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Solution should be: Make BWI get some bike racks

Problem: "Racked" by bike

This tale of a consumer dilemma actually began last summer. Mark Powell, an Arlington, Va., resident, was dropped off by a friend at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport on July 22, 2009. He was about to catch a flight and go to Burlington, Vt., where he would participate in a biathlon.

His plan was to return 32 hours later to the Linthicum airport and then proceed to ride his bicycle the entire 40 miles back to his Arlington home - an extra challenge for this particular cycling enthusiast.

But before catching his flight, Powell encountered a problem: He couldn't find a designated bike rack in the parking lot to chain his bicycle to.
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Man gets 7 years in fatal hit-and-run

Ran over woman who was walking to church
By SCOTT DAUGHERTY, Staff Writer

A Linthicum man was sentenced yesterday to seven years in prison on charges he ran over and killed a Glen Burnie woman as she walked to church last summer.

The sentence meted out to 27-year-old Matthew Evan Norwood ranks among the longest for an auto manslaughter case in county history, according to prosecutors.

Although most auto manslaughter sentences top out at 18 months so the defendant can serve the time in the county jail, Circuit Court Judge William C. Mulford II imposed a sentence long enough to ensure that Norwood serves at least five years behind bars.

"You had it all in this one," Deputy State's Attorney William Roessler said, noting how Norwood's record included four criminal convictions and six traffic convictions - including one for driving while intoxicated.

He also said 59-year-old Mary Bernice Collins worked with a greyhound rescue group and was killed while standing on a sidewalk across the street from her church.

"There was a traffic and criminal record, plus a nightmarish set of facts," he said.
...
According to prosecutors, Norwood was driving a minivan north on Baltimore-Annapolis Boulevard about 6:50 p.m. when he jumped a curb near the intersection of Oak Lane. The van hit Collins as she stood on the sidewalk and continued without stopping.

The impact knocked Collins about 100 feet down the road into the front yard of a nearby home, Roessler said. She was on her way to attend Mass at Holy Trinity Catholic Church.

While paramedics were attending to Collins, county police found Norwood at a Royal Farms convenience store about two blocks away standing outside his minivan and looking at a flat tire.

Norwood told police he did not remember hitting Collins, only "clipping a curb."

But Norwood was not drunk at the time of the crash - only tired. A blood test found no alcohol, only two prescription drugs: the antidepressant Xanax and a narcotic analgesic, methadone.

It is unclear if he had a prescription for the drugs, but Murtha said his client knew they would make him tired and that he shouldn't have been driving.
...
Family members went on to complain that the state's courts had been too lenient with Norwood in the past.

"This lack of punishment has enabled him to take the life of our beloved family member, Mary, and later my beloved brother Donald," James Smith Jr., one of Collins' brother-in-laws, wrote in a letter to the court.
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BikePed Beacon -- April 2010

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April 2010 
IN THIS ISSUE
IMAGINE 2060
BIKE TO WORK DAY!
TAX BENEFITS
IN THE NEWS
NEXT ISSUE
A Regional Bike and Pedestrian Newsflash
REMINDER!  Bike to Work Day May 21, 2010Bike to Work Day Logo
Registration for Bike to Work Day opened earliier this month and already 400 people have registered! Outreach continues across the region with postcards and posters (contact us if you'd like to help distribute). 
 
May is Clean Commute Month and National Bike Month. Celebrate by showing others how great it is to commute by bike or just ride for fun. With more of us out there enjoying the great riding weather, we may even be able to inspire others and surpass last years Bike to Work Day registration numbers!
 
The March edition of the BikePed Beacon reached over 1,000 readers like you, but we'd love to grow or list even further. 
 
Please encourage someone new to sign up to receive the e-newsletter, get Bike to Work Day facebook updates to share, and register to ride on Bike to Work Day.  Chances are if you find a co-worker to ride with, you are more likely to ride. 
 
Thank you for all that you do to commute by bicycle.  
 
Stephanie Yanovitz
BikePed Beacon Editor
CAN YOU IMAGINE 2060?
Contribute your ideas to help make this region and our communities great places to live and work -- for you, your children, and your children's children.

imagine 2060Citizens and organizations from all around the Baltimore region are invited to take part in a groundbreaking series of public workshops to imagine the future of transportation.

Workshop participants will have an opportunity to share their values and ideas about how future transportation initiatives can make the region a better place to live. Later public workshops will deal more specifically with the planning process to achieve this vision.

Attend one of these upcoming workshops!

