Peak hour trains
SHA Share the Road - 3 Feet wihen Passing Bus Safety Campaign
To All:
I was very pleasantly surprised to see SHA's Bike Safety Ad on the back of a MTA bus in Baltimore this afternoon. I followed the bus and snapped the attached photo of the ad. Last year the 3 Foot passing legislation failed like it did this year but SHA promised to encourage motorists to pass bicyclists by a minimum of 3 feet in an educational campaign instead.
This is to thank SHA and MTA staff responsible for creating the campaign and getting them up on buses where the ad is right in the face of drivers riding behind the bus. While some folks will remain disappointed that the legislation didn't pass there should be some consolation that this safety campaign will probably reach more motorists than a change in the law will.
Have a great weekend!
Michael Jackson - Maryland Director of Bicycle and Pedestrian Access
I melt the ice with a thermonuclear device
Words from a song I like from a group I can't remember at the moment but very descriptive of my recent activities. I filed a compliant with the Open Meetings Law Compliance Board against Maryland Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee. And after review it looks like we will be getting some significant changes! We should be getting better notice and opportunities on providing public input on policies that effect cyclists. And we should be getting timely information what the group has been up to like Talbot County bike maps, Trail Towns initiative along the C&O. Updates on the Full and complete ICC Hiker Biker trail and if cyclists can use shoulders of the ICC bridges rather then 5 miles of circuitous detours. Updates on the Hatem Bridge and why the State needs two fast roads a mile apart and no bicycle and pedestrian access in the area.It is sad that I had to resort to this measure to get timely news that you would be interested in reading about, as the group does a lot of good work but under the old system news that is 4-6 months old ain't news.
BIKE ROMP
The Clean & Green team is planning a fun bike tour around Hampden and the surrounding green areas. We will make a pit stop at Baltimore Bicycle Works for refreshments and a tour around the newest, closest bike shop to Hampden. The Bike tour is scheduled for May 2 from 10 am until noon.
WEB EXTRA: A WHO'S WHO OF BALTIMORE GREEN GROUPS
From the Urbanite:Say what? Under CLIMATE/ENERGY/TRANSIT
Baltimore Spokes: This website/ discussion forum provides an endless stream of bike/ transit/ climate-related news and commentary.
Cool beans!
Bikes in Urbanite magazine
Urbanite magazine is looking to set up a spirited, sassy, tit-for-tat
between an avid biker and an opinionated driver for an upcoming issue
on transportation. We're looking to have some fun, not get nasty. The
tit and tat don't have to be long -- think of a 500- to 800-word
essay, just a pithy story and some thoughts on navigating Baltimore's
roadways on your chosen set of wheels. Know anyone who could write
such a tit or tat? Maybe you know a rabid biker whose spouse or
significant other thinks he/ she is crazy? If so, send me an e-mail.
We'll talk. (Disclaimer: There's no money in this. Just a chance to
have some fun and get your name in the magazine.)
Thanks,
Greg
Running red lights is a problem
...Well, according to field research conducted by the city of Portland, there are indeed a lot of scofflaws blowing through stop signs around town.
We\'re talking about commuters who apparently have a total disregard for safety and the law, coming to a full stop at intersections only 22 percent of the time.
See! It\'s those dang bicyclists with their neon-colored jackets, self-righteous attitudes and ripped calves, right? Right!? Actually, no. Those were automobile drivers.
\"The law says a complete cessation of motion is required,\" said Greg Raisman, traffic safety specialist for the Portland Bureau of Transportation. \"I think a lot of the time, people think they stop. But they were watching the wheels.\"
\"They\" were the Bureau of Transportation\'s data-collection team, which camped out at various stop-signed intersections in 2006 and 2007. The monitors recorded a \"full stop\" whenever the wheels on a car, bike, minivan, truck or any other vehicle came to a complete halt, even for just a second.
Although automobile drivers weren\'t as dismissive of stop signs as cyclists, who stopped just 7 percent of the time, you\'d think the study might erase some of the nasty stereotypes that they have of bike riders.
Don\'t count on it, said Randy Blazak, a Portland State University sociologist.
...
BikeJam 5-17-09
Family
Fun Festival
A day long festival of cycling!
From 8 am - 5 pm on Sunday, May 17th, 2009
Patterson Park, Baltimore
In addition to
the exciting, colorful, and cool Bike Races
BikeJam brings you a ton of free family fun!
*
PRO ROAD RACING!
* Recreational Bike Ride
12 & 31 mile rides
* Cycling
Stunt Show
* Interactive Village
* Bike & Health Expo
* Food & Live
Music
* Kids Activity Pavilion
Kid's Helmet Give-Away
CareFirst
BlueCross
Has donated and will distribute 250
kid's helmets!
Kid's Bike Safety Rodeo, 12:00pm & 1:45pm
Live
Music Stage!
Sponsored
by Dangerously Delicious Pies
Bands
will play from 12:30pm until 5pm
Line-up will be announced
soon!
Check Back!
BikeJam
Rec Ride
2
great routes through beautiful Charm City!
Choose
from 2 different rides...
Ride1
is the "Waterfront Ride" and Ride 2 is the "Parks
Ride."
Click here for more info about the rides and
instruction on how to register!
Cycling
Festival
Cycling
Vendors, Shows, Cycling and Health, Cycling Advocacy
Throughout
the day and around the race course
Vendors and Expo participants
include...
BRAC improvements to Bethesda intersections
...Theodore Goldstock, an Elmhirst Lane resident who lives near the intersection of Rockville Pike and Cedar Lane, said the preliminary plans did not make the necessary improvements for pedestrian safety and would only solve part of the traffic problems.
"I don't think they're addressing the corridor," Goldstock said. "I think they're only addressing two points on the corridor."
Angela Atwood-Moore, president of the Bicycle Commuter Club at the National Institutes of Health, sharply criticized SHA for not promoting bike infrastructure as a way to reduce the number of cars on the road.
"You can't do that by making it easier for people to drive their cars," said Atwood-Moore
...
{Baltimore Spokes: It's a good thing that SHA has adopted a complete street policy. [/sarcasm]}
Sample complete street policy
While this is pretty good I would like to see things more objective then subjective. Primarily use of a Latent Demand tool to determine if density is high enough to warrant the cost of bike/ped facilities. Secondly, roads should have a BLOC of C or greater not a fixed extra width margin (I don't want to ride on a 4' shoulder next to 60mph truck traffic and we don't need a 14' shoulder on low speed low traffic residential streets, BLOC helps figure out what is appropriate under different conditions.) And as a concession perhaps tie the max cost (e.g. 20% of project cost) in with the Latent Demand score; 20% if high, 10% if mid range and 5% if low.