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SPECIAL BIKE MARYLAND EVENT – January 25, 2012 – FREE Bike Maryland Ambassador Training Workshop

During the Ambassador Training Workshop you will learn how to teach youth bike safety and adult commuter workshops that are part of the Bike Maryland Bikes Belong Program. A meal will be
served. This training is typically held only once a year so please register today.
The free Bike Ambassador training workshop(s) will be held on January 25th from EITHER 12:30pm to 4pm and/or from 5:30pm to 9pm. CLICK HERE to register, fill in your name, check the time(s) when you are available to attend the workshop and click on save. The location will be
in Baltimore – exact location to-be-determined.
Learn more about the Bike Ambassador program and view the list of growing partners here. If you have additional questions regarding the Bike Ambassador Program please contact Katie Gore or Marla Streb. Your work as a Bike Ambassador is a huge contribution toward making Maryland increasingly bike-able! Please spread the word about the upcoming workshop.
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Campaign for Sustainable Safety, not Strict Liability.

For this post we’ve two authors. The first part is written by David Hembrow, the second part by Mark Wagenbuur.
Some people outside of the Netherlands have a huge interest in "Strict Liability". [Vulnerable user laws]
To many cycling campaigners, this looks like a "solution" to a problem which they experience on a daily basis. They want more respect and this appears to be a way to achieve it.
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So what really does keep Dutch cyclists safe ?
If we can engineer roads in a way that takes human failings into account and which results in crashes, injuries and deaths being less common then this is a far more reliable way to improve safety than any amount of punishment after the event.
The really important principle in road design from the Netherlands which is worth campaigning for is Sustainable Safety.
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Sustainable Safety is based on five principles:
* Functionality (of roads)
* Homogeneity (of mass, speed and direction of road users)
* Predictability (of road course and road user behaviour by a recognisable road design)
* Forgivingness (of both the road and street environment and the road users)
* State awareness (by the road user)
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https://hembrow.blogspot.com/2012/01/campaign-for-sustainable-safety-not.html

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The Central Maryland Transportation Alliance Connects People To Job Opportunities

from City Biz List

"Let’s Get to Work" initiative pushes for expanded MARC service, improved schedule

BALTIMORE – The Central Maryland region suffers from years of inadequate investment in transportation infrastructure – especially when compared to other major urban centers and the facts are daunting. In the past fifteen years, regions across the U.S. including San Diego, Salt Lake City, Denver, Dallas, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Charlotte and Norfolk have all invested hundreds of millions of dollars to build out rail systems that connect people to jobs. The Baltimore region extended the light rail to Hunt Valley and BWI Airport in 1997, but has not significantly expanded its rail system since.
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https://baltimore.citybizlist.com/1/2012/1/4/The-Central-Maryland-Transportation-Alliance-Connects-People-To-Job-Opportunities.aspx

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A Compact Guide to Creating the Fitness Habit

from zenhabits by Leo
A new year, a new slate of resolutions.
Perhaps the biggest resolution at New Year’s is to get fit — start exercising, start eating right, and all that jazz.
But resolutions never last. As you might already know, I’m not a fan of resolutions.
Instead of creating a list of resolutions this year, create a new habit.
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My favorite habit is daily exercise, but if you’re looking to lose weight probably the most important habits relate to eating.
In truth, which habit you choose first matters very little in the long run. You will be changing many little habits over the course of the next few years, and the order of those habits is unimportant. What matters is that you start.
Here are some habits that I’d start with, if you haven’t created them yet:
Exercise for just 5 minutes a day, adding 5 minutes per week. Make it a fun exercise.
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I’ve found that losing weight is simple: eat lots of veggies and plant or lean protein, reduce calories, do some kind of cardio, lift some weights to preserve muscle.
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Forming the Habit
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1. Make it social. …
2. Do one habit at a time only. …
3. Make it your top priority. …
4. Enjoy the habit. …
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https://zenhabits.net/fitguide/

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Dude, Where’s Your Car?

by Lisa Hymas – Urbanite

Amidst all the hand-wringing over distracted driving, a critical point is getting lost. The problem isn’t the texting — it’s the driving.

Clive Thompson made this argument in Wired last year:

"When we worry about driving and texting, we assume that the most important thing the person is doing is piloting the car. But what if the most important thing they’re doing is texting? How do we free them up so they can text without needing to worry about driving?

The answer, of course, is public transit.
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But even though the U.S. lags way behind other developed countries on public transit, American teenagers are increasingly losing interest in driving too. Long gone are the days when a car symbolized ultimate freedom and cruising Main St. was a preferred teen pastime.

In 2008, just 31 percent of American 16-year-olds had their driver’s licenses, down from 46 percent in 1983, according to a new study in the journal Traffic Injury Prevention. The numbers were down for 18-year-olds too, from 80 percent in 1983 to 65 percent in 2008, and the percentage of twenty- and thirty-somethings with driver’s licenses fell as well. And even those with driver’s licenses are trying to drive less; a new survey by car-sharing company Zipcar found that more than half of drivers under the age of 44 are making efforts to reduce the time they spend packed like lemmings into shiny metal boxes.
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Continue reading “Dude, Where’s Your Car?”

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Police chief: ‘We’ve quadrupled the tickets issued for blocking bike lanes’

[B’ Spokes: Filed under news you will not see in Maryland.]
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By John Hendel – TBD on Foot

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One enormously significant dimension to the bike policing issue and transportation in general is the sensitivity to space. With more and more people traveling in different ways, we need to make sure everyone can travel safety. Bikes, pedestrians, drivers, taxicabs, buses … they’re all out there. And increasingly we’ve placed significant value on public space like bike lanes and crosswalks, which exist to protect commuters.

"The bike lanes are a little bit tricky for both drivers and the bicyclist," Chief Lanier told WTOP and WJLA reporter Mark Segraves during the live chat. "We’ve quadrupled the number of tickets we’ve issued for people who block bike lanes."
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Continue reading “Police chief: ‘We’ve quadrupled the tickets issued for blocking bike lanes’”

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Candlelight vigil for Nathan

Join Nathan’s family and friends on the one-year anniversary of Nathan’s bicycle accident. We will meet at the scene of the accident in front of the Broadview Apartment Building. We will walk to Johns Hopkins Campus for a brief remembrance of Nathan. Candles will be provided.

Date: Sun. Feb. 26, 2012
Tentative time: 6:30 PM

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Western County Pedestrian & Bicycle Access Plan

Open Houses Scheduled for Citizen Comment on Revised Plan

After several months of preliminary review by citizens, business groups, and county and state agencies, a revised draft is ready for a final general review before being submitted to the Baltimore County Planning Board and County Council for formal adoption as an amendment to the county’s master plan.

Two informational open houses on the Western Plan are being held so that citizens will have a chance to view the plan and discuss it with county planning staff.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012 from 6-8 p.m.
Benjamin Banneker Museum, Almanac Hall
300 Oella Avenue, Baltimore 21228

Wednesday, January 25, 2012 from 6-8 p.m.
West Towson Elementary School Cafeteria
6914 North Charles Street, Towson 21204

Citizens will have an opportunity to comment on the plan at either of the open houses.  Written comments can also be submitted until January 27, 2012 to:

Kathy Schlabach, Project Manager
Baltimore County Department of Planning
105 West Chesapeake Avenue, Suite 101
Towson, MD 21204

or

 kschlabach@baltimorecountymd.gov

Continue reading “Western County Pedestrian & Bicycle Access Plan”