Category: Biking in Baltimore

[B’ Spokes: Something to bike to:]

Traffic is jammed along 34th Street in Baltimore as revelers take in the street of lights. Photo: Cory Brown, Flickr
Continue reading “The Best Christmas Lights in America”

Pictured a malfunctioning ped signal in Manhattan that has both Walk and Don’t Walk during the walk phase. I’ll take that over Maryland ped lights that show Don’t Walk during the walk phase.

For those of you who don’t know I have moved to Brooklyn, NY and I’ll note I discovered only one ped light call button so far and that was at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge otherwise the ped signal comes on automatically. Clever idea huh?
Continue reading “NYC thinks their ped signals are busted, what about ours?”

By: Luke Broadwater – Examiner Staff Writer

Baltimore City Circuit Judge John Themelis sentenced Keon Stokes, 29, of Baltimore, to a total of 36 years in prison for second-degree murder in the death of a bicyclist.

Stokes received 30 years for second-degree murder, as well as three years for use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence and 18 months each for car theft and arson.

On May 1, 2005, Stokes, in a stolen vehicle, struck and killed Kurt Fulp, 20, while Fulp was riding a bicycle in the 1500 block of Presstman Street, and then fled the scene, prosecutors said.

Police responded to a call of a car fire later that day and determined the burning vehicle matched the description of the one that struck Fulp, according to prosecutors.

Continue reading “City man gets 36 years for killing cyclist”

via https://www.meetup.com/Biking-in-Bmore/

“Mountain biking..”


Let’s plan to bike all of MORE’s trails in 2011 and earn the coveted TRAIL RAT award.,,or, something like that.

Ride every trail in the MORE inventory, all 27 of them, between January 1 and December 31 of 2011 and earn the wonder and admiration of your peers. Here’s how it works: for each trail, take one picture at the trailhead AND another at a distinctive spot out on the trails. You just might earn the coveted title of “Trail Rat 2011” – Details on the link!

Per City Council Resolution, Nate Evans
and the Mayor’s Bicycle Task Force will be working with the Police Commissioner
to educate/train officers in bicycle rights, including the right to be
respected as legitimate travelers of our roadways.

 Mary Pat Clarke

14th District,
Baltimore
City Council

550 City Hall

100 North Holliday Street

Baltimore ,
Maryland
21202

410-396-4814 (o)

410-545-7585 fax

marypat.clarke@baltimorecity.gov

B’ Spokes response:

Continue reading “Mayor’s Bicycle Task Force (response to police charges against Yates)”

If Baltimore City Police are correct in that motorcycle rules also applies to bicyclists then this is what our rules would look like (just to list some):

Bicyclists are entitled to full use of lane.-

Bicyclists shall ride as near to the right side of the roadway as practicable and safe, except when:
Operating in a lane that is too narrow for a bicycle and another vehicle to travel safely side by side within the lane.

Every bicycle is entitled to the full use of a lane, and a motor vehicle may not be driven in any manner that deprives any bicycle of the full use of a lane.

When overtaking a bicycle, pass safely at a distance of not less than 3 feet

An individual may not ride a bicycle unless the individual is wearing protective headgear.

An individual under the age of 16 years may not ride a bicycle unless the individual is wearing a helmet

A person may not operate a bicycle unless he is wearing an eye-protective device.
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I hope I am not the only one that sees the lack of consistency when the motorcycle and bicycle rules are listed as one set of rules. Do we have to share a lane with cars or is that prohibited? Do cars have to pass in the next lane or is 3′ enough. Are helmets for adults mandatory or not? With such a mishmash it’s easy to see how cyclists are always at fault as there is some rule they have broken somewhere.

Why did we pass a 3′ law if by motorcycle law cars have to pass in the next lane. Lets get Baltimore Police to start enforcing that before they start applying other motorcycles rules to us.

Contact your City Council rep.

https://cityservices.baltimorecity.gov/citycouncil/

More detail at: https://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=20101202133743715

Continue reading “What the rules for bicyclists looks like to the Baltimore Police”

In case you do not know who I am, my recent activities include working with the Maryland Highway Safety Office to ensure guidance to both bicyclists and motorists are in agreement and accurate per the law. I am very concerned about traffic safety as well as knowledgeable on what the law says and does not say.

