Short One Less Car Legislative Update

Today was the final day of the 2010 Maryland legislative session. Over 85 bicyclists rode to Annapolis today in memory and honor of Lawrence Bensky, 43, of Owings Mills, who died on April 6 while riding his bicycle on Butler Road in Baltimore County. This is a rural road that I and many of the attendees bike on frequently. Many supportive Delegates joined me in addressing the crowd of cyclists.

On a different note - it is time to celebrate! I returned from Annapolis a few hours ago where FOUR significant Bike/Ped/Transportation bills passed! The following bills are on the way to the Governor's Office for his signature:

· SB624 - Shoulder Rule bill
· SB51 - 3 Foot bill
· HB 1155 - Transportation Transparency bill
· HB 282 - Funding for Bike/Ped Access bill

I will produce a list of those Delegates and Senators (Cardin, Carr, Lafferty, Raskin, McIntosh, Malone, Pena-Melnyk and more) we will want to thank for their support of these important bike safety and bike/ped funding bills. A call or email from a constituent is a BIG deal to them – a few minutes of your time can make a big difference. A huge thank you to everyone who contributed testimony, contacted a Delegate, advocated for this cause and helped to make this happen.

We must remember Larry and work together during the 2011 General Assembly session to make Maryland a safer place to live, work and play.

In the next few months I will develop the One Less Car legislative agenda for the 2011 General Assembly session. A few items of interest are:

• Strengthening the new 3 foot rule
• Strong focus on the manslaughter by vehicle bill
• Introducing a bill to increase tax credits for bicyclists
• Reintroduce the accident vs. crash bill
• There will be more to add to this list and your legislative assistance is appreciatively accepted.

To learn more about One Less Car events, volunteer opportunities and our legislative agenda please visit <a href="http://www.onelesscar.org">www.onelesscar.org</a>; and go to the contact header.

Thank you all and please spread the word!

Carol Silldorff
Executive Director
One Less Car