Forget Gum. Walking and Using Phone Is Risky.
Oh great, we have to worry about distracted drivers and distracted pedestrians. (Link to New York Times article)
Oh great, we have to worry about distracted drivers and distracted pedestrians. (Link to New York Times article)
8,800 speed camera citations issued in 6 weeks
BALTIMORE (AP) — Maryland highway officials say nearly 8,800 citations were issued during the first six weeks of the state's speed camera enforcement program.In mid-November, State officials began photographing vehicles exceeding the speed limit by 12 mph or more on three stretches of highway marked as work zones and sending out $40 tickets.
Signs that read "Speed Photo Enforced: Work Zone" warn motorists that cameras might be present. Cameras are installed in a pair of white Jeeps that rotate among the three locations: Interstate 95 between White Marsh Boulevard and Interstate-895, around the Charles Street exit of Baltimore's Beltway and along the Intercounty Connector construction area on I-95 in Prince George's County.
State Highway Administration spokesman David Buck says the aim is to change drivers' behavior and get them to slow down in work zones.
Battery of cyclist treated as Hit and Run
By WashCycle
From a reader who was hit and nearly run over on December 28th while cycling to work.
The details are as follows: On Monday, Dec 28, I was southbound on 4th Ave NE and I stopped for the red light at the intersection with Rhode Island Ave. I was in a marked bike lane. To my right was a right-turn lane; to my left, the lane for through traffic and left turns.
The light turned green and the driver of an SUV in the right-turn lane started blowing her horn and merging into MY lane because she wanted to go _through_ the intersection. I pulled forward, staying in my lane, and when she continued to use her horn I stopped to ask what it was that she was trying to alert me about. She continued to use the horn, then looked at me as she pulled forward into me, catching my rear wheel beneath her front left fender. This forced me and the bike down onto the pavement. I rolled away as she continued to drive across my bike, narrowly missing my lower legs, and totally ruining my bicycle. She immediately sped away south on 4th Avenue.
I called 911 for police and ambulance, as I was unsure as to the extent of my injuries. The officers and emergency personnel who responded were all courteous, professional and efficient.For the driver to look right at me when stopped, then drive into me and risk deadly harm needs to be treated as nothing less than an assault.
At this point the incident is being treated as a hit-and-run, but given the intent of the driver to harm my person and property, I insist that this be classified as an assault and the perpetrator pursued accordingly.
I actually think it's at least battery or possibly attempted murder (if that's a crime in DC).
The cyclist had the license plate number, a description of the car and a description of the driver - all of which he gave to the police. The hit and run investigator has tried to contact the driver, but hasn't succeeded yet. Obviously, the cyclist would like to see this crime treated a more seriously than it has been. A few phone calls seems inadequate. And since he's out a bicycle, he's eager to get insurance information.
Cyclists Stopped for Being Annoying
By WashCycleOn the Route 1 Velo yahoo group, one rider reports that he and some others were biking out MacArthur Boulevard towards Great Falls when they were pulled over by Montgomery County Police. They weren't ticketed, but their names were recorded and they were let off with a warning. One problem is that it doesn't appear that the cyclists were told which law they had violated, only that cyclists in the areas were "getting annoying." The same rider reported that other groups had the same experience. Was anyone was else stopped in this manner? Was anyone given a better explanation?
From Mowing to Growing
From Mowing to Growing is not meant to transform each lawn into a garden, but to open us up to the possibilities of self-sustenance, organic growth, and perpetual change. In particular, we seek specific technical, urbanistic, and architectural strategies not simply for the food production required to feed the cities and suburbs, but the possibilities of diet, agriculture, and retrofitted facilities that could achieve that level within the constraints of the local climate.Citing the work of Fritz Haeg, the competition brief points out that "North Americans devote 40,000 square miles to lawns," more than is used "for wheat, corn, or tobacco." Further, U.S. residents "spend $750 million dollars a year on grass seed alone while only 2% of America’s food is locally grown." So, the competition asks:
How can we break the American love affair with the suburban lawn?
Can green houses be incorporated in skyscrapers?
What are the urban design strategies for food production in cities?
Can food grow on rooftops, parking lots, building facades?
What is required to remove foreclosure signs on lawns and convert them to gardens?
Prizes go as high as $10,000, and judges include Cameron Sinclair and Kate Stohr of Architecture For Humanity, vertical agriculturalist (agriverticality?) Dickson Despommier, and many more. Register by March 31, with submissions due before April 30.
Hit & Run Driver Injures Cyclist, Turns Self In, Gets a Misdemeanor
Bicycle activist and blogger Stephen Box yesterday recounted a hit and run that last week left a cyclist in the hospital. Here's what happened:
.Last week, Ed Magos got up early, just as he does every weekday morning, had breakfast with his wife and children and then hopped on his bike to ride to City Hall where he works for the ITA Department. He didn't make it. As he rode down 2nd street, he was hit from behind by a motorist who didn't honk or hit the brakes. She simply drove her Porche Cayenne sports car into the back of Magos, propelling him and his bike through the air. He landed on the ground and lay still, conscious that any movement might cause further injury.From the corner of his eye, he saw the woman walk toward him. He yelled "I can't move! Call 911!"