With that said I am horrified by what the police charged bicyclists Jack Yates with in his tragic traffic fatality… motorcycle violations. Yes that’s right the police erroneously put bicycle rules and motorcycles rules into a blender and pulled out whatever they could to to make it seem that the bicyclists was at fault. Needless to say I am outraged. And the story does not stop there, accusations of "one of the sloppiest police investigations in a fatality that I personally have seen in years" exist, missing facts from the police report, inflammatory remarks made by the police just after this tragic death "There is no "right to the road" as a cyclist."

Improper law enforcement should not be tolerated especially when imposed on an outstanding member of the community. If the argument below is not convincing to Lt. Leslie Bank and other Baltimore City Police officers involved in this "investigation" have them contact Peter Moe of the Maryland Highway Safety Office.

Thank you for your attention on this matter.
Continue reading “My letter to the city about the Yates crash investigation by police”

The Baltimore City police concluded as follows in the accident reconstruction report:

“the bicycle rider was riding in a lane occupied by parked cars, and in turn was improperly passing the Mack truck. Under Maryland Transportation Article 21-1202 all traffic laws apply to bicycles and motor scooters. Based upon these conclusions the rider of the bicycle was in violation of Maryland Transportation Article:
(1) 21-1205(a)(3) each person operating a bicycle at a speed less than the speed of traffic shall ride as near to the right side of the road as practicable and safe, except when passing a stopped or slower moving vehicle.
(2) 21-1205(c) each person operating a bicycle on a roadway shall exercise due care when passing a vehicle.
(3) 21-1303(c) the operator of a motorcycle may not overtake and pass in the same lane occupied by the vehicle being overtaken.
(4) 21-1303(d) a person may not operate a motorcycle between lanes of traffic or between adjacent lines or rows of vehicles.”

Hopefully with my clever use of emphasis you’ve noticed the police charged a bicycle rider for violating rules specifically for the operation of motorcycles. Really?

Per the statement by the police “You have the same rights as a motor vehicle and also the same obligations.” This is exactly the same flawed logic that MVA used to imply that cyclists can impede traffic rather then note how bicycle rules when going slower then the speed limit are very similar to slow moving vehicle rules. So for benefit of the reader I will quote what the law actually says:

§ 21-1202. Traffic laws apply to bicycles and motor scooters.
Every person operating a bicycle or a motor scooter in a public bicycle area has all the rights granted to and is subject to all the duties required of the driver of a vehicle by this title, including the duties set forth in § 21-504 of this title, except:
(1) As otherwise provided in this subtitle; and
(2) For those provisions of this title that by their very nature cannot apply.

So for impeding traffic we have this rule: § 21-804.(a) A person may not willfully drive a motor vehicle at such a slow speed as to impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic.

And by it’s very nature cannot apply to bicyclists because it only applies to a motor vehicle. (See Can cyclists be charged with impeding traffic)

Now I have some empathy for the MVA because within the discipline they work with § 21-1202 is just summarized by it’s title “Traffic laws apply to bicycles and motor scooters” and impeding traffic is defined in terms that only drivers of motor vehicles need understand. They never even look at what the law actually says, that’s some other department’s job. But with the police citing a bicyclists at fault and while quoting law and they write out “motorcycle”, you would think some bells would go off.

“The investigators within the unit are very educated and experienced in all types of crashes and have attended several schools specific to the physics of a pedestrian crash and a cyclist fatal crash.”

In regards to this statement by the police I call complete BS. Please take some time to learn traffic laws as they pertain to bicyclists or consult with someone knowledgeable.

OK now lets review the bicycling specific “violations” mentioned.

Based upon these conclusions the rider of the bicycle was in violation of Maryland Transportation Article:
(1) 21-1205(a)(3) each person operating a bicycle at a speed less than the speed of traffic shall ride as near to the right side of the road as practicable and safe, except when passing a stopped or slower moving vehicle.

This describes exactly how Yates was riding, so how could he be in violation of this?

(2) 21-1205(c) each person operating a bicycle on a roadway shall exercise due care when passing a vehicle.

This implies cyclists by law are required to be mind readers and yield to drivers that fail to signal. Really?

