By WashCycle
On the Route 1 Velo yahoo group, one rider reports that he and some others were biking out MacArthur Boulevard towards Great Falls when they were pulled over by Montgomery County Police. They weren’t ticketed, but their names were recorded and they were let off with a warning. One problem is that it doesn’t appear that the cyclists were told which law they had violated, only that cyclists in the areas were "getting annoying." The same rider reported that other groups had the same experience. Was anyone was else stopped in this manner? Was anyone given a better explanation?
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When Cycling isn’t Viewed as Transportation
by
This was commented on quite a bit yesterday in the comments of this post, but I wanted to write about anyway. Cyclists have been concerned about ice on the Capital Crescent Trail following the blizzard.
Brian Woodward, Southern Region Division Chief for the Montgomery
County Department of Parks, said removing ice and snow on all 75 miles
of paved county trails is “not practical.” Re-freezing overnight would
make the task a daily chore, and the department can’t focus solely on
the Capital Crescent Trail because “we can’t treat one section of trail
differently than we treat another.”
No one is asking to plow the Blue Mash Trail or the Long Branch Trail and even if they were, you can say no. It’s called prioritizing. Governments do it all the time. It’s why Dick Cheney got shuttled to an underground bunker 9/11 and I wasn’t. If you have some money to clear some trails, and you can’t prioritize them, work with the MCBAG (if they still meet; their last agenda online was from 2005) or other bike commuter stakeholders and identify the trails that are a priority. This isn’t like locking doors where either you lock them all or it’s pointless, it’s like losing weight where even getting from 300 to 250 makes things better.
Though the department hasn’t determined how much it would cost to plow
the trails, he said the recent snowfall is already taking a toll on the
department’s budget by necessitating workers to work overtime to keep
parkways clear of snow.
“We have no idea how much it will cost, but are nonetheless certain that the CCT has a lower benefit to cost ratio than every single street we plow.”
Woodward urged trail users to take care in winter months, particularly
with the recent cold weather that’s preventing ice from melting. Those
who use the trail do so at their own risk, he said.The department hasn’t received any reports from trail users about
injuries on the trail because of ice this year, he said, though they
have received at least one complaint about the conditions, Woodward
said. The department has placed a notice of caution on its Web site
about winter trail conditions, advising residents that they are unable
to shovel, treat, or clear trails within the county park system.“If you start clearing snow on trails, you give the perception it’s
going to be a safe and clear passage, and you set yourself up for
failure,” Woodward said. “I think the best think to do is to let people
know they are using it at their own risk.”
No the best thing to do is to actually clear the trail. It isn’t like this has never been done before. Clearing a trail is technically the same as clearing a road (except you need a smaller vehicle to do it). And lots of other cities manage to do it.
I will once again point out that Arlington, MA plowed the 3.5 miles of the Minuteman Bikeway in its town for the price of $2700 for one year. And I’ve heard that Massachusetts gets more snow than Bethesda.
I guess one lesson, that Richard Layman hit on, is that when new trails are being proposed/designed, that’s a good time to start asking about snow removal.
Photo by Dan Gross/The Gazette
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Anti-bike lanes Locals vs Cyclists
I wish we had bike lanes to repaint. But the basic issue of locals not liking bike lanes and preventing them from being built is a major issue in Maryland. If the logic DOT uses to minimize cyclists comments and maximize local comments is valid then no expressway could be built. We need to stress that we need a viable network for bicycle travel as much if not more so then cars. And it can be done with a lot less expense then over accommodating cars.
Laurel’s cyclists get new paths, will peddle
The gears on Laurel’s master bike plan could start turning as early as next spring with the addition of bike lanes and other markings on Fourth and Fifth streets.
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Looking to buy a bridge? Well then I have something for you
This article makes it to this site because it could be use as a bike/ped bridge.
It also ranks high in the irony department. You see if someone doesn’t buy the bridge they are going to have to destroy it. But if you buy it you can’t let it be destroyed as its a historic bridge.