Monday, April 26, 6 - 8 p.m.
Pascal Senior Center
125 Dorsey Road, Glen Burnie, MD 21061

Wednesday, April 28, 6 - 8 p.m.
Westminster Senior Center
125 Stoner Ave., Westminster, MD 21157

Thursday, April 29, 6 - 8 p.m.
Planning Board Meeting Room
105 West Chesapeake Ave., Towson, MD 21204

Monday, May 3, 6 - 8 p.m.
State Center, Building 4
201 W. Preston Street - Atrium, Baltimore, MD 21201

Tuesday, May 4, 7 - 9 p.m.
Howard Community College, Duncan Hall - Kittleman Room
10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia, MD 21044

Tuesday, May 11, 6 - 8 p.m.
County Administrative Building, 2nd Floor Conference Room
220 South Main Street, Bel Air, MD 21014

Registration begins 30 minutes prior to each workshop.  Additional details about transit access and driving directions, links to join the imagine 2060 e-mail list or the Facebook and Twitter online communities, and how to RSVP for an upcoming public workshop can be found by visiting the link below.

BIKE TO WORK DAY!Registration open and more rally details.     Bike-to-Work DayThe 13th Annual Bike to Work Day (B2WD), hosted by the members of the Baltimore Metropolitan Council (BMC), will be held on Friday, May 21, 2010.  
 
Regional rally site coordinators are busy making arragements for bicyclists to party. At the rally site, riders will receive a free t-shirt, bicycle resources, and a Bicycle Commuter Guide for Employees and Employers, as well as be entered to win prizes (including a folding bike).
 
If you are interested in being a sponsor for B2WD please contact BMC's Stephanie Yanovitz at syanovitz@baltometro.org.  
 
You don't have to wait until Bike to Work Day to start commuting by bike, transit, carpool, or walking! Information and help is always available on the B2WD web site. 
 
TAX BENEFITS
The Bicycle Commuter Act  
Employer Cover
 
Since January 2009 a tax benefit for bicyclists has been available.  If you ride your bike for a substantial portion of your commute, accept only the benefit for bicycling (not transit too), and use the fringe benefit for your bicycle then you can qualify.  
 
Talk to your human resources department and your employer.  Biking to work can improve productivity, build employee morale and reduce health care costs and monthly parking expenses.   

Your office can start by appointing a Bike to Work Day coordinator and providing incentives and challenges for bicyclists.  Ride as a group on Bike to Work Day.

    

>> Employee Tax Benefit

BIKE FRIENDLY BUSINESSES
Print out the Bike and Benefit Card!
Bike and Benefit CardBike to Work Day 2010 Bike and Benefit Rewards Card
 
Share information on Bike Friendly Businesses with your favorite attractions.  Help build a benefit reward card to promote bicycling and businesses in your neighborhood.
 

>>Become a Bicycle Friendly Business    

 

In The News, Events, and Other Useful Links
 
EVENTS
 
 
IN THE NEXT ISSUE  May's BikePed Beacon will focus on Safe Routes to School and Street Smart Pedestrian and Bicyclist safety.  With the good weather, longer daylight hours, and the end of the school year approaching our streets are used even more by the most vulnerable users.  Send your stories and article ideas to syanovitz@baltometro.org.
 

BMC Logo             
              Stephanie Yanovitz
             Senior Transportation Planner               410-732-0500 x1055

              syanovitz@baltometro.org


 
Join Our Mailing List
Get Bike to Work Day Updates On Facebook!Follow B'more Involved on Twitter!
 
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Input sought on safer bicycle, walking paths in western county

Planner says he would like to see residents make walking, bicycling a 'way of life'

Baltimore County officials are asking for the public’s input on how to make the county more friendly for cyclists and pedestrians.

The county wants to make biking and walking easier and safer while using those activities as another way to moderate automobile use, according to Richard Layman, a county planner.

People walk a mile in 15 to 20 minutes and can bike a mile in just five or six minutes, Layman said.

“Since 28 percent of household trips are 1 mile or less and 50 percent are 3 miles or less, you can see how a goodly chunk of car trips (can be eliminated),” he said.

The county’s Office of Planning will hold a public input meeting April 27 at the Catonsville Library to hear about residents’ biking and walking experiences and how to improve them.

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Drive Safe Contest Extended–We need your help!

CONTEST EXTENDED for both Video and Caption Submissions! SUBMIT CAPTIONS OR VIDEOS UNTIL APRIL 30, 2010. VOTING/VIEWING BEGINS MAY 1, 2010

In an effort to get representation from the entire Baltimore region we are extending the contest and looking for entries from Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, Howard Counties and Baltimore City.

If you are a young driver or have family or friends who are, please participate or encourage them to. This is a great opportunity to spread our message that Distracted Driving is Dangerous!

