I am always looking for creative road ideas ;)
Red Emma's
Greetings comrades & supporters!We've got some sweet events coming up at Red Emma's and 2640 these next few weeks, plus some great new books in at the store! And even more exciting - it seems that we now have more daytime parking available in front of Red Emma's - the spots that used to be off limits until 6PM on the west side of St. Paul St. can now be used from 9AM-4PM. So it's that much easier to visit us for lunch if you're driving. And of course it's still really easy to visit us by bike - we've even got a lock here you can use on our huge custom anchor-chain bike rack if you've forgotten your own. So don't delay, and plan a visit any day of the week ... or check out one of these fantastic events!
Maryland Department of the Environment mentions bicycling in their July newsletter
Air Quality Action in Maryland... On Air Quality Action Days, MDE recommends we all take steps such as:
* Limit driving. Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties offer free bus service on Ozone Action Days. Commuters can car-pool, walk, or bike to work.
...
<a href="http://www.mde.state.md.us/ResearchCenter/Publications/General/eMDE/vol3no11/airquality_action.asp">http://www.mde.state.md.us/ResearchCenter/Publications/General/eMDE/vol3no11/airquality_action.asp</a>;
Another Route to Work: Bike to Work Day 2009
This May, MDE Secretary Shari T. Wilson and MDE staff participated in a record-setting Bike to Work Day.
...
<a href="http://www.mde.state.md.us/ResearchCenter/Publications/General/eMDE/vol3no11/bike2work.asp">http://www.mde.state.md.us/ResearchCenter/Publications/General/eMDE/vol3no11/bike2work.asp</a>;
One Less Car Event Planning Meeting
Thursday July 9, 2009 6:30PM - Your Invited
One Less Car Event Planning
Meeting
Are you interested in volunteering? One Less Car (OLC) is a non-profit organization and we need your help. We want to meet you! Discussion will center on Tour du Port coordination with review of the event checklist. The Tour du Port is Baltimore's Premier Bicycling Event and One Less Car's Annual Fundraiser. The event takes place October 4th and 2000 registrants are expected. If you have an interest in volunteering, OLC can find a task to suit you! Are you a social marketing expert? The development of a face book page and twitter are two of our priorities. Do you have experience or 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, administrative tasks and more? Please sign up to help the day of the Tour du Port!
Date: July 9th, 2009
Thursday
Time: 6:30PM
Location:
The Marion I. & Henry J. Knott Foundation; 3904 Hickory Avenue, Baltimore,
Maryland 21211 Click for
directions.
Food: Pizza and
drinks
Please RSVP to chantelnjackson@gmail.com or let her know that you are interested in volunteering but unable to attend the meeting.
Most importantly, please visit
the OLC website (www.onelesscar.org) and click the header "contact". Take a minute to complete this form and we will
update you on events and volunteer opportunities.
4 Cases Of How Tearing Down A Highway Can Relieve Traffic Jams
...One example is reducing traffic congestion by eliminating roads. Though our transportation planners still operate from the orthodoxy that the best way to untangle traffic is to build more roads, doing so actually proves counterproductive in some cases. There is even a mathematical theorem to explain why: “The Braess Paradox” (which sounds rather like a Robert Ludlum title) established that the addition of extra capacity to a road network often results in increased congestion and longer travel times. The reason has to do with the complex effects of individual drivers all trying to optimize their routes. The Braess paradox is not just an arcane bit of theory either – it plays frequently in real world situation.
Likewise, there is the phenomenon of induced demand – or the “if you build it, they will come” effect. In short, fancy new roads encourage people to drive more miles, as well as seeding new sprawl-style development that shifts new users onto them.
Of course, improving congestion is not the main reason why a city would want to knock down a poorly planned highway–the reasons for that are plentiful, and might include improving citizen health, restoring the local environment, and energizing the regional economy. More efficient traffic flow is just a wonderful side benefit.
Sound dubious? Here are several examples of how three cities (and their drivers) have fared better after highways that should never have been built in the first place were taken down.
