[B’ Spokes: Just a sampling of some of the crazy erroneous water bills going on around Baltimore. I thought some might like to know ]
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UPDATE: https://www.foxbaltimore.com/newsroom/top_stories/videos/wbff_vid_9648.shtml
It is an error caused by an estimate followed by an actual read that was smaller then the estimate and "that just confused the system."
[B’ Spokes: Perhaps these are the same programmers behind Baltimore’s "computerized" traffic lights. That’s another system that gets confused.]
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ADDED: News coverage: https://www.foxbaltimore.com/newsroom/top_stories/videos/wbff_vid_9632.shtml
via Linda Stewart
$490,000.00 erroneous water bill paid for with your tax dollars, property known as LIGHT ST MEDIAN 3 FT – Account # 09291285006 – the bill gets mailed to the department of Parks and Recs. How many parks could use this money??
You can look up this water bill using the city’s web site: https://cityservices.baltimorecity.gov/water/
05/16/07 08/02/07 $1,236.71
08/02/07 11/01/07 $1,236.71
11/01/07 01/28/08 $1,236.71
01/28/08 05/06/08 $10,156.20 **
05/06/08 08/08/08 $1,273.30
08/08/08 11/06/08 $296,945.87 ***
11/06/08 02/18/09 $1,286.24
02/18/09 05/12/09 $2,169.41
05/12/09 07/30/09 $1,366.84
07/30/09 11/18/09 $1,401.91
11/18/09 03/01/10 $1,401.91
03/01/10 05/24/10 $1,401.91
05/24/10 08/05/10 $2,962.41
08/05/10 04/11/11 $5,080.06
04/11/11 06/23/11 $492,425.61 ***
This property was also overbilled $295,000.00 back in Nov 08, they only received a credit after Steve Levine from Fox 45 called the Department of rec to question this bill.
Live free or drive.
From the Washington Post:
Dear Dr. Gridlock:
A mutant species emerged last century: Homo automobilus accompanied by a reign of traffic. Particularly in the United States, we have evolved into human hybrids encased in tons of metal, glass and plastic. And, we have designed the landscape around that physique.
…
Sounds good — so you would think communities would want to promote more biking rather than expand roads and put up obstacles, like “Dismount before crossing” signs or having to press a button (often broken) to operate the traffic signal.
>>[B’ Spokes: Let me emphasize the often broken with no program for systematic repair. You have to call it in to get these things fixed (311 in the city and good luck finding the number for elsewhere). If there was a pedestrian crash does anyone look to see if the nearest ped button actually works? I doubt it but if there was a crash due to a malfunctioning light you bet they would fix that. But ped lights who cares if they work or not? Just deal with it seems to be the mantra of the areas with really high pedestrian fatality rates.]
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Much of law enforcement is concerned with traffic. In the United States, according to 2009 statistics, an average of 93 people a day died on roadways. A car is a deadly weapon, and we have designed our lives around it.
Also, the car-oriented environment discourages walking and biking because of safety issues resulting in the growing problem of obesity.
It’s hard to imagine a world without cars, but oil is finite, so cars and other products based on oil are ultimately unsustainable. While we still have oil, we need to prepare for the post-oil world.
Live free or drive.
— Joan Grey, Arlington
Continue reading “Live free or drive.”
Share the Road. Save a Life
Baltimore Bicycle Tour
Alexandra Lopez de Haro, Baltimore Culture & Events Examiner
Baltimore’s Premier Bicycle Tour kicks off on Columbus Day( 9th of October). This initiative led by a group of enthusiasts such as Caroll Silldorf (Executive Director of Bike Maryland. www.bikemd.org) is set out to encourage Baltimore citizens to use their bike as their main source of transportation in the city and make other people aware of the importance of non automobile individuals on the road.
Caroll Silldorf, originally from Illinois was only 3 months when she first was on a bicycle. "I think it was the fresh air that I took in while my parents would ride the bike, that made me love this activity." She has been a rider for more than 30 years and she has been working with BikeMaryland for the last 13. She started as CEO three years ago. Perhaps this power rider has found the job of her life. She has a Masters from the University of Delaware in Public Administration and Management of Environmental studies. "This job is almost personal".
Her fortitude is evident in her hand shake, arms and her stern yet friendly approach to the cause. When the Examiner asked her what was the main goal of Bike Maryland, she responded "to encourage everyone to use the bicycle and to make this activity a legitimate transport system".
