Category: Biking in Maryland

[More sad news. :(]
A 16-year-old bicyclist hit by a vehicle Aug. 5 died Monday of injuries from the accident, Montgomery County police said.
Codi N. Alexander of Gaithersburg was cycling on a sidewalk parallel to Great Seneca Highway. Authorities said she was attempting to cross the on-ramp to Sam Eig Highway when she was struck shortly before 3 p.m. by a Honda CRV driven by Rodolfo Ayala Sibala, 66, of Germantown.
Alexander was not wearing a bike helmet and was not required to under Maryland law, which mandates them for children under the age of 16, said police spokeswoman Lucille Baur.
Continue reading “Teenage Cyclist Killed in Montgomery County”

Currently, there is limited opportunity for bicycle transportation on Amtrak’s Capitol Limited route, which parallels the Great Allegheny Passage and C&O Canal Towpath between Washington, DC and Pittsburgh, PA. This brief survey attempts to determine how much consumer interest there is for Amtrak to expand upon its bicycle service on the Capitol Limited route. We appreciate your time in completing the survey.
Continue reading “AMTRAK BICYCLE SERVICE SURVEY”

UPDATE:
Per Maryland Highway Safety Office: all of the SHA safety pages are being updated. This one will look like the choosesafetyforlife.com page.
https://www.choosesafetyforlife.com/bicycle.htm
Continue reading “Per SHA this is bicycle safety???”

LEXINGTON PARK – 7/11/2009
On July 11, at approximately 2:44 p.m., a blue 2008 Mazda M3I driven by Royal Kessick III, 47 of Richmond, Va., was traveling northbound on Three Notch Road, north of Park Hall Road. Hugo Gonzalez, 44 of St. Leonard, was riding a bicycle on the southbound shoulder of Three Notch Road heading towards Park Hall Road. Kessick’s vehicle crossed the southbound travel lane, onto the shoulder and into the path of Gonzalez’s bicycle. Gonzalez was struck by the vehicle and thrown into the grass adjacent to the roadway. Gonzales succumbed to his injuries. Kessick’s vehicle continued towards the wood line, struck a tree, overturned once and landing upright.
Kessick was flown by Eagle 1 to Medstar. Gonzalez was wearing a bicycle helmet. Initial investigation indicates alcohol is not believed to be a contributing factor. Members of the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office Collision Reconstruction Team responded to the scene and assumed the investigation.
Anyone who witnessed the collision is asked to contact DFC Timothy Reese at (301 )475-4200 ext. 9115.
Continue reading “UPDATE: Fatal Accident on Rt. 235 in The Area of Park Hall”

[Note: The plan on the table is to have more turning lanes and widen the intersection part of Cuba Rd allowing more cars to go through on a shorter green light phase so Shawan Rd can have a longer green light phase. One of the problems is that a wider mouth to Cuba Rd will invite more traffic onto Cuba Rd decreasing bicycle and pedestrian comfort/safety along Cuba Rd. So if you have constructive input ]
I want to re-confirm that the Department of Public Works will hold an open meeting on proposed improvements to the Cuba Road – Shawan Road Intersection Tuesday, July 28 at Oregon Ridge Park. The meeting is scheduled from 6:00 to 8:00 pm in the Sequoia Room of the Park Lodge on Beaver Dam Road.
As you know, this meeting is part of a series of conversations with the community to craft a road design that will satisfy both local community goals and area transportation needs. The program, which as I said begins at 6:00, will start with an historical view of traffic problems and lay out the County’s solution based on numerous public meetings. Between 6:30 and 7:00, the public will have an opportunity to individually address the group from the podium and offer constructive input. Between 7:00 and 8:00 public works engineers and their consultants will be available to discuss specific points with individuals in a workshop setting.
Because there has been considerable interest and constructive input during the past few weeks, I am taking every step to insure that all voices are heard, whether they come from the podium, the comment cards, conversations with my staff during the workshop, or (after the fact, for those who can’t make the meeting) by email to our address: publicworks@baltimorecountymd.gov.
I am also aware of recent requests to postpone our meeting until September, but due to the level of interest and the number of substantive suggestions we’ve received I do not want to lose this opportunity to forge ahead. Our meeting on the 28th will provide a setting for these ideas to percolate, and all of the suggestions and comments will then be evaluated and posted on the County’s website.
Thanks for your interest, input and support.
Edward Adams, Director
Edward C. Adams, Jr., P.E.
Director
Department of Public Works

