Upcoming
Meetings
Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Group
January 7th at
1:00 PM at BMC (2700 Lighthouse
Point East, Suite 310, Baltimore)
All are
welcome.
>>See the
Agenda and Past Minutes
BRTB meeting with
elected officials
December 2, 2008
at 5 PM at BMC (2700 Lighthouse Point East, Suite
310, Baltimore)
Agenda will be
posted 2 weeks in advance on BMC site.
All are
welcome. Public comment opportunity at beginning
of
meeting.
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 Opening for Citizen
Member on the Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory
Group
The Baltimore Regional
Transportation Board (BRTB) is currently seeking a
volunteer to sit on the Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory
Group (BPAG), to represent citizen interests related to
bicycle and pedestrian planning in the
region.
The primary role
of the BPAG is provide advice and assistance to the
Technical Committee concerning bicycle and pedestrian
projects, and update and evaluate the Regional Bicycle
and Pedestrian Plan.
The BPAG
is an appointed committee of the Baltimore Regional
Transportation Board. The citizen members will
serve a two-year term, starting in February 2009.
For more information or to apply to serve
on the BPAG, contact Amber Blake at ablake@baltometro.org or 410-732-0500 x1030 or download an
application at
http://www.baltometro.org/downloadables/TEMP/BPAG/BPAG_Application2009.pdf.
>> Learn
More About
BPAG |
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StreetSmart
Campaign
Street Smart is an annual
public education, awareness and behavioral change
campaign in the Washington, DC, suburban Maryland and
northern Virginia area. Since its beginning in 2002, the
campaign has used radio, newspaper, and transit
advertising, public awareness efforts, and added law
enforcement, to respond to the challenges of pedestrian
and bicyclist safety.
The Street Smart
program emphasizes education of motorists and
pedestrians through mass media. It is meant to
complement, not replace, the efforts of state and local
governments and agencies to build safer streets and
sidewalks, enforce laws, and train better drivers,
cyclists, and pedestrians.
The program is
coordinated by the National Capital Region
Transportation Planning Board (TPB), and is supported by
federal funds made available through state governments,
and funding from some TPB member
jurisdictions.
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Cities Struggling to Create Bike-Sharing
Programs
 Watching
the success of a massive bicycle-sharing program in
Paris, where more than 20,000 bikes are now available
for public use at self-service racks, several large U.S.
cities have been exploring launching such service.
Enthusiasm to reduce traffic congestion and pollution
through greater bicycle use is being tempered by
questions over funding and liability concerns,
however.
Early
bike-sharing efforts involved placing donated or
unclaimed lost bikes around the city and relying on the
honor system that users would return them. Many end up
being stolen, however. So, following the Paris model,
cities are now looking at more high-tech systems that
require swiping a credit or membership card to guarantee
the bike's return.
Washington
became the first American city to start such a program
in August. Jim Sebastian, District of Columbia
Transportation Department planner, said more than 900
users have signed up so far with an average of 150 daily
rides among the 100 bicycles in service. Only one has
been stolen and that user was billed $550 for a
replacement bike, USA Today reported. The D.C. program
is funded by Clear Channel Outdoor under an agreement
that gives the company advertising rights on the city's
bus stops.
Transportation
officials in other cities including Boston, Chicago, and
San Francisco are studying the Paris and Washington
programs in hopes of starting up similar services. But
efforts are being slowed in Boston by liability issues
over who would be at fault if a bike-sharing user gets
injured while using the service, in Chicago by funding
questions, and in San Francisco by anti-bicycle
activists who sued the city to halt construction of bike
lanes until the impact on automobile traffic could be
properly studied.
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Pedestrian Forum -
Fall 2008
The U.S. Federal Highway Administration has
released the latest issue of its quarterly newsletter
that highlights recent pedestrian safety activities
related to the 4 E's-engineering, enforcement,
education, and emergency services.
