Category: Biking in Baltimore

From Bike Baltimore Blog:

I am an attorney who represents Nathan Krasnopoler and his family. It is extremely important that I speak with any witnesses to the incident at University and 39th, as a police spokesperson has suggested in an interview with the media that the collision was Nathan’s fault. Would you please call me for a very brief conversation about what you saw that day? Thank you.

Andrew G. Slutkin
Silverman Thompson Slutkin & White
201 North Charles Street, Suite 2600
Baltimore, Maryland 21201
410-385-2786 = direct dial
410-916-5334 = cell
410-547-2432 = fax
ASlutkin@MdAttorney.com
https://www.MdAttorney.com

from Getting There by Michael Dresser

Once again, a national survey of traffic congestion shows that Baltimore is punching above its weight class when it comes to traffic congestion.

A study by INRIX, a company that provides traffic data to GPS services, found that Baltimore ranks 14th in congestion among U.S. metropolitan areas even through it is only 20th in population.

Baltimore’s ranking on the INRIX survey has been moving up each year since 2006, when it came in 21st. Last year it came in 15th.

Washington’s congestion also ranked higher than its size. The 8th most populous metro area in the country scored 4th in congestion — behind Los Angeles, New York and Chicago.

In January, the Texas Transportation Institute ranked Baltimore 5th in congestion during peak travel times and Washington 2nd.

The high scores for congestion in Baltimore reflect in part the relatively robust economy in the region. In comparison, hard-pressed metropolitan Detroit ranks 11th in population but only 22nd in congestion.

Continue reading “Baltimore once more rates high in congestion”

Update: From Twenty20 Cycling Co.:
Additional Information for Nathans Support Ride: Starts@5:30 and will take a route like this one to Hopkins Hospital. Meet on University Pkwy or at Twenty20 Cycling Co. with Tom at 5PM. Be prepared with rain gear if necessary, and especially LIGHTS. Keep in mind this is a support ride, not a protest ride and leave any animosity at home. See you there!

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Official site to confirm any last minute details

How to find us:

In front of the Broadview Apartments near the intersection with 39th St.

We are gathering at the site where Hopkins engineering student Nathan Krasnopoler was hit on Feb. 26th.  Everyone is welcome to attend.  His father, Mitchell, will say a few words.  We will then bike to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where Nathan still lies in a coma.  There, we will read Psalms according to the Jewish tradition (refuah shlemah) and show our support for a member of our bicycle community.

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From the Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Committee list serve:

This is not a memorial… it’s to be a gathering because of the crash involving Nathan Krasnopoler, to pray for a speedy and full recovery.

It’s 5:30 Wednesday, 03/09/2011 at 39th Street and University.

Please spread the word.

I thought it might be a good idea to put the full text, bill info and source a little more in prominent view on the web:

CITY OF BALTIMORE
COUNCIL BILL 09-0176R
(Resolution)

Introduced by: Councilmembers Clarke, Henry, Middleton, Branch, Kraft, Young, Spector,
Welch, Reisinger, Holton, Cole, Conaway, Curran, D’Adamo
Introduced and read first time: December 10, 2009
Assigned to: Community Development Subcommittee
REFERRED TO THE FOLLOWING AGENCIES: City Solicitor, Planning Department, Department of
Public Works, Police Commissioner, Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts, Commission
on Sustainability, Baltimore City Parking Authority Board, Department of Transportation

A RESOLUTION ENTITLED
A COUNCIL RE SOLUT ION concerning
The Cyclists’ Bill of Rights

FOR the purpose of reaffirming support for efforts to improve conditions for cyclists and
encouraging more widespread awareness of the “Cyclists’ Bill of Rights” .

Recitals
The widespread use of bicycles brings many benefits to a community. Cycling improves
people’s health, increases public safety, encourages greater involvement in communities, reduces
traffic congestion, improves air quality, reduces our reliance on fossil fuels, and generally is
better for the environment than alternate methods of travel.

The City of Baltimore has long recognized these myriad benefits and has therefore
consistently sought to encourage cycling. In these efforts, the City has been blessed with a
strong and vibrant local cycling community eager to serve as a partner. Many in the cycling
community throughout the nation have begun to promote a “Cyclists’ Bill of Rights” that they
feel encapsulates the treatment that cyclists should be able to expect from government.

This “Cyclists’ Bill of Rights” expresses the following tenets:
1. Cyclists have the right to travel safely and free of fear.
2. Cyclists have the right to equal access to our public streets and to sufficient and
significant road space.
3. Cyclists have the right to the full support of educated law enforcement.
4. Cyclists have the right to the full support of our judicial system and the right to
expect that those who endanger, injure, or kill cyclists will be dealt with to the full
extent of the law.
5. Cyclists have the right to routine accommodations in all roadway projects and
improvements.
6. Cyclists have the right to urban and roadway planning, development, and design that
enable and support safe cycling.
7. Cyclists have the right to traffic signals, signage, and maintenance standards that
enable and support safe cycling.
8. Cyclists have the right to be actively engaged as a constituent group in the planning
and implementation of roadway and transit projects.
9. Cyclists have the right to full access for themselves and their bicycles on all mass
transit.
10. Cyclists have the right to end-of-trip amenities that include safe and secure
opportunities to park their bicycles.
11. Cyclists have the right to be secure in their persons and property and be free from
unreasonable search and seizure, as guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment.
12. Cyclists have the right to peaceably assemble in the public space, as guaranteed by
the First Amendment.

