Biking in Baltimore
Baltimore makes slow progress as a cycling town
FRANK HAMILTON
B’ Spokes: I just had to share this for the picture, though the City Paper article is not bad. At the end there is a thought about the possibility of an adrenaline rush riding in city traffic, especially around disappearing bike lanes.
Continue reading “Growing Pains”
from Howard County Times By Janene Holzberg,
When she enters Nathan Krasnopoler’s room at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Susan Cohen gives her middle child a special physical therapy workout. She gingerly raises each of his arms above his head and then manipulates his wrists, ankles and legs to get his joints and muscles moving.
“All that motion gets his one eye to open, and I try to get him to track with my hand, but he never does,” she said. “Then I call his name to see if he’ll respond, which he doesn’t. Lastly, I talk to him about current news events, like the disaster in Japan.
“I have no idea if he hears me or not, but I do it anyway.”
Cohen plans to continue her daily routine, even though doctors recently told the Ellicott City family that Krasnopoler will never regain cognitive function or have “a meaningful recovery” following an accident nearly two months ago.
Krasnopoler, a 20-year-old sophomore at Johns Hopkins University, recently entered his seventh week in a coma after he was struck by a motorist Feb. 26 at 11:50 a.m. while bicycling northbound on University Parkway near 39th Street, in Baltimore.
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Continue reading “Ellicott City family steadfast for comatose son”
CITY DAY: Talk, tour and listen to learn how Baltimore City is taking action to become one of the top sustainable cities in the country.
Information for All
The Office of Sustainability’s Baltimore Neighborhood Energy Challenge, Baltimore City Health Department and Baltimore Weatherization Assistance Program will be joining forces to provide City residents and employees with information on energy conservation and healthy healthy homes initiatives. On Monday April 18th, from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm, representatives of these programs will be in the lobbies of the Abel Wolman Municipal Building and The Benton Building to answer questions, provide tips and highlight our City programs.
Talk & Tour
Tour participants meet at Canton Waterfront Park, 3001 Boston Street, Baltimore, MD 21224
RSVP required, Anne.Draddy@baltimorecity.gov
9-4 p.m., RSVP for one or both tours, Space is limited
TOUR 1: Energy Solutions Tour, 9-12 p.m.
Learn about the energy saving technologies the City is implementing. Visit Back River Treatment Plant to see how Baltimore uses the residual of treated wastewater as fuel, tour the brand new LEED Silver Homeless Services Center on Fallsway, and if we have time we will stop to see the new City nitrogen tire substation.
LUNCH, 12-1 p.m.
TOUR 2: Stormwater Solutions Tour, 1-4 p.m.:
Take a tour of some the most innovative and effective stormwater solutions in Baltimore City. Lead by representatives from the Dept. of Public Works and Blue Water Baltimore, this tour will highlight City efforts such as bioretention systems and tree boxes, a community-lead storm drain painting initiative, and a number of beautiful, low-cost residential rain gardens. We will also discuss new and exciting projects that are underway, and opportunities for greater public involvement.
Envisioning Bike-friendly Baltimore Community Forum and Networking Event
Great Hall Room, Levering Hall, Johns Hopkins University Homewood Campus
6:00pm- 9:00pm
The Baltimore Colleges and Universities for a Sustainable Environment (B-CaUSE) network invites Baltimore City and Baltimore County cyclists, neighborhood development leaders, transportation planners, public officials, commuter cyclists, bike shop owners and employees, and others interested in improving the bike-ability of the Baltimore region, to a community forum to connect with other advocates and envision a more bike friendly Baltimore. City Bike Coordinator Nate Evans and a representative from Baltimore County will share timely bike planning developments and upcoming events and the University of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University, Loyola University, Towson University, MICA, and other colleges and universities will share their progress on creating more bike-able campuses. Following presentations, there will be an open floor for organizations and businesses to share their work and attendees to exchange ideas. Alcohol and light refreshments will be served.
For more information contact: Joanna Calabrese, Johns Hopkins University Office of Sustainability, jcalabrese@jhu.edu<mailto:jcalabrese@jhu.edu>, (410)516-0240
The University of Baltimore’s biking community is invited to attend a status report on Baltimore bicycling and the establishment of a bike-friendly infrastructure, on Monday, April 18 from 6 to 8 p.m. at The Johns Hopkins University’s Levering Hall on the Homewood campus. The event, part of Baltimore Green Week, is co-organized by Jeff LaNoue, UB project planner and manager of UBGreen.
During this event, a number of updates relevant to bicycle enthusiasts will be offered:
Levering Hall is located between the west and south gates of the Homewood campus.
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — A Hopkins student was hit while riding his bicycle near campus and the driver behind the wheel was issued two traffic tickets.
Andrea Fujii explains why the student’s family is disappointed.
The 83-year-old driver who hit and seriously injured Johns Hopkins student Nathan Krasnopoler as he rode his bike near campus has been ticketed. The traffic citations include negligent driving and failure to yield. The maximum penalties are a $500 fine and three points for each violation, but Jeanette Walke can keep her driver’s license.
Andrew Slutkin represents the victim’s family.
“As a result of her age and the fact that she had just seen him, they are concerned that she probably should not have been driving,” Slutkin said.