He remained motionless and continued to call for help, then heard the sound of car door closing, then the sound of an engine starting. He craned his head and caught the license plate number of the woman's car as she made a u-turn and drove off in the opposite direction. He immediately began repeating the license information out loud until a woman approached and assured him that she had written it down and that she had called 911
In an e-mail blast, the L.A. County Bicycle Coalition briefly cites the same: "Witnesses and Ed both state that the driver of the vehicle got out of her car, saw Ed and proceeded to get back in her car and leave the scene."
So what happened to that driver? She later turned herself into a local police station, saying "I think I hit something. I'm not sure what," according to Box via Magos. Later police told Box the incident was an accident.
A Jobs Bill that Builds More Jobs, Not More Highways
By John M. Krieger , Federal Transportation Policy Analyst, United States Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG)Also posted today on the Huffington Post
As everyone knows, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Yet the transportation spending in Congress' latest "jobs bill" looks insanely identical to the spending that went out the door almost a year ago in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
Repeating earlier spending patterns wouldn't be such a serious problem if America's transportation system functioned well. But there is widespread consensus among citizen organizations around the country that our current approach to funding transportation is broken and in need of reform.
And, while 2/3 of our oil consumption and 1/3 of our global warming pollution comes directly from the amount we have to drive in this country, we continue to spend most of our transportation funds on highways.
This insanity comes partly from the misconception, firmly pushed last year by White House Economic Advisor Larry Summers, that stimulus money for highways would spend faster and create more jobs than public transportation projects.
But a look at the official data (PDF) tells a completely different story.
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No criticism of Cash for Clunkers says LaHood
"This was the most wildly successful program ever, selling 800,000 cars in less than 30 days, You see no criticism of Cash for Clunkers in America." - U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Ya right.
"It [Cash for Clunkers] has proved to be a highly successful vehicle marketing tool," said Tim Evans, energy analyst for Citi Futures Perspective in New York. "But you would need a microscope to see the demand impact for gasoline from this program because it involves a relatively small number of vehicles."
But the DoE loans in question were approved to encourage the development of alternative energy and biofuels, two "green job" creators that have influential allies on Capitol Hill. Senate Energy Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) is already criticizing the shift [to Cash for Clunkers] as a raid on the clean-energy pot, and Renewable Fuels Association chief Bob Dineen said he wants Congress to promptly put the $2 billion back home at the DoE:
& By Jeff Jacoby - Boston Globe
Q: CONGRESSMAN, was “Cash for Clunkers’’ a success?
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A: I have to go, but let me say this: If Cash for Clunkers were as dubious as you suggest, it wouldn’t have had so many takers.
Q: Oh, for heaven’s sake, congressman: If you give away money, won’t people always line up to take it?
A TwoWheeling Court Victory in CBus!
By Douglas MorganYesterday I defended a young man named Michael in Franklin County Municipal Court. Michael had been cited for "taking the lane" on High Street, i.e. riding in the center of the lane, rather than to the right side of the lane. Experienced cyclists like Michael know that this is the safest way to ride on narrow city streets--riding to the right side of a narrow lane invites motorists to pass in the lane which can have deadly consequences. The Columbus traffic code was amended within the last 2 years to specifically address this issue, but it seems law enforcement officers are either unfamiliar with the new law or unwilling to apply it.
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I then took a tape measure and extended it 11 ft, 3 inches (the width of the lane) and laid it on the floor in front of the bench and asked the police officer to join me standing by the tape. I then asked the officer exactly where in the lane he thought Michael should have been riding? He said about 1 1/2 feet from the curb. "So you think that bicyclists should be required to ride over these corrogated metal sewer grates?" I asked, handing him a photo of one of those dangerous grates. "Yes," he replied, "I think it's safe for them to do that." Of course, cyclists know that these grates are very hazardous, especially when wet, and noone I know would feel safe riding over them, but I let this go for the time being and stepped off 1 1/2 ft of the tape. "OK, officer, how much space in the lane does the cyclist need to ride safely in this location?" After much discussion, the officer agreed that 3-4 ft should be sufficient to allow for the width of the bicycle and the cyclist and room to maneuver around road hazards, so I stepped off another 3 feet. "And what do you think a safe passing distance is for an automobile to pass a bicyclist?" I asked the officer. "I always give a bicyclist about 6 ft clearance," he replied. (Boy, don't we wish all motorists were this generous?) So I stepped off 6 more feet.
The officer and I were looking down at what remained of the lane width--less than a foot. "Officer, how wide is your cruiser?" I asked. "Don't know," he replied. "Do you think you could squeeze it through there," I asked pointing at the 9 inches remaining on the tape measure. "No," he replied. " "No more questions, your Honor," I said. The prosecution rested.
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