[Baltimore Spokes: It’s cool to see people who not only in their day jobs support bicycling but outside of work as well:]
On October 10, 2009, I’ll be riding in the Sea Gull Century on Maryland’s Eastern Shore to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. For the next several months, I’ll be training as a member of LLS’s Team In Training.
All of us on Team In Training are raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives. I am completing this event in honor of all individuals who are battling blood cancers, but particularly two young boys in our neighborhood who are fighting the disease. These people are the real heroes on our team, and we need your support to cross the ultimate finish line – a cure!
Please make a donation to support my participation in Team In Training and help advance LLS’s mission.
I hope you will visit my web site often. Be sure to check back frequently to see my progress. Thanks for your support!
Charles Kines
Continue reading “LLS’s Team In Training”

The
Alliance is thrilled to announce an exciting challenge from 42BELOW Vodka. If
100,000 people sign up to follow
their 42Ride across the U.S. this summer on Twitter, 42BELOW will make a
$42K donation to the Alliance for Biking & Walking. I wanted to write to
each of you with a reminder of the details, or you can also find them at
www.PeoplePoweredMovement.org/42below.

 

The
42Ride began in Mid-June, by sending 42 cyclists from New York, south to
Philadelphia, and then they split in to two groups of 21 riders heading
westwards, one touring the north and one touring the south. Participants will
pedal an impressive total of 4,017 miles across the country from New York City
to Los Angeles, witnessing some of the most beautiful scenery the country has
to offer.

·        
Download
a copy of the route map. (PDF)

·        
Follow the
northern route riders

·        
Follow
the southern route riders.

The
Alliance is asking all our members, supporters, and biking enthusiasts to
support biking and walking by signing up to follow the 42Ride on twitter at https://twitter.com/WeLikeBike42.
In addition, local Alliance groups are encourage to work with the 42 Ride
administrators to take part in events that are coming to your neighborhood.

·        
Download
the list of upcoming welcome parties

·        
The attachment above lists all
contact information for your organization to get involved with local events.

If the
challenge is met, the Alliance will use the $42K donation to further its work
strengthening and uniting grassroots biking and walking advocacy organizations
across North America.

 

Sign
up on Twitter to follow the ride and support grassroots biking and walking
advocacy!

Continue reading “The Alliance Needs Your Help to Earn $42K”

…Still, without an alternative to driving in highly developed areas, simply repairing roads isn’t enough.
Continue reading “Crash costs per mile of roadway – MD in top ten worst”

Air Quality Action in Maryland
… On Air Quality Action Days, MDE recommends we all take steps such as:
* Limit driving. Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties offer free bus service on Ozone Action Days. Commuters can car-pool, walk, or bike to work.
…
https://www.mde.state.md.us/ResearchCenter/Publications/General/eMDE/vol3no11/airquality_action.asp
Another Route to Work: Bike to Work Day 2009
This May, MDE Secretary Shari T. Wilson and MDE staff participated in a record-setting Bike to Work Day.
…
https://www.mde.state.md.us/ResearchCenter/Publications/General/eMDE/vol3no11/bike2work.asp
Continue reading “Maryland Department of the Environment mentions bicycling in their July newsletter”

If anyone is interested in seeing the finale of the RAAM (Race Across America the riders will be riding (staggering after a week of steady riding?) through Howard County over the next couple of days — two leaders tonight (6/25) and most of the rest of individual riders and teams over Friday (6/26) and Saturday (6/27). Mt Airy Bike Shop and Odenton are rest stops and finish line is in Annapolis. Status can be checked on the RAAM web site: https://raceacrossamerica.org/