Happy Hour This Thursday May 20th!
New Baltimore Bicycle Alliance HAPPY HOUR THIS THURSDAY MAY 20th! Join One Less Car to kick-off the new Alliance with a celebration from 5:30-8PM at Kooper's Tavern located at 1702 Thames Street on the waterfront in historic Fell's Point.
Thursday morning Governor O'Malley will sign into law five important bike bills and we will celebrate this victory at Kooper's Tavern!
With a $5 donation to One Less Car, Kooper's will offer $1 off drafts, $2.50 rail drinks and $4.50 Guinness. Raffle prizes from Kooper’s Tavern, Slainte Irish Pub and Restaurant, Woody's Rum Bar, Island Grill and Joe’s Bike Shop. This Happy Hour also kicks-off Bike to Work Day - which is the following morning! Free t-shirts for Bike to Work Day participants! Kooper's menu has something for everyone!
Let's get together and have a blast - come and see your friends and meet new ones too!
Please Take Action Today (Monday deadline) - Ask University of Maryland Leaders to Support the Purple Line
University of Maryland leadership is resisting Purple Line service on Campus Drive, where it would best serve the campus. A proposal to “temporarily” stop current transit service on Campus Drive could set the stage for the University to divert the Purple Line away from main destinations on Campus Drive. The University needs more transit, not less. In an era of high energy prices and the need to fight climate change, the most sustainable solution is high quality public transportation connecting our communities, including our universities.
Conveniently located transit will encourage more people to use public transportation to reach campus and provide better connections between the University of Maryland and destinations east and west of campus. By preventing transit from servicing this area, ridership to and from the campus will decrease dramatically. This is a bad policy that discourages sustainable growth.
Express your support for Purple Line service on Campus Drive. Urge Chancellor Kirwan to retain and improve transit service and to support the Purple Line on Campus Drive -- not stop it. Email Chancellor Kirwan Here.
Bike to Work Day Friday May 21, 2010!
Bike to Work Day 2010, sponsored by the Baltimore Metropolitan Council, will be celebrated in the Baltimore region and across the nation on Friday May 21, 2010. This year will mark the 13th annual event in the Baltimore region and will feature morning rallies at locations around the region, including: Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford and Howard County and at area universities and corporations.
Registration is now open! Register here. All participants receive an on-the-go snack and drink, and the chance to win prizes at the individual rally sites. You must be registered and attend a rally to win. The first Baltimore bike map is complete and will be supplied to Baltimore Bike to Work Day participants! Furthermore, the City of Annapolis will release its new bicycle map, helping cyclists navigate Annapolis. The map includes information on local attractions, scenic routes, Maryland bike laws, how to take your bike on Annapolis buses, local bicycle tours and much, much more. The Annapolis map can be downloaded here. May is National Bike Month and Clean Air Month. With our region's major traffic congestion and air pollution problems, one way to relieve these problems is to turn car commuters into bike commuters, especially for short commutes of five miles or less. The Bike 2 Work Day rally is a great way to promote the benefits of bicycling and we need your support! .
Bike and Benefits Card - We all know that biking has many benefits to your health, the environment, and more. But now in the Baltimore region, you can start biking for some exciting new benefits! To participate, simply download your copy of your Bike & Benefit Rewards Card here. Then, bike to these bike friendly establishments and receive your B2W benefit. Offers include gifts, discounts, chances to win prizes, and more!
What is Bike To Work Day? Bike to Work Day promotes a “clean commute”. Late Spring is the start of the ground-level ozone season, when we hear about Code Red and Orange Ozone Action Days. On those days, the air is dangerous to breathe – especially for the young and for the elderly. Single occupancy vehicles produce 20% of the dangerous ozone-emission pollution in the Baltimore area. Bike commuting can improve the air we breathe and much much more!
One Less Car Baltimore Bicycle Alliance
New Law Requires Motorists to Give 3 Feet when Passing
Greg Cantori, OLC President show us what 3 feet looks like.
The upcoming Happy Hour on Thursday, May 20th will kick off the new Alliance that is made up of individuals, bike clubs, bike stores, leaders and others! Everyone is welcome to attend. The Alliance goal is for bicyclists to play an active role in influencing state, city and county level decisions. One more bike is One Less Car! During the 2010 legislative session, a small group of bicyclists from the community met with Delegates, worked on bill language, testified at the hearings and helped to gain support from representatives. This effort helped immensely. If a few concerned citizens can help pass legislation, with more involvement from the community, we can help create a new transportation culture and infrastructure! Two weeks ago a successful initial Alliance Development Committee meeting took place and the following ideas/goals were discussed:
- Advocating for adequate funding for a complete non-motorized transportation infrastructure.
- Working to increase percentage of all types of bicycle ridership which decreases automobile usage.
- Ensuring that bicycles are recognized as a reasonable and mainstream transportation option.
- Educating communities in Baltimore to become bicycle-friendly and embrace a Share the Road philosophy.
- Recruiting and training Bike Ambassadors to host workshops on how to ride a bike (some folks have never learned), how to commute and on rules of the road instruction.
Click Here to Join the OLC Baltimore Bicycle Alliance. Check the bicycling box - it's free! The next Alliance Development Committee meeting will take place in 2-3 weeks. The Development Committee is comprised of members that are able to committee 3-4 hours per month to the Alliance. If you would like to join the committee please contact us.
