The Transportation Outlook 2035 Amendment - Draft Preferred Alternative Open for Public Review and Comment


[Note: No additional bike projects, heavy sigh]

BALTIMORE (December 18, 2008) - After several months of public outreach and involvement, the BRTB is pleased to present, for public review and comment, the draft preferred alternative for the amendment to the Baltimore region's long-range transportation plan, Transportation Outlook 2035: Creating a Blueprint for the Baltimore Region's Future.

This Draft Preferred Alternative proposes $225 million in funding for regional transit projects, beginning in the year 2020.
The mix of projects includes:

* Green Line Transit - Preliminary Engineering
* Park-and-Ride spaces - averaging $10,000/space for 2,000 spaces in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Harford, and Howard counties
* Carroll County - transit vehicles and amenities
* Intermodal Facilities /MARC stations/ Transit Oriented Development (TOD) -
o $10 million/facility average, 3 of 4 (smaller type facilities such as bus to bus: Central Maryland Transit Operations Facility (CMTOF), Columbia, Snowden Square, Parole)
o $20 million/facility average (larger type facilities such as rail to rail or bus: Lexington Market, or other Baltimore City location)
o MARC station(s) not currently included in TO2035, i.e. Odenton, West Baltimore, or East Baltimore Development Initiative (EBDI)
* Dedicated bus lanes - in congested corridors such as I-695, MD 152, US 29, MD 2

Continue Reading

  • Currently 0.00/5
Rating: 0.00/5 (0 votes cast)

Baltimore ’s status on becoming a bike-friendly community


Attached are the comments from League of American Bicyclists concerning Baltimore ’s status on becoming a bike-friendly community. While the comments were compiled by LAB, the actual reviews were done by local persons with knowledge of Baltimore ’s bike “culture”.

If you have any questions or comments, please let us know.


Continue Reading

  • Currently 0.00/5
Rating: 0.00/5 (0 votes cast)

Ray LaHood for DOT Sec


Dear Thunderhead members,

Please pardon the length of this post, but I want to provide information on our incoming USDOT Secretary, Ray LaHood, a moderate Republican Congressman from central Illinois who was retiring from his seat this year. In summary, he's been great for us! He is an active supporter of bicycling and trails, and he has very visibly gone against the wishes of his party leaders on our issues:

In a letter da ted April 28, 1997, LaHood joined 5 other Republican House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee members in expressing support for both Enhancements and CMAQ to the committee chair, Bud Schuster. He also spoke to the Illinois Valley Wheelm'n bicycle club about his support of both of these funding sources, which he said "have provided many benefits to the environment and local communities (e.g., bicycle and recreational trails). I believe in the importance and value of these programs." Congressman LaHood's leadership was pivotal in ensuring that Enhancements would continue in TEA-21 (1998).

On July 11, 2003, a House Appropriations Subcommittee, led by Rep. Istook (R-OK), passed a fiscal year 2004 transportation budget that redirected the $600 million slated for Transportation Enhancements to highway construction. Zeroing out TE threatened it not only for that year, but for the reautho rization bill that became SAFETEA-LU. An effort to restore dedicated Enhancements funding barely failed in full committee, where LaHood was one of only two R's voting for it. In a tremendous and powerful 327-90 victory that solidified TE's status, a bi-partisan amendment won 327-90 on the House floor. LaHood stood up impressively to make a floor statement in support:

Continue Reading

  • Currently 0.00/5
Rating: 0.00/5 (0 votes cast)

T4 America Ready to Go List


One criteria that the traffic folks use to establish need is the dollar amount of non-funded projects. No projects, no need so no funding. Which for cyclists then means no projects because of no funds and the cycle repeats. So with a envious eye on what is happening not that far away (and hopping to get this kind of energy here) here is what's happening in the DC area:

Continue Reading

  • Currently 0.00/5
Rating: 0.00/5 (0 votes cast)

Economic Stimulus Legislation


Support funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects

Congress is currently putting together an economic stimulus package to have ready when the new Congress returns in early January. While public details of the forthcoming stimulus bill is not available, we are hearing that there is a chance that funds for transportation and infrastructure projects in the stimulus package may go overwhelmingly to road projects—the same unbalanced strategy that has created our existing transportation problems.

