• Home
  • Bike Maryland updates

The Annual Maryland Bicycle & Pedestrian Symposium

The Annual Maryland Bicycle & Pedestrian Symposium
Feb. 6th 8:30 - 4pm President's Conference Room, Miller Senate Office Bldg Annapolis

The symposium brings together planners, advocates, state and local officials working across the state to make Maryland better for biking and walking. This year, awards will be given honoring the most bicycle, pedestrian and transit friendly project, and posters will be on display from these and other noteworthy programs, efforts and organizations.

Advocates will have an opportunity to meet with their elected officials and talk about the programs important to your community. For those with strong opinions on new directions in transportation and land use, this may be just your opportunity to use the bicycle as your trojan horse. As you know, transit, regional planning, equity issues, etc. all carry certain stigmas, however, not that many people are strongly opposed to bicycling (unless we're in front of their SUV).

MDOT Secretary John Porcari will be the key speaker, and is expected to announce some exciting new initiatives. Congressman Jim Oberstar (MN) avid cyclist, who as chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure may be the most important person for transportation policy in the country, MIGHT make an appearance. Great turnout is essential! Please join us to support the cause of safer streets and healthy, bike and pedestrian friendly neighborhoods.

For those who believe in actions over words, each year there is a group that rides form Baltimore to Annapolis via the light rail and B&A Trail.
For more information, and to register: <a href="http://www.onelesscar.org/what_events_bikeped.php">http://www.onelesscar.org/what_events_bikeped.php</a>;
See you in Annapolis.
  • Currently 0.00/5
Rating: 0.00/5 (0 votes cast)

The Bicycle Symposium is on its way. Sign up to join us!

The 2008 Bicycle Symposium is February 6th, 2008 in the President's Conference Center of the Miller Senate Office Building in Annapolis. Doors open at 8:30 AM. Learn about some of the great bicycle-oriented projects going on around the state, while rubbing elbows with your local representatives. And don't forget - free day-glo bike pins for everybody! Want to be there? Just register here. Remember, the Symposium is free and open to EVERYONE.
  • Currently 0.00/5
Rating: 0.00/5 (0 votes cast)

Maryland's new bicycle safety video.

One Less Car is proud to announce that we're the first organization to have the Maryland Department of Transportation's new bicycle safety video, "Competence & Confidence: A Bicycling Guide for Adults", online and fully accessible. MDOT received a lot of input from the bicycling community while putting it together and we think it's a great resource for people who want to be more effective and safer cyclists. It also has some sobering information on our state's relatively high rate of bicycling-related injuries. Take a look by clicking here.

Continue Reading

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

Ciclovia in Baltimore? It could happen.

If you have been reading our email updates, or have checked out the Ciclovia page on our website you know that One Less Car has been at the forefront of the push to bring South America's coolest street festival to Maryland's biggest city. In case you don't know what it is, Ciclovia is when big cities like Bogota and Guadalajara open up miles upon miles of streets to pedestrians, bicyclists, roller-bladers and all manner of non-motorized traffic every Sunday morning. It's a great way for people to "take back" the streets and see their city from a totally new angle.

Last week One Less Car's Executive Director, Richard Chambers and Ciclovia Coordinator, Carol Silldorf, rode along a possible route for a Baltimore Ciclovia with city transportation officials and members of the Mayor's staff. The potential route would traverse neighborhoods as different as Federal Hill and Collington Square. The city's wonderful waterfront would also be showcased.

Although Mayor Dixon has not yet fully committed to having Ciclovia (or "Sunday Streets" as it is also being called) start this Spring, she has shown great interest in the concept and has invested real time and talent into making this happen.

Continue Reading

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

Bicycle Racks on MTA Buses Fact Sheet

Background

In 2003 MTA purchased and installed 200 front-end bicycle racks on buses stationed at the Northwest Division Bus Yard in Baltimore City. The racks were purchased through federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funds. The cost of these racks was roughly 200,000 dollars.

