State unleash goats to keep grass trimmed


Forget lawn mowers. Maryland officials have found a natural way to combat brush while protecting a threatened species.
Maryland officials wanted an eco-friendly solution that wouldn't hurt the area's bog turtles.

Forty bearded goats have been dispatched by the State Highway Administration to control plant growth in the area. They have been munching in an enclosed area for a week; they will stay until September, but will be put back to work next spring.

The project is part of Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley's "Smart, Green and Growing" legislative package, aimed at reducing the state's greenhouse gas emissions 25 percent by 2020

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Upcoming/Ongoing events in Baltimore (not all bike related)


Greater Lauraville Home and Garden Tour, June 13, 11am-3pm. There will be 5-7 houses on the tour, and Healthy Neighborhoods home renovations will be the highlight. For tickets call 410-444-9188. www.greaterlauraville.com

HonFest, June 13-14, 36th Street in Hampden, between Falls Rd. and Chestnut Ave. Saturday 11am-10pm, Sunday noon-6pm. www.honfest.net

Homebuyer Education Housewarming Party, June 13, 9am-4pm, Neighborhood Housing Services of Baltimore(NHS) of Baltimore, 819 Park Ave., classes 9am-4pm; festivities noon-3pm; There is a fee for the workshop. 410-327-1200.

Tour Dem Parks, June 14, 7:30am-12noon. This year, the annual bike tour will have four routes. They all begin and end in Carroll Park. As always, there will be a rest stop in Patterson Park. For more information visit www.tourdemparks.org.

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KEEP KIDS ALIVE DRIVE 25


The mission of Keep Kids Alive Drive 25® is to end all deaths and injuries caused by speeding on all roadways. Our target is zero deaths, zero injuries. To do less is to accept and tolerate deaths and injuries to loved ones; daughters, sons, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and friends.

To accomplish our mission we work to educate and actively engage citizens throughout the United States in a common commitment to create safer streets in neighborhoods, and beyond, for the benefit of all. This includes pedestrians, cyclists, children-at-play, motorists and their passengers. We work with and through neighborhood groups, law enforcement, public health agencies, schools, city/county/state government, public works, businesses, safety organizations, and any and all civic organizations committed to creating safe roadways.

The campaign goal is to unite neighborhoods and communities throughout the U.S. with a consistent message about safe driving. Keep Kids Alive Drive 25® reminds each of us to check our speed and slow down as needed. Since we as drivers cause the problem of speeding in residential neighborhoods, and beyond, we must be actively engaged and committed to being the solution as well.  Keep Kids Alive Drive 25® is a friendly reminder to slow down in a fast-paced world, as well as an invitation to take personal responsibility for our driving behavior.

For communities, it is imperative to send the message that, "Speeding will not be tolerated in our town!"  Keep Kids Alive Drive 25® works to support this message by educating and engaging drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, residents, parents, schools, businesses, law enforcement, public works, and many others in making safer streets a reality. This is why we exist.

DID YOU KNOW?

  • 41,059 people – daughters, sons, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, friends – died on America’s roadways in 2007. That’s an average of over 112 deaths per day each and every day of the year. (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) – 2008)

  • 4,327 pedestrians died while walking in neighborhoods or crossing streets in 2005. 500 of these deaths were children under 14 years-old. (NHTSA 2008)

  • 2,490,000 people were injured in motor vehicle incidents in 2007 (NHTSA 2008)

  • The death rate on residential streets is over twice that of highways -measured per miles driven (NHTSA – 2005)

  • Speeding Triples the Odds of Crashing (AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety - 2006)

  • A pedestrian hit in a 30 mph speed zone is 3 times more likely to die than one hit in a 25 mph zone. (General Estimates Database of Police Reported Accidents – 1999)

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Our Roads are Killing Our Streams


[Baltimore Spokes: To many times I hear from those who oppose bike trails and extra width on the road for cyclists it is because of concerns for the environment and extra impervious surface, yet too often they do nothing about the outrageous storm water management used on our roads, parking lots and driveways. We need to raise awareness it is our over accommodation of cars at the expense of everything else that is wholesome that is the major problem.