The state’s attorney would not answer any questions but issued a brief statement that read in part, “Our combined investigation found no evidence of gross negligence, which is required to support a charge of vehicular manslaughter. We will prosecute drivers who harm cyclists to the fullest extent of the law.”
Krasnopoler will never fully recover from his injuries; his brain was cut off from oxygen for far too long. His dad spoke to WJZ several weeks ago.
“Three seconds would’ve prevented all that, maybe two seconds. She just needed to wait,” said Mitchell Krasnopoler. “If you see a bicycle, you need to pay attention to where it is, and if that means waiting a few seconds, then just wait the few seconds because our life has been turned upside down.”
“The punishment in this case could never fit the conduct that took place,” Slutkin said. “It is a true tragedy in every sense of the word. No one benefits from this.”
Facing just two minor traffic tickets, the elderly driver may never even appear in court.
The General Assembly just passed a new law that would create tougher penalties for those who kill people as a result of negligent driving. It’s been pushed by bikers for years, who say it fills in gaps in the current law.
WJZ was unable to reach the driver for comment. Krasnopoler remains in the hospital.
Continue reading “Elderly Driver Cited For Striking Cyclist”
[B’ Spokes: Shameful letters in the Sun, Bicyclists don’t kill people in Maryland as drivers of cars do, it really is as simple as that. I find it interesting turning to licencing rather then more traffic law enforcement that would actually catch these cyclists not knowing the law as well as the drivers, whoops a lot more drivers are going to get ticketed, so lets try and bend this so only cyclists are inconvenienced.]
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Michael Dresser’s "Driver’s ed redux? Motorists need to get up to speed" (April 4) focuses on motorists’ knowledge of the traffic laws applicable to bicycles. But what about bicyclists’ knowledge of the traffic laws applicable to motorists?
To legally drive an automobile, a person must be a certain age, take a driver’s education course and pass a written exam and driving test. Not so with riding a bicycle. All you have to do is get on and start riding. No training, no testing. How does that help promote safety for bicycle riders and promote road-sharing with motorists?
Motorists should have confidence that bicyclists know the traffic laws. There is a big difference between riding a bicycle on neighborhood sidewalks and riding on the streets and mixing with cars, trucks, buses and trains.
The solution is simple: Require licensing for all bicycle riders that use public roads. The licensing requirements would include a safety course for riding on city, state and federal highways. And there would be an added benefit: Gov. Martin O’Malley and the state legislators could have another revenue-generating licensing fee.
Ron Wirsing, Havre de Grace
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I agree with Ron Wirsing’s April 6 letter that bicyclists should be licensed.
A day does not pass that I do not witness a bicyclist violate the 3-foot law by weaving through stopped traffic at an intersection, then run a red light or fail to even slow down, much less stop, at a stop sign.
I have seen bicyclists ignore a school bus with flashing red lights and breeze by the flagman on a road crew. I have seen bicyclists riding at night with no headlights or taillights.
Mr. Wirsing is right: The only solution is to require licensing and a safety course.
Continue reading “Bicyclists should be licensed”
by Michael Dresser
The 83-year-old driver of a car that struck and gravely injured a 20-year-old Johns Hopkins student who was bicycling near the university has been ticketed for two alleged traffic violations, the Baltimore State’s Attorney and Police Department said Tuesday.
The decision to charge Jeanette Marie Walke in the crash with Nathan Krasnopoler on Feb. 26 comes despite an initial announcement by police that charges were not expected. That statement brought a flurry of criticism from advocates for Maryland bicyclists, who have long contended that city police are too quick to excuse drivers involved in crashes with bikes.
Walke received two traffic citations — for negligent driving and failure to yield the right-of-way to a bicyclist in a designated bike lane. However, State’ Attorney Gregg Bernstein said an investigation found no evidence of gross negligence, which would be required to justify a felony prosecution for vehicular manslaughter if the victim were to die.
The crash left Krasnopoler in a coma as a result of catastrophic brain injuries. Last week his family said doctors had told them he is not expected to make a meaningful recovery or regain cognitive function.
The state’s attorney’s office said the charges each carry a potential penalty of $500 and three points on the driver’s license. However, in traffic ticket cases, the driver can resolve the charges by paying a lesser fine without appearing in court.
In a news release, the state’s attorney’s office and the police stressed that they rake cases involving motorists and bicyclists seriously. "We will prosecute drivers who harm cyclists to the fullest extent of the law," he said.
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[B’ Spokes: Thanks again to all who responded to our alerts and changed "no charges are likely" to "We will prosecute drivers who harm cyclists to the fullest extent of the law" … That’s good press. Also, thanks go out to the Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Committee for their assistance in this as well.]
Continue reading “Driver, 83, ticketed in collision with bicycle”
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On Tuesday, chief spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said investigators had completed their review and forwarded their findings to the state’s attorney’s office. He would not comment on what recommendations were made.
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[B’ Spokes: I really hope we are going to get some press on how cyclists have the right-of-way in bike lanes out of this and NOT the same old "motorists was not at fault" garbage. I hope our action alert https://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=2011030413431398 and the Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Committee actions https://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=2011030523251899 will do some good toward this end. If not I do have a plan for the next level, so stay tuned.]
Continue reading “Nathan Krasnopoler case goes to the state’s attorney’s office.”
