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SHA Share the Road - 3 Feet wihen Passing Bus Safety Campaign


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To All:

I was very pleasantly surprised to see SHA's Bike Safety Ad on the back of a MTA bus in Baltimore this afternoon. I followed the bus and snapped the attached photo of the ad. Last year the 3 Foot passing legislation failed like it did this year but SHA promised to encourage motorists to pass bicyclists by a minimum of 3 feet in an educational campaign instead.

This is to thank SHA and MTA staff responsible for creating the campaign and getting them up on buses where the ad is right in the face of drivers riding behind the bus. While some folks will remain disappointed that the legislation didn't pass there should be some consolation that this safety campaign will probably reach more motorists than a change in the law will.

Have a great weekend!

Michael Jackson - Maryland Director of Bicycle and Pedestrian Access
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Public Meeting: Rural Road Standards and Projects Northen Baltimore County


{Note that this may be of interest as many of the narrow one-lane bridges that help act as traffic calming are up for being widened (due to Federal regulations.)}
- April 14, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
The Department of Public Works will hold an open meeting on rural infrastructure projects on April 14 in the cafeteria at Hereford High School. This meeting is a follow-up to last year’s Rural Roads Standards, a citizen-government effort, approved by the County Council, which codified standards and policies for road and bridge maintenance in rural areas. The Department of Public Works, as part of its agreement with community groups, plans to hold such meetings annually. The meeting on April 14 will be conducted in workshop style and will focus on anticipated bridge replacement projects, resurfacing schedules, road construction plans and traffic issues in the next year. For more information, call the Director’s Office, Department of Public Works at 410-887-2171.
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BBC’s 25th ANNUAL INSTRUCTIONAL RIDE SERIES


OUR POPULAR INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM IS CELEBRATING A QUARTER CENTURY!!

The BALTIMORE BICYCLING CLUB\'S Instructional Ride Series will begin with an orientation to be held on Sunday, April 26, 2009 at 10:30 a.m. at the Ridgely Middle School in Baltimore County. Directions to the school are provided below.

This series is offered to anyone over 16 years of age interested in learning the basic skills of cycling, including doing minor road repairs and improving as a rider. We want to help people new to our sport find a comfortable riding level and develop so they can at least ride on the BBC casual rides by the end of the series and to permit experienced riders who are new to club riding to meet and to learn about group riding. The ride series will cover both road and recreational trail riding.

At the orientation, we will demonstrate cycling skills and techniques and discuss bicycles, equipment and clothing and answer any questions about the program. We will watch a short, informative video on cycling safety and bike handling. If you bring your bicycle to the orientation, we can check it out for you and show you how to do a pre-ride bike check. The indoor orientation will be held RAIN OR SHINE. Weather permitting, anyone who wants to do so can join us for a short ride following the orientation. You must have and wear a helmet in order to ride. Below is the full ride schedule.

{Please note that this class is designed to dovetail with the Back to the Beginning Bike Clinic (B2BBC) so if you never ridden before or feel you are unsteady on a bike come to the Beginning Bike Clinic and get some practice in before the Instructional Ride Series Starts on April 11 &amp; 18th. <a href="http://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=2008041713505581">http://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=2008041713505581</a>; }

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Bike Maintenance 101


REI Timonium Clinics and Events
4/8/2009 7:00 PM

Working on your bike can be a daunting task, but fear not, REI is here to help! Join one of REI?s shop techs to learn the basics of bike maintenance such as a how to fix a flat, lube a chain, and other adjustments that will keep your bike in good running order. In addition, the clinic will provide insight on overlooked yet simple maintenance techniques that will improve your riding experience. This clinic is a great lead-in class to other advanced bike maintenance classes.

* Location:Timonium, Md
* Contact:Customer service at 410-252-5920
* Cost: Free
* Registration Required? No.

