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ADDITIONAL SMART GROWTH LISTENING SESSIONS

Smart Growth Listening Sessions Offer Public Opportunity to Share Ideas and Concerns about Growth and Development in Maryland

Smart Growth Listening SessionsThe Maryland Department of Planning (MDP) and the Task Force on the Future for Growth and Development in Maryland are hosting a series of public forums across the State for residents to share their thoughts and ideas on future growth in the state.

Two additional Listening Sessions have been added to the schedule for the month of October. The first will be held in Bladensburg on October 22, and the second in Aberdeen on October 28.

All Marylanders are encouraged to attend and participate in the Listening Sessions. For the complete schedule of sessions and directions to various locations, please visit the link below or call MDP at 410-767-4500.

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Maryland Bicycle Friendly State Ranking Feedback

[Note that Maryland's ranking is 35 out of 50]
As you know, the League of American Bicyclists recently expanded our programs in our effort to build a Bicycle Friendly America. Based on our successful Bicycle Friendly Community program, the Bicycle Friendly State program began by ranking all 50 states on their bike-friendliness. You can see the overall results of the ranking here. The rankings are based on overall scores to the ranking questionnaire that was sent to your State Bike Coordinator. Below is the feedback give to the Coordinator on areas that your state can work on to improve its ranking, and most importantly improve conditions for bicycling. We encourage you to use this feedback as a checklist of relevant to-do items when working with your State Coordinator, Department of Transportation and state legislature.

Legislation
-no 3ft or greater safe passing law
-cannot legally signal with right hand
-bicycle equipment code not consistent with the language in UVC or its intent
-discriminatory mandatory bike lane law
-far to right as practicable code does exclude right turn lane

Policies & Programs
-no Complete Streets or Bicycle and Pedestrian Accomodation policy
-no Mountain Biking Plan
-no CO2 Reduction Plan that includes bicycle usage
-no policy requiring bike parking at state owned facilities

Infrastructure
-no system in place to determine percentage of state highways that have paved shoulders
-no rumble strip policy with a minimum 4ft. of clearance for bicycles
-no dedicated state funding source for bicycling projects or programs
-no safety funding spent on bicycling in past 3 years

Education & Encouragement
-no questions regarding the responsibilities of motorists towards cyclists on driver’s test
-no questions regarding the responsibilities of motorists towards cyclists on driver’s manual
-no questions on motorists responsibilities to cyclists on CDL test

Evaluation & Planning
-information on bicycle usage rates not included in SCORP
-bicycle safety is not addressed in Highway Safety Plan

Enforcement
-No education of officer on cyclist rights & responsibilities through academy or continuing education
-information on cyclists rights and responsibilities not made available to traffic judges

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Monday's Bike Forum summary

It was very encouraging to see ~70 people show up and attend the meeting. Here is my brief summary of the highlights followed by some of the disappointments.

Highlights:
1: Safety: Peter Moe - Maryland Highway Safety Office
If you remember after trying to get the three foot safe passing bill through the legislature last year we were promised a safety campaign and we got to see how this is unfolding. Elements include: a pamphlet "Bicycle Safety: It's a two-way street." core message: Bicycles are legitimate [road] users; simple strategies for sharing the road; Transit advertising; email blast; web support and Driver share the road video.

2: Data & Initiatives: Stephanie Yanovitz - MdSHA
2.a: On October 23rd SHA will hold a Complete Streets Training Workshop for SHA's lead staff in Planning, Design and from each District Traffic Office. [Hopefully more training sessions we be held for all involved in the process of (re)designing our streets.]
2.b: Maps are provided for each SHA district that highlight the Bicycle Level Of Comfort (or the lack thereof) as well as bicycle and pedestrian crash locations, in short, a great little aid in highlighting where there is need for better accommodations.
2.c: At all public presentations of upcoming projects a Bicycle FAQ board will be presented, which covers bicycles being allowed on the road, our helmet law, riding on sidewalks, rules regarding sidepaths, common courtesy and common motorist errors around cyclists.

3: Trails: Sylvia Ramsey - MDOT
Maryland Trails: Strategic Implementation Plan <a href="http://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=20080729093118564">http://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=20080729093118564</a>;

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Great Agenda Set-Up for Bike Form Mon. 10-06-08 at 6:00PM

Hi Bike Forum Folks. We had our last Bike Forum Planning Session yesterday folks from APL-SHA-OLC &amp; CPABC and Boy do we have an exceptional agenda for you on Monday Evening. This is one Bike Forum you DO NOT WANT TO MISS. We laid out a List of Ten Topics that the Cyclists in Md. want to discuss and have answers from SHA/MDOT. Neil Pedersen-Administrator-SHA has been working with Stephanie Yanovitz-SHA Bike Coordinator and along with the rest of SHA Transportation Staff to fully answer all those important questions. Stephanie has worked up a very professional Power Point Presentaion(Bicycing Md. on Oct. 6, 2008) and Neil will present it starting at 6:45 PM at APL. We have a chock full agenda that will keep you busy for three hours asking and answering these very important questions. We will start going at 6:00PM with refreshments-Pizza-Veggies and Drinks(Complements of OLC)(No Food allowed in this wonderful very professional Parson Auditorium. We need to thank Jack Guameri from APL and chair of the Howard Co. BAHC Bike Group for the use of this perfect setting for so many of us to get together. And all the folks who helped pull this Bike Forum together.