Baltimore Metropolitan Council/Baltimore Regional Transportation Board

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Bike and pedestrian planning in the suburbs

By Richard Layman
...
The same thing has come up in the context of the citizen workshops that we have been holding for the Western Baltimore County Pedestrian and Bicycle Access Plan that I am the project manager for, in Baltimore County, Maryland.

Now I know that the next two meetings are likely to have far more bicycling advocates in attendance, because those meetings are in places where there are some significant bicycle facilities present (the North Central Railroad Trail in northern Baltimore County in District 3, and in District 1 the various trails of the Catonsville Rails to Trails group and in the Patapsco Valley State Park, not to mention nearby trails BWI and the Baltimore & Annapolis).

Still, I am constantly taking in and interpreting and synthesizing and reformulating the information, the interactions I encounter during the process.

What I think we will end up proposing is (1) responding to people's desires for sidewalk improvements; (2) but at the same time prioritizing the development of 1-2 off-road multi-user trails in each district; (3) as well as the development of a focused set (critical mass) of bicycle facilities improvements. Together (2) and (3) can be grown outward and can connect to other districts across the county and other jurisdictions in the region, and lay the path for the development of a more complete bicycle facilities infrastructure in Baltimore County.
...
Part of the reason that the polls don't favor bicycle facilities improvements is that the typical resident--suburban or urban--isn't familiar with bicycling anymore and doesn't know many people who do it. So of course they aren't going to prioritize biking improvements as a matter of course.
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Balto. Co. police identify cyclist fatally struck by car

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Lawrence Bensky and his daughter, Gabby.(Photo courtesy of the Bensky family)

By Brent Jones Baltimore Sun reporter

Every year, Lawrence Bensky would ride his bicycle from Bel Air to Ocean City, a trek that included several challenges, none of which managed to slow down the longtime cyclist.

"There wasn't a hill he wouldn't climb and when in a group, he was usually the first one to the top. If he saw other cyclists on the road in front of him, he pushed himself to catch up," said Bensky's wife, Tami. "He loved his bike ... loved to ride."

Bensky was fatally struck by a car while riding Tuesday afternoon near Butler and Falls roads in Baltimore County. Bensky, who lived in the first block of Quarterhouse Court in Owings Mills, was pronounced dead at the scene. He was 43.

According to the initial police investigation, Faith Frenzel, 64, of the 1900 block of Gravel Road in Hampstead was driving her 2001 Toyota Echo westbound on Butler Road about 4:30 p.m. when she struck Bensky's bike on the shoulder of the road. The bike became lodged in the front of the car. The car then collided with Joel Alan Wyman, who was also riding a bicycle, sending both cyclists off the road, police said.

Wyman, 45, of the 2200 block of Harmony Woods Road in Owings Mills, was taken to Sinai Hospital, where he was in serious condition.

Frenzel has not been charged in the collision, but police say they are continuing to investigate.

Bensky was a married father of two daughters, ages 7 and 3, and he worked as an engineer in a family-owned business, according to his sister-in-law, Sherry Bensky. A Randallstown native and University of Maryland, College Park graduate, Bensky took up cycling years ago after one of his five older brothers took up the sport. That brother, though, stopped riding after he was hit by a truck from behind, Sherry Bensky said.

"I think it was a release for him," Sherry Bensky said of her brother-in-law. "He was in excellent physical shape. It's just a great loss. I was very close with him, and he was a mentor to so many people. He was compassionate and had a good heart."

Family members say they had not heard from Frenzel.

In Maryland, since 1999, an average of eight people have been killed In Maryland annually in bicycle accidents, according to the State Highway Administration.

"Drivers need to give bicycle riders more space," Sherry Bensky said. "But we all really feel for her. For her to have to live with that, it's a horrible thing."

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Cyclist Killed on Butler Road, Baltimore County

From the MABRA-USCF list:

I know very little details except I was riding east bound on Butler from Reisterstown towards Falls road today at 6:10pm. When I arrived at Dover and Butler the road was blocked. The police officer standing guard said that a cyclist had been killed up the road. He even mentioned that the person’s wife had already arrived at the scene. He said I probably couldn’t make it through but said I could ride up the road to see if the road had been cleared.

The accident happened less than ½ mile from where Butler ends at Falls Road. From what little I could see the cyclist was riding up the dreaded false flat heading west. I couldn’t see anything, fortunately. There had to have been 5 Baltimore County cruisers blocking the road. I was instructed to turn around and leave the scene.