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Read the rest here: https://www.examiner.com/culture-events-in-baltimore/baltimore-bicycle-tour
America’s roads are so bad you need a German car to drive on them
“Yes, let’s spend even more money on avoiding fixing the problems instead of actually fixing them.” – Our Failing Infrastructure by glynch
Fix bridges or accommodate bike/ped in the Federal Transportation bill?
The League of American Bicyclists makes this excellent point:
"Safety: Thirteen people died when the Minneapolis bridge collapsed in 2007: since then, close to 20,000 pedestrians and 2,800 cyclists have died on our nation’s highways, largely as a result of poor highway design and an historic lack of safe non-motorized infrastructure – exactly what the enhancement program was created to fix. No bridges have collapsed since 2007."
B’ Spokes: Of course the real issues is it’s not bike/ped spending that’s keeping bridges from being fixed, it’s over stressing capacity building that is returning less and less value on the dollar.
Continue reading “Fix bridges or accommodate bike/ped in the Federal Transportation bill?”
AAA sees ‘troubling’ trend in hit-and-run accidents
By Ashley Halsey III – Washington Post
Three local pedestrians have been killed by hit-and-run drivers this month, bringing to at least 17 the number of hit-and-run accidents involving people walking or riding bicycles in the region this year, according to statistics compiled by the American Automobile Association.
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The AAA said that in 13 of the 17 hit-and-run accidents, the victim died. About 11 percent of crashes nationwide involve a hit-and-run driver, according to data compiled by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration reported an increase of 20 percent between 2000 and 2005 in the number of fatal hit-and-run accidents involving pedestrians.
In the Washington region, the Street Smart campaign says pedestrians and bicyclists accounted for about a quarter of all traffic fatalities between 2006 and 2010.
“The trend is troubling because it involves drivers who often willingly or knowingly flee the scene without rendering aid to the victim, making it a crime scene,” said John B. Townsend II of AAA. “That’s cold-blooded, inhumane and unconscionable.”
…
Continue reading “AAA sees ‘troubling’ trend in hit-and-run accidents”
The important difference between a road and a street [video]
[B’ Spokes: Our roads are consuming more and more resources with less and less return on our investment. ]
Bike Swap – October 2nd – in Frederick
Update: Live music by the Bar Cons
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Do you have bike gear you want to get rid of? Are you looking for a deal on bike parts? Then come buy or sell at the Frederick Bicycle Coalition Bike Swap on October 2nd, 2011. The swap will be held at Dublin Roasters Coffee, 1780 North Market Street in Frederick, MD.
The swap is free to attend. Vendor spots are $10 for an 8′ x 8′ spot. All proceeds benefit the Frederick Bicycle Coalition. If you have bikes, parts, or clothing you need to buy or sell, this is the place to be.
Here are the details:
Date: Sunday, October 2nd (rain date: Sunday, October 9th)
Time: 9-1 (sellers can begin setting up at 8AM)
Cost: Free for buyers.
Location: Dublin Roasters Coffee. 1780 North Market Street – Frederick, MD – 21701.
Continue reading “Bike Swap – October 2nd – in Frederick”
Fact: Places With High Numbers of Cyclists Are Safer for Pedestrians
[B’ Spokes: Or read this why we support bicycling with Maryland’s high pedestrian fatality rate. It will help!]
by Ben Fried
The United States has fallen far behind countries with high cycling rates, like the Netherlands, when it comes to overall street safety and preventing pedestrian deaths. Graphic: Streetsblog; Data: PPS
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Well, how about Tokyo? A frenetic global metropolis with more than 13 million residents. With all those people rushing to get where they need to go, Tokyo still boasts a pedestrian fatality rate nearly half that of New York [which is lower then Baltimore]. And check this out: In Tokyo, 16 percent of all trips include cycling. That’s an order of magnitude higher than the current cycling rate in NYC.
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The top cycling countries have also attracted international attention for achieving dramatic reductions in pedestrian fatalities. Sweden, with its Vision Zero initiative, cut pedestrian deaths in half in five years. Germany and the Netherlands are also leaving the United States behind when it comes to street safety. Between 1975 and 2001, American pedestrian deaths declined 27 percent while Dutch pedestrian deaths fell 73 percent and German pedestrian deaths fell 82 percent, according to a 2003 paper in the American Journal of Public Health by Rutgers professor John Pucher [PDF].
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More car-free zones, pedestrian refuges, clearly marked crosswalks, and extensive, high-quality bike networks. Hmmm… Seen any changes like that around NYC recently? Imagine how much more progress we could make if our daily papers actually cared about street safety.
Continue reading “Fact: Places With High Numbers of Cyclists Are Safer for Pedestrians”