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Cyclist Aims To Teach Frederick Riders Safety


By STEPHANIE MLOT

The Frederick News-Post

FREDERICK, Md. (AP) — As the Frederick bicycling community grows, so does the need for education.

Alyssa Boxhill is hoping to fill that position as a newly certified instructor-in-training with the League of American
Bicyclists.

The dedicated cyclist joined Hood College spokesman Dave Diehl and Ad Hoc Bicycle Committee member Darius Mark for a prerequisite class at the college in September.

“(We) took the course in the interest of becoming better educated,” Boxhill said, “for ourselves and to serve the
community as ambassadors.”
...

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Prince Georges advisory group asks MDOT for Alternatives Analysis for WB&A Crossing


from TheWashCycle by Jim Titus

Prince George’s County’s bicycle and trail advisory group (BTAG) has asked state officials to meet with them about a possible state role for resolving a decade-old disagreement between Prince Georges and Anne Arundel counties over the best location for a proposed trail bridge across the Patuxent River.

In a November 10 letter to Don Halligan, MDOT’s Director of Planning and Capitol Programming, the advisory group said that Prince George’s County wants the trail linking Bowie to Odenton to cross the Patuxent River “on, or very close to, the abandoned railroad right-of-way” of the former Washington, Baltimore, and Annapolis (WB&A) Railroad. BTAG opposes a northern detour, which was originally proposed by the late Buz Meyer, a naturalist and hunting safety expert who lived along the proposed route of the trail. Anne Arundel has long favored the northern detour to accommodate the wishes of Mr. Meyer that no trail be built near his land.
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Read more: <a href="http://www.thewashcycle.com/2011/11/prince-georges-advises-mdot-wba-trail.html">http://www.thewashcycle.com/2011/11/prince-georges-advises-mdot-wba-trail.html</a>;
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ICC puts strain on Maryland’s transportation funds


By Katherine Shaver, Monday, November 21, 5:19 PM

The 18.8-mile Intercounty Connector, scheduled to open in full Tuesday, could be the last publicly funded highway built in Maryland for a generation, as the state’s tolling agency, which financed its $2.56 billion construction, reaches its debt limit, local transportation experts said.
...
<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/icc-puts-strain-on-marylands-transportation-funds/2011/11/15/gIQAb2k7iN_story.html">http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/icc-puts-strain-on-marylands-transportation-funds/2011/11/15/gIQAb2k7iN_story.html</a>;
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ICC director appointed to lead state highway agency


[B' Spokes: Since Neil Pedersen was bike friendly, we hope Melinda Peters well be as well.]
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&quot;[Melinda] Peters replaces Neil Pedersen, who retired in the summer as state highway administrator.&quot;

<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/commuting/icc-director-appointed-to-lead-state-highway-agency/2011/11/17/gIQAtW6lVN_story.html?socialreader_check=0&amp;denied=1">http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/commuting/icc-director-appointed-to-lead-state-highway-agency/2011/11/17/gIQAtW6lVN_story.html?socialreader_check=0&amp;denied=1</a>;
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Who’s right?


From: <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/commuting/marylander-despairs-over-beltway-traffic/2011/11/04/gIQAlKuZFN_story.html">http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/commuting/marylander-despairs-over-beltway-traffic/2011/11/04/gIQAlKuZFN_story.html</a>;

Dear Dr. Gridlock:

My understanding is that most people ride bicycles because they enjoy it and because it is good exercise and is good for the environment.

I have noticed a trend where bike trails intersect roads. Sometimes, bikers will expect cars to yield for them even though the cars have the right of way. This seems illogical.

If either the car or the bicycle has to yield, it makes much more sense for the bicycle to yield. If the car stops, it loses all of its momentum. This means that it will end up using more gas to get back up to speed and also emit more pollution.

On the other hand, if the bicyclist yields, he or she will lose forward momentum and will have to use additional physical energy to get back up to speed, resulting in a better workout.

Am I missing something?

— Rory Rohde, Hamilton
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B' Spokes: First, if you want to save on gas ride a bicycle, take mass transit or car pool, anything else is... well taking the lowest of all gas conservation measures and using it justify being selfish.