Did you sign the Baltimore City Bike Bill Petition? If so, you were one of almost 1500 people who signed the petition supporting stronger bicycle legislation that includes police education, more bike lanes and bike safety street sewer grates, required parking for bicycles and complete streets legislation. We have been informed by the Council that the final vote will occur soon. We keep you informed. Your voice makes a difference! Already approved by the City Council Land Use and Transportation Committee is B'More Streets for People, a program periodically closing neighborhood streets for certain hours to promote their recreational use by joggers, walkers, bikers, etc. Special thanks to the Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Committee, Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke and Baltimore Bike Coordinator, Nate Evans for developing and advancing this legislation.
Tour du Port Seeks Volunteers
Are you interested in volunteering? One Less Car is a non-profit organization and we need your help. The October 3rd Tour du Port is OLC's annual fundraiser and if you have an interest in volunteering, we can find a task to suit you! We expect 2000 participants. Are you a social marketing expert? Managing our face book page and developing twitter are two of our priorities. Please contact Rachel Myrowitz, OLC Program Coordinator, if you have an interest in supporting OLC with any of these tasks: event logistics, food set up, sponsorship, advertising, flyer distribution, registration, rest stops, music coordination, grant writing, fundraising, marketing, writing, community outreach, program development and/or administrative matters. Event registration is free to volunteers.
8th Annual Tour dem Parks, Hon!
Sunday, June 13, Baltimore City - Carroll Park (1500 Washington Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21230)
For the past 8 years Baltimore City has held Tour dem Parks, Hon!, an annual bike ride held the second Sunday of June. The ride takes locals and visitors through Baltimore’s parks and neighborhoods. Riders get an up-close view of regional parks like Carroll, Patterson, Clifton, and Druid Hill, as well as some quietly tucked away gems. Riding any of the routes is a great way to see more of Baltimore City and especially the City’s parks and green spaces. Participants choose from 4 routes: 14 miles--the family ride on the Gwynn’s Falls Trail, 25 miles, 35 miles, or a metric century (64 miles). The Tour is followed by a relaxed barbecue with live music. Proceeds are donated to groups and non-profit organizations affiliated with parks, greening, and bicycling. Every participant who registers by May 31 will receive a t-shirt featuring this year’s logo, inspired by the classic French bicycle advertisements of the late 1890s. Lear More Here.
Check out One Less Car's Event Calendar to learn more about activities in your area!
MTA CharmCard™ - Smart Commuting With One Card
The MTA's CharmCard is a “smart” fare card that when used will make your experience riding MTA faster, easier and more secure. The Card is a rechargeable, credit card-sized, plastic fare card. It is embedded with a computer chip to keep track of the cash value and pass products on your card. Every time you use your CharmCard™ to add cash value, check your card balance, or any other card function, you are automatically linked to the MTA computerized fare collection system. The MTA target date for public launch is Fall of 2010. When the CharmCard™ is offered to the public, you will be able to tap into this new technology simply by touching your CharmCard™ to the targets on Local Bus fare boxes, at Metro Subway fare gates and Light Rail ticket vending machines (TVM). Just touch and go – it’s that simple!
The use of the CharmCard will help the MTA better understand travel patterns, to see how users are utilizing the transit system and use that information to make improvements to transit routes. You can find out more here.
Transit is in Crisis: Tell Congress to Act - Urgent Federal Action Item
Transit agencies across the country are facing budget problems. While transit ridership is stronger than ever, entire routes are at risk, workers are being laid off, and fares are going up. The problem goes beyond local budgets and politics: it's a crisis of national proportions.
Send a letter to your representatives by using the form below. You can share a link to our transit funding crisis map and call for Congress to act quickly to save transit.
Make a difference by sending a letter to your representatives - learn more HERE.
It is Fast, Friendly and Free - See the Top 10 Reasons to Ride the Charm City Circulator Here.
The backbone of any great city is transportation. The new Charm City Circulator (CCC), a fleet of 21 free shuttles, travels three routes in Baltimore City servicing residents, downtown employees, students and tourists and anyone else who wishes to ride. The shuttle is intended to reduce congestion and greenhouse gas pollution by offering a convenient, reliable and eco-friendly form of public transportation.
The CCC consists of three separate routes—the Green Route which runs from City Hall to Fells Point to Johns Hopkins, the Purple Route which runs from Penn Station to Federal Hill, and the Orange Route which runs from Hollins Market to Harbor East. The CCC is dedicated to offering a stellar form of public transportation that links critical parts of the city in the cleanest way possible. 21 DesignLine 2009 EcoSaver IV LF Hybrid Electric vehicles make of the fleet. This is the first fleet of this type in a major metropolitan area. We encourage all of our residents and visitors to use this service—not only is it free, it’s efficient. A shuttle arrives every 10 minutes at the designated stops on each route.
Use it as your connector to your regular train, bus or commuter lot—or just to get a taste of all Baltimore City has to offer. Learn More Here.
The New Water Taxi Harbor Connector: To make Baltimore City travel more convenient, two free Water Taxi Harbor Connectors between Maritime Park and Tide Point and Caton Waterfront Park and Tide Point have been developed. Learn More.
We all seek solace from the daily automobile commute that includes congestion. This congestion results in employees arriving late to work, less time with family and friends, health related diseases such as obesity and asthma, environmental damage including air pollution and degradation of our Chesapeake Bay which is both an economic and natural resource, and an increased reliance on foreign sources of fuel.
Please click here to become a member or make a donation to One Less Car. we are your 5o1c3 non profit organization working to make Maryland a better place!