What can you say when something like this happens on the roads many MABRA riders regularly ride? I am cyclist with a 2 ½ year old and an 18 month old and I had a lot of trouble focusing back on my ride. My heart goes out to the family, whoever they are, at the loss of a husband and maybe father. I hope that his family can take solace that he must have been doing something he loved. No amount of love for the sport can replace the loss that his family will feel.

I guess I’d like to know the details, if anyone has them, but ultimately that isn’t important. Keep your head up, helmet on and don’t ever forget to tell your family you love them, even if you are just going out for a spin.

This incident has affected me, that is for sure.
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By Baltimore Sun reporter

A car struck two cyclists, killing one, Tuesday afternoon in Baltimore County.

Police said a sedan vehicle struck an adult male on a bike near Butler and Falls roads around 4:30 p.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The other cyclist was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital and their condition is unknown, police said. Police did not have additional information on the victims.

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BBC’s 26th ANNUAL INSTRUCTIONAL RIDE SERIES

The BALTIMORE BICYCLING CLUB'S popular Instructional Ride Series will begin with an orientation to be held on Sunday, May 2, 2010 at 10:30 a.m at the Ridgely Middle School in Baltimore County. Directions to the school are provided below.

This series is offered to anyone over 16 years of age interested in learning the basic skills of cycling, including doing minor road repairs and improving as a rider. We want to help people new to our sport find a comfortable riding level and develop so they can at least ride on the BBC casual rides by the end of the series and to permit experienced riders who are new to club riding to meet and to learn about group riding. The ride series will cover both road and recreational trail riding.

At the orientation, we will demonstrate cycling skills and techniques and discuss bicycles, equipment and clothing and answer any questions about the program. We will watch a short, informative video on cycling safety and bike handling. If you bring your bicycle to the orientation, we can check it out for you and show you how to do a pre-ride bike check. The indoor orientation will be held RAIN OR SHINE. Weather permitting, anyone who wants to do so can join us for a short ride following the orientation. You must have and wear a helmet in order to ride. Below is the full ride schedule.

DIRECTIONS -- Ridgely Middle School is at the southeast corner of CHARMUTH and RIDGELY Roads. Take Exit 26 of the Baltimore Beltway (I-695) and go North on YORK Road for approximately one mile. Then make a Right on RIDGELY Road, go for one long block and make a Right on CHARMUTH Road. The school is on your left; enter the first driveway, park and walk to front of school.

THIS YEAR'S SCHEDULE --
ORIENTATION -- Sunday, May 2, 2010 – Ridgely Middle School at 10:30 a.m.

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The April Citizen Workshops for the Western Baltimore County Pedestrian and Bicycle Access Plan

It is important to have a goodly number of people come out to the meetings, to demonstrate the importance and interest in walking and bicycling as transportation.  If some of your members are able to attend, we can be assured that proponents of walking and bicycling will shape the discussion.
 
Note that we are trying to lay out improvements on five scales:
 
- 1 mile walk zones around schools and transit stops
- 3 mile zones of town centers
- clusters of town centers (3-12 miles)
- cross-county connections
- regional connections (Baltimore City, Howard County, and Anne Arundel County abut the study area)
 
And if you have any suggestions for who else should get this request, please let me know.
 
Thanks.
 
Richard Layman
Project Manager
 
 
The Western Baltimore County Pedestrian and Bicycle Access Plan will be an "action plan" for constructing pedestrian and bicycle improvements in the urban area of the western side of Baltimore County in the First, Second, Third, and Fourth County Council Districts.  The plan is being developed by an advisory committee composed of representatives from the community and county and state government, and will be based on the needs and desires expressed by the citizens who live or work in the area. It will identify specific projects to be implemented and provide recommendations for phasing and funding.

We Need Your Help!

Your help is needed to identify improvements to the pedestrian and bicycle network in your area. Please attend one or more of the workshops listed below to share your ideas. Following an introductory presentation, and a survey about your experiences, you can sketch out your suggestions on maps. Members of the Action Committee will facilitate the discussion and record your comments.  Your ideas will help make the Western County Pedestrian and Bicycle Access Plan responsive to your needs. Show your support for improving the environment for walking and biking, provide your input, and encourage others to participate as well.  A flyer (PDF) is available for you to share with others who may be interested in attending. 

Workshop Schedule (All start at 7 p.m.)

Tuesday, April 6 (District 4)
Randallstown Community Center
3505 Resource Drive, 21133
 
Thursday, April 8 (District 2)
Pikesville Library
1301 Reisterstown Road, 21208
 
Wednesday, April 21 (District 3)
*censored*eysville Middle School
10401 Greenside Drive, 21030
 
Tuesday, April 27 (District 1)
Catonsville Library
1100 Frederick Road, 21228

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