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Woman Hit by Bus Sues for $30 Million
Lawsuit claims driver had history of accidents
BY SHERRI LY/myfoxdc
WASHINGTON – A woman hit by a Metrobus is suing the transit agency for $30 million. The lawsuit filed by her attorney in U.S. District Court today claims Metro should have taken the driver, with a history of accidents, off the road long before this. Now she wants Metro to pay.
In the lawsuit, Amanda Mahnke’s attorney says Metro’s firing of the driver after the September accident came too late.
"Metro was on notice that this woman was not a careful driver, that she was a careless driver," said her attorney Patrick Regan.
The legal complaint says the driver "Carla Proctor was cited for several reckless motor vehicle violations as a WMATA employee but was not properly terminated, retrained and or supervised…"
That failure it later says, "Amounted to gross negligence…"
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ADVOCACY ADVANCE HELPS YOU FIND FEDERAL $$
BUT NOT APPLICABLE IN MARYLAND DUE TO STATE POLICY 🙁
-> According to a Jan. 4th American Bicyclist Update article, "As part of the continuing partnership between the League of American Bicyclists and the Alliance for Bicycling & Walking, the Advocacy Advance Team has created a series of reports to help Alliance member organizations access Federal funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects including: Section 402 – Highway Safety Grants, Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Plan (CMAQ). For a brief description of each report, a request for more of your stories, and links to other Advocacy Advance resources, visit our blog or the Advocacy Advance section of bikeleague.org."
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Local cycling advocates in the news
From the League of American Bicyclists:
…
While the police and the court got this case right, the same can not be said in all circumstances. We responded to USA Today Drive On blog after it was suggested that cyclist Curtis Andrew Leymeister was to blame when a motorist struck and killed him in while riding in St. Mary’s County, Md.
From the onset, the local media and even early statements from the Maryland Highway Patrol also blamed the victim. What didn’t make the auto blog’s headlines were the charges brought against the driver and the admonishment of Maryland State Patrol for their clear windshield-perspective bias. Twenty-year-old Kathy May Lee was charged with Negligent Driving. We learn from WashCycle Blog (via Baltimore Spokes):
…
Maryland advocates are looking to change that. One Less Car will be re-introducing their Manslaughter by Motorvehicle (was HB 97) bill this year. They’ll also be working on legislation to overturn the mandatory shoulder law that was misinterpreted in the Leymeister case and limit cyclists rights to the roads. If you live or bike in Maryland contact One Less Car to find out how to help this effort.
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We are the terrorists??? WTF!
The Maryland State Police surveillance of advocacy groups was far more extensive than previously acknowledged, with records showing that troopers monitored — and labeled as terrorists — activists devoted to such wide-ranging causes as promoting human rights and establishing bike lanes.
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Public excited, skeptical about Hagerstown bicycle plan
By ANDREW SCHOTZ
HAGERSTOWN — Reaction to Hagerstown’s proposed bicycle transportation network Thursday ranged from excitement to skepticism, although most speakers at a hearing liked the idea.
Officials solicited public comments on a plan to create bike lanes in some places, and to have cyclists and motorists share the road in other spots, letting bike riders move safely across the city.
The work and costs would be phased in over several years, in conjunction with road projects.
The plan has been described as a way to cut traffic, ease parking problems, lessen fuel consumption and promote exercise and healthier living.
Ray Quackenbush of Waynesboro, Pa., who works south of Hagerstown, said he’d use the bike network. An increased emphasis on fitness would help combat obesity, he said.
Joe Caha spoke against the plan.
He said many Hagerstown residents don’t work within biking distance, the city could face liability problems for not maintaining bike lanes and it would be wasted money as the city worries about its finances.
City Engineer Rodney Tissue has estimated the long-term cost of the bike network at $173,000, including signs and road markings.
However, city staff could do the work in bits and pieces in coming years and grants could pay for much of it, he said.
[Baltimore Spokes: If these guys are thinking about Federal Grants administered by the State… are they in for a big disappointment. Maryland does not follow Federal Policy and they do not fund projects like this. Is this going to be another bike master plan gathering dust when they find out despite examples all across the country of projects like this getting grants but not in Maryland.]
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