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C&O Canal bike trail traffic-free and gorgeous

[A wonderful article about the C&amp;O]
...
A few of us were veterans of weeks-long or even months-long expeditions in the saddle. Several others had barely been on a bike for years. Our bikes ranged from fancy wheels right out of the shop to tough old machines.

And we had 184.5 miles to cover -- together.

Not a problem. There's something about the C&amp;O that makes these differences not matter.

Bicycling the canal, on a dirt towpath where mules once hauled barges, is like riding through a watercolor painting of nature all day long. Spring, summer and deep into fall, it's like inhaling a passage from &quot;Walden&quot; and exhaling a verse from Robert Frost.

After splashing through the first dozen mud puddles, seeing the first of the turtles lazing on fallen trees in still water, and getting swallowed by the luscious greenery -- as if we'd leaped into that painting -- I knew we'd found our stride.

The C&amp;O, it turns out, is an ideal proving ground for casual cyclists looking to push their limits. It's long, flat and traffic-free, plus gorgeous.

Those same qualities engage dedicated cyclists, too, who can stretch the daily mileage if they want and speed a little faster through the same grand tapestry.

And what a tapestry. On one side is the broad, rushing Potomac River; on the other, the placid canal. Above, a canopy of leaves.

Along the way: 74 locks with massive wooden gates patterned on the designs of Leonardo da Vinci, 11 aqueducts and dozens of white brick houses where gatekeepers tended locks and gardens until the canal went bust in 1924.

The human imprint is frozen in time here. Nature is in motion.

Now herons, songbirds, snakes and the ubiquitous turtles make their living on the C&amp;O.

It wasn't supposed to be this way when people started carving the earth in 1828 to make a waterway for coal and commerce from the Allegheny Mountains to the East Coast.

They reckoned a canal stretching between Chesapeake Bay and the Ohio River would beat the railroad in the race west. The railroad won -- and so did the great outdoors.

Today, the C&amp;O joins the recently expanded Great Allegheny Passage rail trail to give cyclists a 320-mile offroad route along sparkling rivers between Washington and the outskirts of Pittsburgh.
...

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10 Best Places to Live a Long Life

No. 1: Montgomery County, MD

Life expectancy at birth: 81.31 years

Two top-ranked hospitals (Suburban and Naval, both in Bethesda) help make affluent, educated Montgomery County No. 1 for longevity. Last year, Montgomery's county seat of Rockville unveiled a new pedestrian-friendly town center, bringing together housing, jobs, shopping, and recreation.

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School siting, a change is coming in Maryland

While 50% of parents biked or walked to school when they were kids only 15% of todays kids bike or walk today. And coincidently (or not) that difference is close to our current obesity rate. To me one of our core issues whether our roads should be unsafe or should they be safe to bike or walk to school (and to other destinations by kids.) Allowing schools to prohibit students to walk or bike there (with no attempt to fix the problems,) allowing the construction of bus accessible only schools where even from the very start the plans strongly discouraged any student ever from biking or walking to school. If it is acceptable to do this with kids then it is acceptable to do this with any who want to bike or walk.

Well Maryland Department of Planning has produced this exemplary guide on the subject. While the contents may not be of interest to the average reader of this site it is worthy of note that it looks like Maryland gets the &quot;state of the art&quot; award on this very complicated subject.

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Summer bike patrols deterred crime, police say

Upcounty police recommend patrols year-round
by Joe Beck | Staff Writer

Bicycle patrols in Germantown and Gaithersburg shopping areas succeeded well enough during the summer that police leadership in one of the communities — Germantown — would like to expand them year around.

Sgt. Kent Smith, who supervised the 5th District patrols in Germantown's Town Center, said they should be expanded if the money becomes available to do so. Smith offered his proposal in a report he submitted Sept. 8 to Capt. Thomas Didone, 5th District commander.

&quot;I think that it would be advantageous to our crime fighting efforts because there's so much more you can see and do,&quot; Smith said last week.

Didone was not available for comment.

Smith said police noticed fewer complaints from merchants and adults about disorderly conduct by teenagers, one of the main reasons the bike patrols were established.

Bike police in Germantown issued 84 traffic citations, 22 parking citations and averaged 1.5 arrests per week during the eight week patrols that began in June and ended in mid-August, according to Smith's report. The report also stated that bike officers were the primary respondents on 100 calls and served as back ups on 125 more.

The patrols were deployed from 6 a.m. until sundown. A squad car took over until 2 a.m. because riding bicycles in traffic after dark was deemed too hazardous, Smith said.

Smith said arrests ranged from thefts to possession of drugs with intent to distribute. Skateboarders were also a target of the patrols, although no arrests were made, Smith said.

Smith said bike patrols also proved helpful in fostering more communication between police and the community.

&quot;The experience is that people feel more free to approach you so a lot more people come up and talk to you and say ‘hello,''' Smith said.

In Gaithersburg, city police spokesman Sgt. Rudy Wagner said police recorded a total of 75 citations for minor offenses and five arrests in the Olde Towne shopping area over the summer. The patrols were made up of city and 6th District county police using foot patrols, six bicycles and four Segways.

&quot;I thought I got really positive feedback from the public, especially on the Segways,&quot; Wagner said. &quot;I really helps with the interaction with pedestrians and merchants. It's been very popular.&quot;

Information on patrols assigned to the Kentlands was unavailable, Wagner said.

Gaithersburg deploys the patrols at times when the weather permits, but they follow no set schedule, he said.

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