Biking in Baltimore
from Bikeleague.org Blog by Alison
…
By encouraging QBP employees to commute by bike through 2007-2011, the company found the following:
Click here to see the full report.
B’ Spokes: Blaming the victim seems to becoming "all the rage" of late. This story from Philly seems to be no exception, out of 803 traffic stops by police 600 were cyclists. Why?
"[Motorists] don’t need education. If they ran a red light, they know what they did," he said.
If that is not the most ridiculous statement ever? Do motorists know they are supposed to stop for pedestrians in an unmarked crosswalk? No they do not, they call that j-walking and blame the victim. Do motorist know that they have to come to a full stop behind the stop bar before making a right on red? No they do not yet the onus still seems to be on the pedestrian not to leave the curb so suddenly that the motorist cannot stop. And how many motorist know that it is illegal to go faster then the posted speed limit? Nah, it’s fine driving 40 mph in a 25 mph school zone completely flipping the odds of survival of a pedestrian struck by a motorist from very likely to survive (at 25mph) to very likely to die (at 40 mph.)
The story here: https://articles.philly.com/2011-07-18/news/29786981_1_bike-patrols-bike-messenger-equal-rights
by Tanya Snyder
We reported yesterday that the outline of the Senate bill appeared not to preserve dedicated funding for bicycle and pedestrian programs. It has come to our attention that the complete draft of the bill will include a hard commitment to bike-ped programs. Senate staff tells us that Sen. Barbara Boxer worked hard and was able to maintain her priorities in the bill, including dedicated federal support for bike infrastructure. More details will come out at tomorrow’s hearing on transportation in Boxer’s Environment and Public Works Committee, and we look forward to seeing a complete legislative draft soon.
Continue reading “Senate Staff Says Transpo Bill Maintains Dedicated Funding For Bike/Ped”
PETITION: https://www.change.org/petitions/cobb-county-ga-release-grieving-mother-of-hit-and-run-install-a-crosswalk
If you missed our previous coverage here’s another one:
When design kills: The criminalization of walking https://www.grist.org/infrastructure/2011-07-20-when-design-kills-the-criminalization-of-walking
I know some of our readers are interested in this program, Here’s some coverage of the up’s and downs of the program in its current configuration.
https://www.gazette.net/article/20110713/NEWS/707139337&template=gazette
" A separate study, presented last month at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine, showed that six weeks of bicycle riding or weight training eased symptoms in women who’d received a diagnosis of anxiety disorder. "
https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/06/why-exercise-makes-us-feel-good/?ref=health
Studies often show that bicyclists find "safety in numbers." Norman Garrick and Wes Marshall explain that the street design strategies that attract bike riders are the same ones that improve road safety for all road users.
https://www.planetizen.com/node/50020
Both Georgia and Maryland law recognize unmarked crosswalks at every intersection as an extension of the sidewalk but "The nearest painted crosswalk was half a mile away. Prosecutors viewed this as grounds for a homicide case" against the pedestrian and not against the drunk driver.
https://blogs.forbes.com/erikkain/2011/07/19/raquel-nelson-was-not-jaywalking-when-hit-and-run-driver-killed-her-child/
(Update to Georgia Mom Convicted of Vehicular Homicide For Crossing Street With Kids https://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=20110718114448464 )