Articles
include:
- FHWA Safety
Policy Memo Contains Provisions for Pedestrians
- Developing
an Effective Measure of Pedestrian and Bicycle
Exposure to Risk
- Evaluation
of the Miami-Dade Pedestrian Safety Demonstration
Project
- NHTSA
Report on the Evaluation of Safety Benefits of Legacy
Safe Routes to School Programs
- National
Survey of Bicyclist and Pedestrian Attitudes and
Behavior Results Finally Released
- NHTSA
Conducts Pedestrian Assessment in Nevada
- NHTSA
Releases National Pedestrian Crash Report
- Pedestrian Road Safety
Audits Conducted in California and New
Jersey
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| A U.S. Bicycle Route
System
 An official U.S. Bicycle Route
System (USBRS) could help make the United States'
cycling infrastructure more competitive with these other
expansive route networks. Given the sheer size of the
U.S., the USBRS could become the largest cycling network
in the world.
Adventure Cycling Association and
several other organizations have teamed up with AASHTO
(American Association of State Highway Transportation
Officials) to develop such a system.
With staff
support from Adventure Cycling AASHTO's Tasl Force
on U.S. Bicycle Routes has developed a corridor-level
plan and designation system. The Corridor Plan was just
approved by the Executive Board of Directors at the
AASHTO Annual Meeting. Similar to La Route Verte, the
vision of the USBRS is to create a seamless
rural-suburban-urban cycling experience.
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Financial Bailout Bill Includes Tax
Break for Bicycle
Commuters
Tucked in the $700 billion bailout
bill intended to help the nation's financial sector is a
small provision to help promote bicycling to
work.
Starting in January, bicyclists
will be eligible for a $20-per-month tax-free
reimbursement from their employers for bike-related
expenses, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Employers who choose to participate in the voluntary
program will be able to deduct the expenses from their
federal taxes. The money could be used to purchase,
store, maintain, or repair bikes that are used for a
substantial portion of an employee's
commute.
Bike advocates worked for
seven years to get such a provision approved by
Congress. The bicycle benefit was championed by members
of the Oregon delegation, who squeezed it into the
mammoth bailout bill signed Oct. 3 by President
Bush. Supporters estimate the federal government
will lose about $1 million a year in tax revenue as a
result of the new benefit, with the exact amount
depending on how many companies decide to offer the
money to their employees (Source: AASHTO Journal Oct.
16, 2008 Page 10).
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Implementing Smart Growth
Streets
The U.S.
EPA Office of Development, Community and Environment
(widely known as the ''Smart Growth'' office) is
sponsoring a study on ''Implementing Smart Growth
Streets'' that is being conducted by ICF International
and Ellen Greenberg. Readers of Smart Growth Online are
invited to participate in this work by bringing
candidate case studies to the attention of the project
team.
The
project, which is in its initial phases, is using the
following summary definition of smart growth streets:
''Smart Growth Streets are roadways designed and
operated to support compact communities while promoting
least-polluting transportation performance and
preserving environmental resources within and beyond the
right of way.''
Study
organizers are seeking exemplary cases that demonstrate
innovation, quality, and replicable results with respect
to one or more of the principles. It is not expected
that each case study will illustrate all of the
principles. The study is focusing on documenting such
examples, as well as on the implementation activities
and institutional arrangements that are leading to
positive
outcomes.
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 Active Transportation for America: A
Case for Increased Federal Investment in Bicycling and
Walking.
This case statement for increased
investment in bicycling and walking infrastructure
evaluates benefits in the areas of transportation, oil
dependence, climate change, and public health, and puts
dollar estimates to the economic value of these
benefits. Benefits from bicycling and walking are
quantified for the status quo, and for prospective
increases in bicycling and walking under a Modest
Scenario and a Substantial Scenario for the future.
The analysis concludes that modest increases in
bicycling and walking could lead to an annual reduction
of 70 billion miles of automobile travel. More
substantial increases could lead to the avoidance of 200
billion miles per year." (Excerpt from the
Executive Summary of the Report)
>> Read the
Report |
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