You are receiving this e-mail because you have joined the Chesapeake Bay Foundation Action Network
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Runoff from roads contributes millions of pounds of nitrogen and sediment, and hundreds of thousands of pounds of phosphorus each yearDid you know that our roads are killing our rivers and streams? Every time it rains, stormwater from our roads and highways dumps tons of pollutants into our waterways. In the Chesapeake Bay watershed, runoff from roads contributes millions of pounds of nitrogen and sediment, and hundreds of thousands of pounds of phosphorus each year.

CBF understands that if we are to restore our rivers, streams, and the Bay any time soon, we must address this problem. And, in fact, we are trying to. We are working with advocates across the nation on federal legislation to limit the amount of polluted runoff from federally-funded roadways. We are asking Congress to include language in the reauthorization of the Surface Transportation Act, commonly called the Federal Highway Bill, which would create new stormwater guidelines that require federally-funded roadways to mitigate stormwater runoff pollution. If we are successful, it will create for the first time, a nationwide requirement for the management of polluted runoff from these roadways.

Your Congressperson was one of 34 members of the House of Representatives who signed a letter to the Chairman and Ranking member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in support of this new approach to cleaning our waterways. Now we need to thank our leaders for their support and urge them to maintain that support for strong stormwater measures in the Federal Highway Bill as it moves through committee.

Please take a minute to send a message to your representative thanking your leader for supporting a change in how we address highway pollution. Our leaders appreciate the acknowledgement for the good work they do, and it encourages them to continue supporting actions their constituents care about.

For more information, read the letter and CBF's position on stormwater and the Federal Highway Bill.

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Doctors prescribe smarter growth


POLICY STATEMENT
The Built Environment: Designing Communities to Promote Physical Activity in Children
Committee on Environmental Health

An estimated 32% of American children are overweight, and physical inactivity contributes to this high prevalence of overweight. This policy statement highlights how the built environment of a community affects children's opportunities for physical activity. Neighborhoods and communities can provide opportunities for recreational physical activity with parks and open spaces, and policies must support this capacity. Children can engage in physical activity as a part of their daily lives, such as on their travel to school. Factors such as school location have played a significant role in the decreased rates of walking to school, and changes in policy may help to increase the number of children who are able to walk to school. Environment modification that addresses risks associated with automobile traffic is likely to be conducive to more walking and biking among children. Actions that reduce parental perception and fear of crime may promote outdoor physical activity. Policies that promote more active lifestyles among children and adolescents will enable them to achieve the recommended 60 minutes of daily physical activity. By working with community partners, pediatricians can participate in establishing communities designed for activity and health.

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Letter to the Editor Support Speed Cams


Dear HoC0 Times Folks, I would like to add my comments and support for the newly passed legislation for Speed Cams in Howard Co. where there is a shown need to slow auto traffic down. I live off of Bethany Lane(30'wide two lanes Rd. no shoulders or sidewalks) just around the corner from the Harbin Farms Fruit Stand, which we the neighbors greatly appreciate and support. The speed limit on Bethany from Rt. #99 to Rt. #40 is posted at 30 MPH and traffic/police reports show most cars are exceeding over 40 MPH. Constant Police Radar Enforcement slows the autos down while the police are there, but the speeding returns when our busy police are not enforcing the 30 MPH Speed Limit. I would suggest and hope that Bethany Lane be a spot for a speed camera(two Church Schools/ Many School Bus Stops/USPS Mail Boxes/ Many children on Bethany) and a great need to slow traffic down on this busy road.

Many talk about speed cams as a Money Maker, but I would like add from my 27 years as Firefighter in Washington, DC that the safety of our neighbors outside their autos Bike/Ped are the Real Safety Issues. We have found in our Safety Experiences that if you are hit by an auto(Outside your Car) going 25 MPH you have a 90% of survival and if hit by an auto 40 MPH you have a 90% chance of being killed.