The City has repeatedly signaled its agreement with these principals in the past – notably, by
including policies that further the goals articulated in the “Cyclists’ Bill of Rights” in its Bicycle
Master Plan. Today, the City Council reaffirms its support for efforts to improve conditions for
cyclists by encouraging more widespread awareness of the “Cyclists’ Bill of Rights” among
government agencies and the general public.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE, That this
Body affirms its support for the principals contained in the “Cyclists’ Bill of Rights” and
encourages all citizens to have a greater appreciation for the rights of cyclists.

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be sent to the Mayor, the
Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Committee, the Bicycle Coordinator for Baltimore City, the Director
of the Office of Sustainability, the Director of Public Works, the Director of Transportation, the
Police Commissioner, the Planning Director, the City Solicitor, the Director of the Baltimore
Office of Promotion and the Arts, the Executive Director of the Parking Authority, and the
Mayor’s Legislative Liaison to the City Council

Continue reading “The Cyclists’ Bill of Rights”

from Streetsblog.net by Angie Schmitt
…
But here’s the problem.

Despite protestations from some quarters, bad bicyclist behavior does not cause bicycling deaths. Bad driving does.

Even a cursory examination of cyclists killed in Orange County recently suggests that the problem isn’t cyclists running stop signs, riding two abreast or even flipping off drivers, as obnoxious as that may be.

They died at the hands of drunk, high or careless drivers. Simply put, no crackdown on rider behavior would have done a damn thing to save the lives of Michael Nine, Donald Murphy or Alan Earl Miller.
Continue reading “Bad bicyclist behavior does not cause bicycling deaths”

From Getting There by Michael Dresser

The Maryland Department of Transportation is becoming increasingly aware to bicycle riders’ issues and responsive to their concerns, according to a delegate who has been a champion of bike-related issues in recent years.

Del. Jon Cardin, a Baltimore County Democrat, told Bike Maryland’s annual Bicycle Symposium Tuesday, that he has seen positive policy moves coming out of the department and its agencies. Cradin said he has been informed that the Motor Vehicle Administration has decided to include six bike safety questions on the exam drivers must take to receive their licenses.

Cardin, himself a bike rider, also said the State Highway Administration has adopted a policy under which it will incorporate improvements for bicycles — bike lane additions, lane striping for bicycles or improved signage — in every road repaving project where its is not physically impossible.

We have calls in to the two agencies to see what they have to say.
Continue reading “Bike advocate sees positive signs at MDOT”

Nathan continues to take very small steps of improvement. He is in a coma, but is in stable condition. Not much change in his responsiveness, but some small signs. The good news is that he was taken off the ventilator today and is breathing on his own! He does have a trach. collar to provide humidified and oxygen enriched air (sort of like an oxygen mask except around his tracheostomy).
— Mitchell

"Krasnopoler ran into the front passenger side of the car and landed in front of the car."

Reads one paragraph from the ABC news coverage. But don’t get so excited, if you take the paragraph above and remover the paragraph break it reads rather fairly:

"According to police, 20-year-old Nathan Krasnopoler was riding his bicycle last Saturday afternoon in a bike lane on W. University Parkway when an 83-year-old woman driving the same direction passed Krasnopoler and turned right into a driveway, crossing over the bike lane in the process. Krasnopoler ran into the front passenger side of the car and landed in front of the car."

I’m not sure there is a point to the errant paragraph break but without it it is a fair summary of the accident.

(Why do newspapers overly stress one sentence paragraphs anyway?)
Continue reading “Subliminal messaging?”

Nothing new here but at least it focuses on cyclists frustration.

https://newurbannetwork.com/article/after-bicyclist-put-coma-baltimore-debates-traffic-enforcement-14256

Thank you for meeting with Councilwoman Clarke and the members of the Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Committee on Thursday. I appreciate your efforts to keep us informed about the developments in this tragic case. As I understand it, the investigation continues and only after it is complete will information be passed to the State’s Attorney and MVA for a determination as to whether charges and/or license action are warranted. For now the appropriate response to questions is, "The investigation process is continuing, and we have no comment at this time."

I trust you have shared this guidance with your staff. Much of the uproar among the cycling community stems from statements made to the media by Detectives Kevin Brown and Donny Moses, saying that no charges would be filed against the driver and implying that the fault for the collision lay with the cyclist. Obviously these statements were made well in advance of the investigation’s completion.

The detectives’ statements are not the only reason cyclists are apprehensive about the results of the investigation. In an analysis of MDOT-compiled statistics, Baltimore City stands out from the rest of the state with respect to the percentages of crashes in which fault is assigned to either the cyclist, the motorist, or unknown. For example, in MontgomeryCounty the percentages are 43% (cyclist fault), 55% (motorist fault), and 1% (unknown). The percentages for the state (not including Baltimore City) are 58%, 38%, and 3%. For Baltimore City the numbers are 43% cyclist fault, 9% motorist fault, and 48% unknown. Clearly, these numbers are out of the norm. In fact, over 80% of unknown-cause bicycle crashes are in Baltimore City. It could be that Baltimore City motorists are much better drivers than those in the state at large, but I don’t think so. Baltimore cyclists fear that the anomaly results from the BPD being either reluctant to assign blame to drivers, or not up to speed on bicycle law. This is something we hope the future roll-call training videos will improve.

I am heartened to hear that Nathan’s condition continues to improve. We all hope for a full and speedy recovery. The cycling community of Baltimore also hopes that this unfortunate incident will provide an opportunity to improve relations and communications with the BPD.

Greg Hinchliffe, Chairman
Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Committee