Bike-riding mom denied at drive-through turns to Twitter

Basic moral of the story: If something bike related gets you upset send out a huffy tweet followed by a pointed letter, and post on a blog. By the next day, the company may apologize.

If you don't have a blog please feel free to contribute to Baltimore Spokes, and remember:

""Bicyclists aren't dangerous," says Gilbert, "They're people who've chosen not to drive a car."

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Roads that are designed to kill

By By Mark Rosenberg - Boston Globe

THREE YEARS AGO, I was driving in Atlanta early one morning when I saw a body on the road. It was a young female runner. I called 911 and then ran to her. She had a horrendous head injury but still had a heart beat. I started CPR, but her injuries were too severe. She died in my hands. I wrote a column in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about what happened to the runner, and a flood of letters came in.

Half blamed the runner, saying she should not have been running in the street at that hour. Half blamed the driver, for not paying close enough attention. Not a single writer blamed the road.

I took a photograph of the scene where I had found the runner. When I showed this picture to friends from Sweden they asked, “This is where you live? This is your neighborhood? Your streets are designed to kill people.’’ They said that the thin painted white lines at the intersection could not be seen at dawn, nor was there a raised bump to or a narrowing of the road to demarcate the intersection and slow down traffic. They said the speed limit should be 30 kilometers per hour (about 18.6 miles per hour) or less if we wanted pedestrians to have much of a chance of surviving. They also said traffic lights increased the number of deaths because people often speed up when the light turns yellow.
...
Most people think we are doing all that can be done to keep our roads safe. They are wrong. Road traffic injuries kill more than a million people a year worldwide, including 40,000 a year in the United States. We will continue to have drivers who are too young or too old, too distracted, or too bold, but we can change our roads so they help protect both drivers and pedestrians. Reaching Vision Zero may take us a while but how in the world could we ever justify not starting now?

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Why can't we do better than this?

[From our mail box:]

Are you aware of this change in Idaho law as it pertains to cyclists and stop lights? I also understand that Idaho is one of possibly 15 states that have enacted a 3 ft. safe passing rule for motor vehicles when overtaking a bicycle on a roadway.

This begs the question, why does Idaho, of all states, have transportation laws that show a preference to cyclists in regard to use of roads and highways? Idaho does not, to my knowledge, promote smart growth or livable communities nor have they been a leader in walkable or bicycle accessible community design. For those unfamiliar with Idaho, their state does have urban areas and is not entirely rural. From a transportation perspective, Idaho is not known for progressive transportation legislation in areas other than transportation laws pertaining to cycling.

What are the reasons why Maryland is lagging behind Idaho in terms of improved use of road and highway facilities and legal protection frameworks for cyclists? Do we have too few gun racks in our pickup trucks or moose on our roads to even consider progressive legislation that can improve cycling safety and provide improved use of road and highway facilities for those who travel the roads without the aid of internal combustion engines?

Why can't we do better than this?

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HARFORD ROAD Bike Lanes (if you want'em then we need you to attend)

Community Meeting TO DISCUSS THE HARFORD ROAD BEAUTIFICATION PROJECT (BETWEEN NORTH AND CHESTERFIELD AVENUES)

DATE: Wednesday, August 26, 2009
TIME: 6:00 P.M. TO 8:00 P.M.
WHERE: MONTEBELLO ELEMENTARY JUNIOR ACADEMY
(meeting will be held in the cafeteria)
2040 E. 32ND STREET
BALTIMORE, MD 21218
THE BALTIMORE CITY DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION WILL BE IN ATTENDANCE TO DISCUSS

THE PROJECT AND THE FOLLOWING:
* AN OVERVIEW OF THE PROJECT
* CONCEPTUAL DESIGNS
* QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

PLEASE PLAN TO ATTEND AND VOICE YOUR IDEAS FOR THIS IMPORTANT PROJECT IN YOUR COMMUNITY!
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Pedalmania in the District

Everyone benefits from increased bicycling.

"EVERY TIME I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race." So said H.G. Wells, nearly a century ago.

Wells would be heartened if he could visit the District today. The presence of bicyclists in the metropolitan area has been growing steadily, especially in recent years. A travel survey by the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board in 2007-08 found that 3.3 percent of District residents commuted to work on bicycles -- up 50 percent in 15 years. With bicyclists have come bike trails, bike parking and bike lanes; in the past seven years, the District has added nearly 40 miles of new bike lanes.

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