The Speed Cams Law allows you to go 42 MPH on a 30 MPH Road before you are ticketed (A 40% Leeway) which I feel is more than acceptable). My view and support for Speed Cams is to obey the Posted Speed Limits and drive comfortable and not fear the Speed Cams and keep our communities safe for all the users of our busy roadways. I have contacted my Councilman Greg Fox and told him along with our fine Police Chief William McMahon that we need Speed Cams on Bethany Lane. Speed Cameras are about Safety, allowing our police officers to spend more of their valuable time on other important police matters and not Radar Duties as the Speed Cameras work 24 hours and work without police minding them. If there is revenue money left over the funds are to be directed to Public Safety Enhancements not the General Funds.

The time has come to take back our streets and have modern technology work for us. Your help and assistance in this important matter would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you, Bill Kelly
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San Francisco unveils first solar-powered bus shelter/wireless hot spot


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The first of 1,100 planned solar-powered bus shelters has been unveiled in San Francisco. The other 1,099 will be installed across the city over the next four years.

The roof of the bus shelter is made up of thin-film solar panels embedded in a 40 percent post-industrial recycled polycarbonate material in a rolling wave shape. The structure of the shelter is made of recycled steel and other materials.

The solar roof powers an intercom, LED lighting and wireless routers, so that the bus shelters will become wireless hot spots around the city. The shelters will feed any excess energy generated by the solar panels to the city grid.

While solar-powered bus shelters are not a new concept, it's cool to see an American city deploying them, especially using them to spread wi-fi throughout the city. San Francisco is once again setting a great example.

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D.A. Debate - traffic justice


NYC - The race to replace Robert Morgenthau, who has served as Manhattan's District Attorney since 1975, heated up yesterday at a candidate's debate sponsored by Transportation Alternatives and the Criminal Justice Society of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

Those seeking to replace the nearly nonagenarian Morganthau talked about an issue close to our hearts and minds: traffic justice. Cyrus Vance, Richard Aborn and a representative of Leslie Crocker Snyder discussed their views on vehicular crimes and the role of the District Attorney's office in protecting New Yorkers from reckless and dangerous drivers.

Some of the topics discussed included: the creation of a specific Bureau Chief for vehicular crimes; an approach to traffic justice that reflects its substantial impact on the safety and well being of New Yorkers; a nip-it-in-the-bud approach to lawless behavior such as the offense of reckless driving, which often precedes more dangerous behaviors; and a shift away from fixed, rigid notions of what constitutes an actionable case, often manifested in potential criminally negligent homicide cases.

We were very impressed with what each candidate had to say and believe that new blood will bring great changes to the Manhattan District Attorney's office. We wish each candidate the best of luck and are thrilled that these issues are finding a place in mainstream dialogues. Only time will tell if that can bring safer streets to the millions of people who travel through Manhattan each year.

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Curitiba’s BRT: Inspired Bus Rapid Transit Around the World


Curitiba, Brazil first adopted its Master Plan in 1968. Since then, it has become a city well known for inventive urban planning and affordable (to the user and the city) public transportation.

Curitiba's Bus Rapid Transit system is the source of inspiration for many other cities including the TransMilenio in Bogotá, Colombia; Metrovia in Guayaquil, Ecuador; as well as the Orange Line of Los Angeles.

This video illustrates how Curitiba's public transportation system operates and the urban planning and land use principles on which it is based, including an interview with the former Mayor and architect Jaime Lerner. Current city employees also discuss the improvements that are being made to the system to keep it up to date and functioning at the capacity of a typical subway system. Curitiba is currently experimenting with adding bypassing lanes on the dedicated BRT routes and smart traffic lights to prioritize buses. They are even constructing a new line which will have a linear park and 18km of bike lane that parallels the bus transit route.

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Safety in Numbers


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New data now reveals that there are 185,000 daily cyclists in New York City, an increase of more than one third from just four years ago. This staggering surge is not only a testament to the infrastructure improvements that have been implemented in the last couple of years, but also a contributing factor to the increased safety of cyclists throughout the city.

It's a well established fact that for bikers there is safety in numbers. With more cyclists out and about, more drivers are accustomed to sharing the road. In fact, cycling in New York City is safer now than it has been at any time in recent memory, so spread the word and hit the streets.

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