Second, the law: § 21-202.e Yielding right-of-way to certain pedestrians and other traffic. -- Vehicular traffic described under subsection (d) of this section shall yield the right-of-way to any pedestrian or bicycle lawfully within an adjacent crosswalk and to any other traffic lawfully using the intersection.. [A trail junction is an intersection. So sorry, you are required to stop.]

Third, the law of the land is not anything close to &quot;People with faster machines need to always go as fast as possible to the next red light and people with slower machines need to go slower to accommodate the faster machines.&quot; It is closer to &quot;If you got 300+ horse power at your disposal you can easily make up any loss of time, period.&quot;

Forth, by making cycling safe, comfortable and convenient, cyclists will save way more gas then you ever will by not stopping. Try keeping your tires up to the proper pressure if you are really interested in squeezing out some gas savings that's more then &quot;using more gas to get back up to speed.&quot;

Fifth, getting a workout: What's missing here is what separates bicycling from other forms of exercise. It's (generally) not about an &quot;intense&quot; workout, that kind of intensity found in other forms of exercise is what makes it hard for a lot of people to stick with an exercise regimen. Bicycling is a gentle and easy way to stay fit, plus it's fun. I know &quot;fun&quot; is bad word when talking about exercise as it is supposed to be &quot;hard&quot; otherwise people think it does no good. But the typical beginning cyclists loses 10 lbs in the first year of biking. So let me stress: the appeal of cycling for many trail users is that it is not an intense workout, if you want intense you go mountain biking or do some other sport.

Sixth, bicycling is not always a sport or exercise, it is transportation, just like a car. Oh sure, people who bicycle get a health benefit but that does not negate that they are simply trying to get from point A to B as easily as possible, just like you in your car. Gee who would have thought that cyclists are really just like everyone else trying to take it easy?

In conclusion, we need to keep bicycling an &quot;easy&quot; and convenient option:
* to replace the wastefulness of the Single Occupancy Vehicle (SOV) (how many billions (if not trillions) of dollars do we need over and above &quot;what they pay in&quot; in infrastructure to support the SOV?)
* to reduce the obesity epidemic (something has to remain an easy thing to do. We can't go around making exercise harder because it's &quot;better&quot; but in so doing fewer people do it.)
* to save money (or more correctly, cyclists put more of their money into the local economy then supporting foreign oil, foreign made cars, foreign made parts, ... )
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Bill Kelly shared an album with you. [Anacostia Trail Extension]


Hi HoCo Bike Folks and Cyclists of Md. I would like to render a short overall view of the Anacostia Trail Extension on Friday Nov 4, 2011 in Bladensburg. At which I represented for Folks from BAHC. Somewhere close 150 Cyclists/Polictians gathered on the banks of the Anacostia River to cut the ribbon on a 1 1/2 mile extension of the trail on the east side of the river crossing into DC and the ten miles(Planned) into the heart of the Nation’s Capital. There was a complete gathering of the Who/Who’s in the Bike World and Elected Officials. I will try to mention a few I remember. Gov. O’Malley,(Does Ride a Bike) Sen.Ben Cardin(Avid Cyclists), Rushern Baker-Co. Exec. Prince George’s Co. Mayor Gray-DC, Sec of Trans LaHood, Dep. Sec John Porcari,(the Most Dedicated Bike Supporter-Wilson Bridge Bike Way)Sec. of Interior- Ken Salazar, Sen. Paul Pinsky, Co. Council Eric Olson, Mayors of all the neighboring towns, Darrell Mobley MDOT/SHA Adm., David Whitaker Dep. Planning, Micahel Jackson, MDOT Bike, Steve Carr-DNR, Jennifer Toole –Toole Design-RJ Elridge,, Carol, Sildorff-Bike Md., Jim Hudnall-OHBTC, Jim Swift- Chair MBPAC-Jim Titus-MBPAC, Fred Shaffer-MNCPPC-. Eileen Nivera-MNCPPC. Nate Evans-Bike Balt., Bob Patten-Toole Design, Del Barbara Frush,Jim Sebastion DC-Bike, Alex Obriecht-RacePace Bikes, Dustin Kudzar-SHA-Bike and many-many that I can’t recall. I was fortunate in that I was able to speak with just about all the important folks there and thank them for their Great Support of Biking in Md. and that we were looking forward to connecting Baltimore through Howard Co. to DC. We all road the 1 1/2 mile extension and just about all the Big Folks including Go. O’Malley-his nine old old son Jack, Sec. Salazar and many kids because there were out of school on Friday. There was a nice wooden boardwalk along the river. The Boardwalk/Trail was mostly 10’, but was narrowed down to 8’ because we believe they installed the railings backward and took away 2 ’of important riding space. All in all it was a beautiful day for a Bike Ride and all showed great support for Batter/Safer Biking in Maryland. We left the ribbon cutting with the great feeling that we had great support for Biking from the Feds-State-Counties-Park Services-Elected Officials-Citizens of Md. and many of the folks who ride their Bikes in Md. Check out the photo album about this wonderful Bike Day in Maryland.