If you are as outraged about this as I am contact your City Council rep.

https://cityservices.baltimorecity.gov/citycouncil/

The police’s statement to the bicycling community just after the crash is after the fold:
Continue reading “Yates – discussion of the “facts” and why the police got it wrong”

[B’ Spokes: My heart and sympathies go out to the Yates family. I cannot write about this without my eyes swelling with tears. Not only did they have to suffer a beloved member of their family dying in a truly horrifying way, they also had to suffer an anti-cycling bias from the police and face a real possibility that justice would not be served. Hopefully I speak for the entire Baltimore cycling community in gaining this victory and the increased attention we are getting in improving safety and education.

I would also like to thank Steven D Silverman & Associates who contacted me through the Baltimore Bicycling Club and their continued interest in providing guidance to the Police Department. I’ll write another article about some of the facts in this case but note the incomplete police report mentioned here. Do we have a case where the police set about to prove the drivers innocent and only reported facts relevant to that outcome? Remember the Police’s statement "There is no "right to the road" as a cyclist."? Discussion to be continued…]
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Yates’ $5 million lawsuit alleging negligence was days from trial
By Liz F. Kay, The Baltimore Sun

The family of a Baltimore cyclist killed last year in a collision with a tanker truck on Maryland Avenue has settled a $5 million lawsuit against the driver and his employer, the family’s attorney said.

John R. "Jack" Yates, 67, was riding behind the truck Aug. 4, 2009, when the vehicle made a right turn onto Lafayette Avenue in the Charles North neighborhood and Yates got caught in its rear wheels, according to city police.

The Yates family settled last week with the tanker’s driver and his employer, Potts & Callahan Inc., days before the lawsuit was set to go to trial on Monday, said the Yates’ attorney, Steven D. Silverman.

The terms of the settlement are confidential, according to Silverman and Craig D. Roswell, who represented the driver, Michael Dale Chandler of Severn, and Potts & Callahan.

"This was a settlement that was ultimately satisfactory to all parties in a difficult case," Roswell said. "It was appropriate given all the facts and circumstances."

Silverman agreed that the Yates family was content with the outcome.

"The Yates family is satisfied under the circumstances with the resolution that the parties were able to come to," the attorney said. "They were not so much interested in taking this case to trial, particularly in light of the fact that the death spurred significant legislation in the General Assembly regarding cyclists’ safety and rights."

In October, a law went into effect requiring that drivers maintain a 3-foot buffer when passing a bicycle.

Members of Baltimore’s cycling community erected a "ghost bike" memorial to Yates, which remains on Lafayette Avenue at Maryland Avenue.

The Yates family’s suit alleged negligence by Chandler and Potts & Callahan — a demolition, excavation and equipment rental company — and sought compensatory damages. But investigators found Yates at fault in the crash, and no charges were filed against Chandler, who did not stop at the scene. Police said at the time that they did not believe Chandler was aware of the crash.

According to the accident report, police found a vehicle several days after the crash at Potts & Callahan’s service yard in the 2800 block of Falls Road that matched one seen on surveillance video from a nearby building the day of the incident. DNA samples from hair and blood on the vehicle matched Yates’, police said.

Silverman called the police findings "one of the sloppiest investigations in a fatality that I personally have seen in years."

Had the lawsuit gone to trial, Silverman said, he was prepared to present evidence that was not included in the police report. For example, the surveillance video showed that the driver had not signaled before making his turn, and the intersection was marked with two large, yellow signs indicating that cyclists were in the area.

Continue reading “One of the sloppiest police investigations in a fatality that I personally have seen in years”

Via the Urbanite

Thurs, Dec. 2
Light it Up
Kick off the holiday season with the thirty-ninth annual lighting of the Washington Monument in Mount Vernon. There’ll be performances by local choirs, refreshments, and fireworks.
https://www.promotionandarts.com/index.cfm?page=events&id=14

Sun, Dec. 5
Holiday Procession
The thirty-eighth annual Mayor’s Christmas Parade brings marching bands, Charm City Roller Girls, Elvis impersonators, the Lone Ranger and Silver, and more to the streets of Medfield and Hampden. Bundle up!
https://www.mayorschristmasparade.com/