CASE 1: Seoul, South Korea - Cheonggycheon highway
CASE 2: Portland, Oregon - Harbor Drive
CASE 3: San Francisco - Embarcadero Freeway
CASE 4: San Francisco - Central Freeway
Loudoun bikers stop sign charges dismissed; Landau successfully represents “MS-8″ Lovettsville cyclists in Leesburg Traffic Cour
This morning Doug Landau represented 2 of the bikers who were ticketed for rolling through a stop sign in Loudoun County. But the details of their ride are turning heads all over Virginia, as reported in prior posts.On Sunday June 11th, a total of eight cyclists were stopped for this offense (Virginia Code 46.2-821) during the MS ride, by a police officer whose car was parked a full 300 feet away, with orange cones near the 7-11 “rest stop.” As the cyclists approached the stop signs, located on an open, rural road, they slowed down, looked both ways, saw no traffic and continued on their route around the “squircle” (a squared off traffic circle with 4 stop signs and a sidewalk running through the center). Rather than follow some of the cyclists through the middle of the square, these experienced bicycle riders thought going around the “squircle” would be safer. The police officer, who the cyclists thought was waving on participants in the Multiple Sclerosis charity ride, then proceeded to ticket them for not coming to a complete stop. No warning. Just a citation for a moving violation, with 4 points and a large fine as well!
Betraying the Planet
New York Times Op-Ed Columnist PAUL KRUGMAN...
But if you watched the debate on Friday, you didn’t see people who’ve thought hard about a crucial issue, and are trying to do the right thing. What you saw, instead, were people who show no sign of being interested in the truth. They don’t like the political and policy implications of climate change, so they’ve decided not to believe in it — and they’ll grab any argument, no matter how disreputable, that feeds their denial.
Indeed, if there was a defining moment in Friday’s debate, it was the declaration by Representative Paul Broun of Georgia that climate change is nothing but a “hoax” that has been “perpetrated out of the scientific community.” I’d call this a crazy conspiracy theory, but doing so would actually be unfair to crazy conspiracy theorists. After all, to believe that global warming is a hoax you have to believe in a vast cabal consisting of thousands of scientists — a cabal so powerful that it has managed to create false records on everything from global temperatures to Arctic sea ice.
Yet Mr. Broun’s declaration was met with applause.
Given this contempt for hard science, I’m almost reluctant to mention the deniers’ dishonesty on matters economic. But in addition to rejecting climate science, the opponents of the climate bill made a point of misrepresenting the results of studies of the bill’s economic impact, which all suggest that the cost will be relatively low.
Still, is it fair to call climate denial a form of treason? Isn’t it politics as usual?
Yes, it is — and that’s why it’s unforgivable.
Long Island NYSDOT Office Kills Pedestrian Safety Program
Long Island has the two most dangerous roads in the region for pedestrians, the Hempstead Turnpike and Sunrise Highway. Respectively, 15 and 12 pedestrians perished on the roadways between 2005 and 2007, continuing a long-term trend of Nassau and Suffolk Counties having some of the most dangerous roads in New York.But the numbers didn’t stop NYSDOT’s Long Island regional office, Region 10, from eliminating its Local Safe Streets and Traffic Calming Grant Program. The program, established in 2000, provided $2.7 million a year for pedestrian and bike projects throughout Nassau and Suffolk Counties (see MTR # 292). It has paid for over 40 projects in towns including Oyster Bay and Great Neck.
No public announcements related to the program had been made since 2006, so MTR recently inquired about the projects the program has funded.
In response, we received an email from a Region 10 spokesperson that said the program was “under review” (read: eliminated) but that it had succeeded in “providing examples for municipalities to emulate on their roads” (read: towns should pay for pedestrian and bicycle projects themselves).
The most troubling part of the communication was the reasoning behind the decision, which demonstrated a complete misunderstanding of the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), the federal program authorized under SAFETEA-LU that funded the local safe streets grants. According to the spokesperson, these funds “can only be used on roads on the federal-aid highway system” and “require a 20% local match.”
In fact, the HSIP funding guidelines say that “funds may be used for projects on any public road or publicly owned bicycle and pedestrian pathway or trail … the Federal share is 90 percent, except that the Federal share is 100% for certain safety improvements listed in 23 USC 120(c).
Then & Now | Street Fight
Interesting contrast how New York City once nibbled away sidewalks to make room for cars and now they are closing roads to make room for pedestrians.
In desperate need of help
Sorry to bother you but my life has come to a crossroad; move out of state to get a job and leave Baltimore Spokes or try to stay and continue bicycling advocacy. It is hard for me to toot my own horn but since I have received some comments that what we do here at Baltimore Spokes will be sorely missed if it were to stop, so I write this appeal; if you are aware of job that would give me some flexibility to attend meetings and/or an economical place to stay (at least for a short term basis) please contact me.