this case. Clearly there is something about putting a mall smaller outlying shopping centers within 400 meters or so of a freeway/parkway ramp or cloverleaf that causes lots of pedestrian and cyclist fatalities. The question is - now that the nation is filled with these designs, how do we fix them?
Expressways were supposed to be a great improvement in safety by removing hazards like cyclists and pedestrians , simplifying turning moments and so on. But the sad fact is all they really have done is allow people to travel faster and further between accents. But the real crime is trying to make all streets where bicycles and pedestrians are permitted more like expressways. As you noted look at the exit ramp from 295 west bound cars hardly have to slow down at all. The whole roadway design says "you are still on an expressway so no need to look out for bicyclists and pedestrians." The second thing that really bothers me about most bike/ped accent reporting is no information about the speed of the driver. I would be willing to bet speeds in excess of 10mph over the speed limit. I'm sorry but it is really hard to yield to cross traffic when everyone is speeding, even worse is when just one car is speeding.