We must speak up now to make sure that the economic stimulus language maintains the established transportation funding allocations including the Transportation Enhancement set aside which is the primary source for bicycle and pedestrian projects.

Please take a moment to click onto the take action button to contact your Congressional Member now.



Thank you.

League of American Bicyclists

Continue Reading

  • Currently 0.00/5
Rating: 0.00/5 (0 votes cast)

Because Robert Moses Would Have a Coronary If He Were to See Our Streets Now


-Justin Davidson, New York Magazine
...
Public space comes in a range of shades. In the sixties, its cultivation was effectively delegated to private developers, who were permitted to put up bigger office buildings if they provided sidewalk-level oases where workers could eat their lunch. In the eighties and nineties, New York began to rejuvenate its parks, restoring enclaves that offer a cushion from noise and congestion. Now the Department of Transportation has realized that its jurisdiction covers the basic unit of urban life: the street. There, lifestyles intersect and city dwellers co-exist with people different from themselves. It’s where we learn toleration, where leisure shares space with urgency, commerce with activism, baby carriages with handcarts. When it is narrowed by garbage or overwhelmed by traffic, then the street reverts to its most primitive use: as a corridor. But a truly public place allows people to move at many different paces, or not to move at all.

Continue Reading

  • Currently 0.00/5
Rating: 0.00/5 (0 votes cast)

Raffle Winner


image
image
image
Announcing the Cycle Claus Raffle Winners
 
One Less Car (OLC) is pleased to announce that Marianne Freedman of Baltimore is the winner of the OLC Cycle Claus raffle. She is the lucky recipient of a beautiful bicycle being donated by Joe’s Bike Shop of Mt. Washington! Marianne entered the raffle through the One Less Car website (a new OLC website will be launched in February of 2009). Tatiana Melo and Stephen Franzoni are the gift certificate winners
 
We would like to thank everyone involved in the raffle – the folks that purchased tickets, Joe’s Bike Shop and S’ghetti Eddies, as well as, David Shapiro who developed and coordinated all matters concerning the raffle! Thank you all!
 
The purpose of the raffle was to purchase 12 bikes for disadvantaged children for the holidays. There was not any profit made from the raffle as all proceeds went toward purchasing prizes and the 12 bicycles. The goal was to give a gift of a bicycle to children - to bring happiness and with it the hope that the children would experience the freedom that comes from bicycling.
 
Every day One Less Car advocates for providing safe and effective transportation alternatives for all citizens through education, lobbying, and facilitation between our communities, governments, and state and local representatives. We believe that Maryland can be an example of the economic and social good that comes from a society where everyone – regardless of age, physical condition or economic background - has the opportunity to bike, walk or use mass transit to get where they need to go.
 
One Less Car wishes you a joyous holiday season!
 

Carol Silldorff, M.P.A.
Executive Director
One Less Car
1209 North Calvert Street
Baltimore, MD 21202

410-960-6493 direct

www.onelesscar.org

  • Currently 0.00/5
Rating: 0.00/5 (0 votes cast)

Highways Are a Bad Investment for Economic Recovery


...
Expanding roads and highways will take us backwards, rather than move us toward a true recovery. Building new highways provides fewer jobs than building public transportation infrastructure. According to Surface Transportation Policy Partnership, you get 19 percent more jobs with public transportation investments than with new roads and highway spending. Stimulating our economy effectively means investing in the infrastructure that gives us the most bang for our buck. Highways don't do that.
...

Continue Reading

  • Currently 0.00/5
Rating: 0.00/5 (0 votes cast)