Continue reading “Please take a moment to remember Nathan Krasnopoler”
Horizontal Mural Art: A Life Saver!
From the Knott Foundation Newsletter
Local community artists and volunteers assembled at a very early 5:30 a.m. on June 26 to paint a horizontal mural at the intersection of Harford Road and Montebello Terrace in the Beverly Hills and Lauraville neighborhoods of Baltimore City.
Horizontal murals, which are painted directly on the street, may have benefits beyond aesthetics. “Bright, vibrant artwork in busy street intersections may have a traffic calming effect,” stated Greg Cantori, who supported the project with a discretionary grant. “Murals like these in New York and Portland have successfully engaged the community with their ‘public right of ways.’ They are painted next to schools or in busy neighborhood intersections to encourage drivers to pay more attention to their surroundings, while hopefully appreciating the art as well.”
The project represents the hard work of numerous partners, including Whitney Frazier, lead artist, New Lens, Hamilton Lauraville Main Street, and the Baltimore City Department of Transportation. We hope to see more horizontal murals this summer and fall. Congratulations to all who were involved!
April Fools post becomes (near) reality
In case you missed our April first post. Once again it seems we are going to crack down on pedestrians forcing cars to hit them and not the poor innocent little cars who are doing more important things like zooming around as every second saved is worth taking a life for.
To improve pedestrian safety they will NOT tell:
- Motorists it is their duty to stop for pedestrians in a crosswalk § 21-502.(2)
- Motorists it is their duty to avoid hitting a pedestrian no matter where they are crossing § 21-504.(I was given assurances from MHSO that this would be mentioned, ya, right.)
- DOTs that it is their duty to accommodate pedestrians, even mid-block
§ 2-602. - DOTs that it is their duty to employ BEST engineering practices and stop using skinny little crosswalk markings § 2-602.
With that in mind watch:
Sound familiar?
From www.welovedc.com
But to be fair this non-localized version from Street Smart is good.
For more info on [cough, cough] drivers responsibilities see: https://www.baltometro.org/transportation-planning/street-smart-campaign
**** Canceled **** MBAC meeting Today
**** Canceled ****
Tuesday, 6/21, at 6:00
Continue reading “**** Canceled **** MBAC meeting Today”
A bike commute from Baltimore to DC
Excerpt from Washington Blade
What about the commute? Martin commutes daily to Washington.
“My house is a 10-minute walk from Penn Station, so the Baltimore side of the commute is pretty easy. From Union Station I take the Metro and then walk another 10 minutes to my office.”
But this cyclist has taken advantage of another option.
“This April I have started riding my bike to work: Mondays and Thursdays I ride from Baltimore to D.C. and take the MARC back, and on Tuesdays and Fridays I take MARC down and bike back to Baltimore at the end of the day. Wednesday is a rest day. Believe it or not, the bike route is pretty nice. Although it takes longer, I get my workout in so that I don’t have to go to the gym over lunch or on the weekends.”
Continue reading “A bike commute from Baltimore to DC”
I want to ride my bicycle…
By: Rachel Bernstein
Now that the weather’s nicer and traffic is just lousy around downtown already, commuting to work by bicycle is looking like a better option these days.
Waterfront Partnership and Bike Maryland are teaming up to host a workshop June 30 on the basics of bicycle commuting. Interested bicyclists will learn on how to get started on biking, staying safe on those dangerous roads, choosing the right equipment, routes and what to do in inclement weather.
All attendees will be entered to win a TREK 700 hybrid bike. The event, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., will be free, but attendees must register.
Check out Waterfront Partnership’s site for more details and registration.
Donate to WTMD and you might win a Cannondale Hooligan…donated by Light Street Cycles
Win a Hooligan 3 Urban Solution Bicycle or a Year of Zeke’s Coffee when you make your membership gift!
Everyone who makes a gift on the phone or on-line between
Midnight June 15th and 11:59 pm June 27th will be entered into a drawing
for a Hooligan 3 Urban Solution bike courtesy of Light Street Cycles
Plus, a second prize winner will receive a 12 month supply of coffee from Zeke’s, Baltimore’s hometown coffee roaster. You’ll receive a package of 12 $25 gift cards to keep your WTMD coffee mug filled all year long!
No gift required to enter.
Continue reading “Donate to WTMD and you might win a Cannondale Hooligan…donated by Light Street Cycles”
Druid Hill Farmers Market – Wednesdays 3:30 to 7:30
Something to bike to:
This week….Strawberries, cherries, herb plants, raspberries, sustainably pastured, all natural chicken/duck eggs, pork, beef, chicken, potted vegetables, flowers, freshly cut greens, potatoes, beets, handmade goat milk, apple, and carrot-based soaps, natural bath/body products (massage oil and lip balm), and more!
To celebrate Dairy Goat Awareness Week, Black Bottom Farms will be bringing a milking goat.Our friends at Stokes Creek Farm will be providing Wagon Rides!!!!! Rocking Horses, Hula Hoops, Yoga Class at the Conservatory and our world-renowned Conservatory Sprinkler!!!
New York ain’t got nothing on us
New Yorkers are killed in traffic crashes at a far higher rate than residents of peer cities. Bringing New York’s traffic safety into line with Berlin or Paris would save more than 100 lives per year. Image: Transportation Alternatives
…
B’ Spokes: Wow, that’s bad but how does that compare to Baltimore? Our fatality rate is 6.0, that’s almost twice the New York rate. Well Baltimore is crazy so surely things get better when looking at the State as a whole with all it’s rural areas. Maryland’s fatality rate is 9.6, three times that of New York City. But don’t panic yet, because of sprawl and “needing” a car to get around in Maryland we have a lot of miles driven so our fatality rate per miles driven is about average.
Seriously are we supposed to feel safer because we have a lot of cars zooming around versus the rate at which we pick off random members of the population via out of control cars? Should we be thankful for our longer commute times because the more people spending more time in the car makes us “safer”?
At least Baltimore is spending highway safety money for improved roads… for the Grand Prix??? In New York they are demanding Zero Tolerance for Traffic Deaths, maybe we should do the same?
Continue reading “New York ain’t got nothing on us”
Money for on-road race cars – no problem. Money for on-road bicycling – big problem
The Grand Prix race gets another ~$100k "The money, which was primarily drawn from federal funds." Wait, what? The State allows federal funds meant for intersections that have disproportionately high accident rates to be spent on building a race track (like that is really going to improve safety) but will not allow federal funds dedicated to enhancing on-road accommodation for bicycling to be spent on on-road bicycling accommodations. Something is wrong here.
Don’t get me wrong, I like driving like a Formula 1 race car when I am driving downtown (just like everyone else) and I like dressing up like a race car driver when I am riding my bike (that’s supposed to be a joke in case you missed it.) But if the race event is that profitable why are not the promoters paying for it like the city makes the promoters of Baltimore’s Ciclovia pay for the unnecessary police services? IMHO It’s really wrong for the City to bend over backwards to make this as cheep as possible for the race car promoters but make a cycling event as expensive as possible for the cycling promoters. Let’s even out the rules a bit for holding events in the city.