Thanks,
Bill Kelly –BAHC

Pics: <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=115434357008936435346&amp;target=ALBUM&amp;id=5671286823337343441&amp;authkey=Gv1sRgCKyr4fTQ5dX73AE&amp;feat=email">https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=115434357008936435346&amp;target=ALBUM&amp;id=5671286823337343441&amp;authkey=Gv1sRgCKyr4fTQ5dX73AE&amp;feat=email</a>;

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Good news (I hope.) Maryland Bikeways Program coming next year.


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The Maryland Bikeways Program is a Cycle Maryland initiative to support planning, design and construction of projects that create and improve bicycle connections in Maryland. The objective of this program is to facilitate travel by bicycle in Maryland, by better connecting communities with key destinations, like work, school and shopping.

The Maryland Bikeways Program supports the Governor’s Cycle Maryland initiative to promote biking as a fun, healthy transportation alternative that is great for our environment.  The Bikeways Program provides technical assistance and grant support for a wide range of bicycle network development activities.

http://www.mdot.maryland.gov/Planning/Bike/Bikeways.html


The good news:
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Wait, what? Not just trails? Well that is good news. (I hope, but there may be the possibility of on-road cycling facilities ONLY to connect trails like what we have had in the past.)

Application materials for the Maryland Bikeways Program will be posted in March 2012. Completed applications will be due May 2012
OK that's a bit of a wait but at least the wheels are turning.

How much money is available? $10 million is available over the next three years.
Wow! O'Malley outside his first year has never spent $10 million in a year for all of Transportation Enchantments (TE) Programs (even though we get $12 million a year from the feds.) To put this number in perspective, here is Maryland's TE spending history (Red is bike/ped projects):
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Quotes from: http://www.mdot.maryland.gov/Planning/Bike/Bikeways_About.html
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Speed camera catches Cheverly cyclist doing 57mph or ...


Or is there a problem with Optotraffic's speed cameras? While no conclusions are drawn it does make me wounder if all speed cameras are created equally.

<a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/nov/8/bike-going-57-mph-finishes-cheverlys-speed-camera-/">http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/nov/8/bike-going-57-mph-finishes-cheverlys-speed-camera-/</a>;
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Charles County bike plans


Trails, trails and more trails but not a peep about bike lanes.

See our poll (<a href="http://www.baltimorespokes.org/polls/index.php?pid=2010010614524956&amp;aid=-1">http://www.baltimorespokes.org/polls/index.php?pid=2010010614524956&amp;aid=-1</a>; ) Only 12% want trails only.

This point is interesting:
&quot;One mile of trail costs about $195,360 per mile at a cost of $37 per foot. One mile of road costs $1.58 milion or $300 per foot.&quot;

Should I point out that a bike lane runs about $75,000 per mile or $14 per foot and that's at the high end? (per Safe Routes to School estimates.)

Seriously, bike lanes should be excluded from consideration? I guess so since MDOT will not allow federal funds for bike lanes to be spent on bike lanes in MD. :(

Think about it, 50% match of $37 per foot (trail) is $18 per foot or the locality can foot the whole bill for a bike lane at $14 per foot. So for $4 more per foot the locality gets $18 more in &quot;value.&quot; in making the public happy. This is the problem with only funding one type of bicycle accommodation, rather then looking at best kind of accommodations where needed (near the same cost per mile no matter what solution is chosen) they are looking where they can fit in trails since that is encouraged and bike lanes are not.

You can read the article here: <a href="http://www.gazette.net/article/20111109/NEWS/711099637&amp;template=gazette">http://www.gazette.net/article/20111109/NEWS/711099637&amp;template=gazette</a>;
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