Due to a lack of proper training for MTA bus operators and maintenance personnel all of the racks have been damaged or destroyed. As of July 2007, no buses in the MTA system currently operate with bicycle racks.

During a meeting with One Less Car and the Transit Riders Action Council of Metropolitan Baltimore MTA Administrator Paul Wiedefeld said that he was committed to seeing that all buses have bike racks in the future. However, MTA has yet to commit to a timeframe or funding plan for purchasing and installing bicycle racks.

It is important to note that the bike racks currently installed on WMATA buses in the Washington DC area were paid for in part by a 600,000-dollar grant from the Maryland Department of Transportation in 2004. As on July 2007, all WMATA metrobuses were equipped with front-end bicycle racks. Although statistics are not yet available, the Washington Area Bicyclist Association states that the racks have been a success with bicyclists and transit riders. Transit ridership on the WMATA system has increased since the installation of the racks.

Most major mass transit systems in the United States, including the systems serving Philadelphia, Seattle, Chicago, Annapolis, Montgomery County, Maryland, Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Virginia Beach operate all or a significant majority of their buses with functioning bicycle racks.

Continue Reading

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

Ciclovia = Quality of Life!

Ciclovia is a community event that brings new life and fun into the streets! During Ciclovia, miles of partially closed roads give way to a festival atmosphere where thousands of families, cyclists, casual and serious strollers, dog walkers, skateboarders, skaters, joggers and runners of all ages and races have a great time together!

Ciclovia (meaning bike-way in Spanish) originated in Bogot

Continue Reading

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

One Less Car helps to change BRTB Transportation Outlook plan

Mass Transit will receive more funding

The Baltimore Regional Transportation Board is a 10-member group responsible for providing regional transportation planning and policy making for the Baltimore metropolitan region. Every four years the board updates its regional long-range plan that outlines the area's transportation needs and priorities.

The first draft version of the plan put aside billions for highway expansion, while leaving mass transit with a small share of the available funds. One Less Car, in conjunction with our partners at the Transit Riders Action Council and B'More Mobile, worked to draft a plan that set aside more money for needed mass transit upgrades.

The BRTB listened to some of our suggestions and the new plan adds 300 million dollars more to mass transit projects. Although this is still far less than what we need, its a step in the right direction.

The BRTB will be accepting comments on the revised plan until Tuesday, November 13th. We need you to make your voice heard by going to the BRTB website and demanding that even more resources are devoted to bike/ped and mass transit projects. YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Continue Reading

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

Join us for the 2008 Bike/Ped Symposium in Annapolis

Save the Date - Wednesday, February 6th, 2008
Come and learn about bicycling and walking in Maryland at the annual Maryland Bicycle/Pedestrian Symposium. This year the symposium will be held at the President's Conference Center at the Miller Senate Building in Annapolis.

Come share information with bike and pedestrian planners, advocates, and legislators on making Maryland a better place for everyone. Representatives from organizations and government agencies involved in bicycle and pedestrian issues will have exhibits and presentations throughout the day.

Meet your legislators. Let them know that for a community to be livable and sustainable it must be safe and accessible for bicyclists and pedestrians.

Continue Reading

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

The Community Pace Car Program is here!

One Less Car introduces a new road safety program

Anyone who has watched the news lately knows that too many pedestrians are being killed on Maryland streets. The speed of automobile traffic is one of the main causes of these tragedies. Its a shocking fact, but a person hit by a car at 30 mph has an almost 90 percent chance of surviving, while if that same person is hit at 40 mph the chance of survival is less than 20 percent.

Community Pace Car is a program that gives Maryland residents a chance to impact traffic safety by taking charge of their neighborhood streets. People who agree to the Community Pace Car pledge agree to do something simple - put the Maryland Community Pace Car sticker on the back of their car and do what the sticker says - drive the speed limit.

A person who joins the Community Pace Car team takes personal responsibility for the impact and example of his or her own driving. As a member of the team he or she keeps traffic at the posted safe speed on neighborhood streets.

Continue Reading

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