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Bike To Work Day - Friday May 15, 2009 at Columbia Mall


For the second year the Howard County Government is sponsoring a Bike To Work Day rally at Columbia Mall (behind Sears) on Friday May 15th. The rally check-in will start at 7am - you can ride to the Mall or park your car and ride from there. There will be cue sheets from the Mall to:

* Temporary Howard County Government Office Building (Stanford Blvd)
* APL/Maple Lawn Farm/Southern District Police Station
* King's Contrivance Village Center
* Gateway -- Robert Fulton Drive
* NSA
* Clarksville -- West to Rte 32
* Downtown Ellicott City
* Catonsville -- UMBC via River Road &amp; through Patapsco State Park
* Elkridge to BWI industrial parks

You can now register at: <a href="http://bmc.baltometro.org/b2w/b2wreg.asp">http://bmc.baltometro.org/b2w/b2wreg.asp</a>;

When you register on the Baltimore Metropolitan Council (Baltimore area) B2W web site, select Howard County - Columbia Mall. Registration gets you a t-shirt and goodie bag; there will also be random prize drawings - you have to be present and check in to be eligible. In addition for the entire Baltimore region the first 1200 registered also get a reflective leg strap and safety light, and the first 500 get a tire gauge.

Please try to make this a successful event and show the County Officials (last year County Executive Ken Ulman as well as Planning &amp; Zoning/Transportation officials, and County Council were represented) how active the Howard County bicycling community is.
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Publicity and Public interest story for b2wd


The following was sent to me so I thought I would give a chance for the lurkers to come out and share their story with the world and please don't be shy, all bike commuters are cool:

Fox 45 our Media Sponsor for Bike to Work Day is interested in doing a couple of spotlight news stories on cyclists in the region. Do any of you have commuters in your area that would make a good story?

We’re looking for someone who has been positively affected by commuting by bike.

Question: how has bike commuting or participating in B2WD changed their life?

Please email me a paragraph about the person and their contact information that I can forward on to FOX45 by Thursday 3-26-09 at Noon. (Note I'll need additional lead time.)
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Prince George\'s County Bill Threatens Trail Easements


LETTERS NEEDED TO OPPOSE ANTI-TRAIL EASEMENT BILL

 

A bill to severely restrict trail easements is on the Prince George's County Council's Planning, Zoning, and Economic Development Committee agenda for next Wednesday, March 18. The bill (CB-10-2009, see attached file), introduced by Tony Knotts, would keep trail easements from being created on “individually residentially zoned lots” and place severe restrictions on building trails on existing easements. Restrictions would include having the trail open to the public only between 9 am and 4 pm, gating the trail when it is not open to the public, and having M-NCPPC Park Police man security posts every 1,000 feet.

 

Trail easements are frequently established as a condition for the approval of new subdivisions, and they are an important way to expand our future trail system. We need to inform the County Council that the easements are an important element of the County's overall policy for improving bicycle and pedestrian access.

 

The March 18 committee meeting (see attached agenda) will be at 10 am, Room 2027, County Administration Building. Committee meeting are open to the public, but usually there is no public comment period. If the committee goes along with the bill, there will be a  public hearing later and then the vote by the entire council. Before next Wednesday’s committee meeting, we need to have people e-mail, write or phone committee members asking them to oppose this bill and any other attempts to deny the public use of public trail easements.

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Tragedy in AA County now a national example of whats wrong with our streets


The recently passed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) included $48 billion for transportation infrastructure investments. Of that $48 billion, more than $27.5 billion are in funding categories that make funds eligible for use in projects with complete streets elements, and another $3.8 billion are available for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.

The Problem:

The ARRA funding should not be used to expand a system of roads that do not provide safe travel for people who are walking, bicycling, and taking public transportation along a corridor. Too many streets around the country are designed to be wide and fast, without sufficient sidewalks, crosswalks, safe bus facilities, or bicycle lanes. Little consideration has been given for the safety of older people, children, or people with disabilities. These incomplete streets are dangerous and create barriers for people to get to jobs, school, the doctor, and fully participate in civic life. Many cities and towns now recognize the need to re-design their streets to enable safe, comfortable movement along and across streets by food, bicycle, and public transportation.

Tragic Example:

A 14 year-old girl was killed at 5:45 pm Friday while trying to cross Ritchie Highway (Route 2) on her bicycle in Pasadena, in Anne Arundel County. Police said that that the intersection isn't &quot;designed, marked or engineered as a pedestrian crossing.&quot; What goes unmentioned is that there is no marked crossing anywhere nearby. The closest traffic signal, at Eastwest Boulevard, has no crosswalks or sidewalks.

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