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What if Biking Being a Fun Thing *is* the Important Thing?

It amazes me the one thing you don’t want to say when advocating for more bicycling is “because it’s fun.” But why is that? Sustainable Cities And Transport makes some very interesting points which I’ll quote and add a few thoughts of my own.

But what if it’s entirely legitimate to want your cities to have enjoyable things in them?

Gasp!

And if you think that Being a Fun Thing isn’t more important politically than Being an Important Thing, look at stadiums. There is nothing more settled in the policy research than stadiums. Cities always put more money in than they get out.

One unspoken item in opposing to bicycling seems to be “but commuting should be miserable or at least boring as heck..” Really, that’s the best you can do in supporting motoring centric infrastructure? Sadly the reality says yes, that is the ultimate achievable goal in urban transport… at least till you introduce bicycling and then all that changes.

But before bicycling can be a viable form of transport uber-fitness is required. At least that’s what the really out-of-shape crowd would like you to think, at least that is my impression as some of the most vocal anti-cycling are well, take this one for example:
imageRobert ”I can’t support bike lanes” Ford

And of course there is the one line zinger guaranteed to put cyclists in a bad light … “the Lance Armstrong wannabes”… oh the burn, seriously? Granted social norms dictate to get your exercise in a gym and not on the public street and then if we were to stress “but it’s fun” that would by like saying it’s fun to go play in traffic, totally unacceptable by today’s mores. But shouldn’t fun+functional transport+fitness be more something of admiration and not of scorn?

One of the inspirational things of volunteering to help at a biking event is not seeing the uber-fit come in early but the Joe average come in last after 10 hours in the saddle and after riding 100 miles with a smile on their face. Now I have to pause here and ask who in their right mind would be motivated to spend 10 hours in a gym? Or driving a 100 miles just for fun, let alone paying good money to do so? Yet if you are a charity charging people to ride their bike 100 miles is a great way to raise money. Again, it is all because biking is fun and riding a 100 miles is within the ability of a healthy adult, sure you may have to work up to that level from where you are at but you don’t have to do crazy pro racer type training to get to this level.

100 miles by bike… think about it… now think how people think you can’t go as far on a bike as you can by car. OK I hear a few “but cars do go farther then bikes” out there which I will counter with think about driving from Baltimore to D.C. to see the Cherry Blossom Festive or to see the fireworks on the 4th of July, would you do it? Typical answer is “But the traffic and the parking is a nightmare, so no.” But with a bike there is no traffic nor parking problems, and that’s another point, the “ideals” of motoring do not fit the reality of too many people also doing motoring and we just cannot accommodate all those cars.

Biking to D.C. is one of my favorite things to do and I have seen the Cherry Blossom Festive and the fireworks on the 4th of July in D.C. all by bike and all very enjoyable. We have reached a point where people who bike do more and see more then people stuck with just the automobile as their only solution to travel. Why is this? Because biking is fun, going places is fun and life is just more enjoyable when it is fun. Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, that sums up cycling nicely.

But biking is still fun at the end of it all. It is indisputably fun. Bikers indisputably derive value from their biking. When was the last time you heard the argument go like this:

You: “Biking is great, I really enjoy my commute.”
Opponent: “No, you’re wrong, you don’t enjoy it.”

Never, that’s when. Your and others’ enjoyment is–after all of the noise–the core value that can not be discredited.

Continue reading “What if Biking Being a Fun Thing *is* the Important Thing?”

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From Sprawling New Jersey, a New Way Forward for State DOTs

from Streetsblog New York City by Angie Schmitt
…
At the time, the Garden State was rapidly approaching the limits of its developable land. And the standard practice of tackling congestion with more roads just seemed to be a fiscal impossibility, says Jack Lettiere, who led NJDOT from 2002 to 2006.
“We spent tens of millions trying to relieve congestion,” said Lettiere. “The faster we went, the slower we went. People were getting mad at us. Funds were getting low.
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At the time, NJDOT was building on a concept, pioneered by the state of Maryland, called “Context Sensitive Solutions.”
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Believe it or not, this was a major departure from the standard practice at state DOTs. Even today, many state DOTs approach road projects as challenges in maximizing vehicle throughput.
“Most [transportation] departments will tell you that land use planning is not their purview,” said Lettiere. “I think that’s the problem that has to be overcome.”
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“He said, ‘The real challenge is to get that practice accepted by people in the field.’”
“The highway guys are great about talking about highway thickness and adding five lanes to deal with congestion,” Biehler said. “But they’re not so great about talking to communities about land use.”
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Continue reading “From Sprawling New Jersey, a New Way Forward for State DOTs”

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Bullying the cyclists on roadways

By James Wagner, Bethesda
I was very disappointed to read the recent editorial regarding cyclists’ use of the roads [“Sharing the road,” June 29]. The Gazette mischaracterized the situation is several ways, staring with the the false definition of impeding traffic. Impeding traffic is defined based on the normal traffic flow, taking into account all road users, which includes cyclists (see the published Ohio Court of Appeals case Trotwood v. Selz). It is not based on the speed limit, which is only one of numerous constraints, the foremost being proper use of due care and adjusting speed for conditions. The officer quoted from the forum plainly had it wrong.
The other major mischaracterization was that there’s plenty of space on the roads and that the problem is nothing more than packing vehicles into that space. Motor vehicles barely fit in the lanes by themselves, and as speeds go up, more space is required. For cyclists who are constantly threatened by unsafe and aggressive drivers, the safety margin required is even more. A motor vehicle does not have enough space in many of the surrounding roads to pass even single cyclists safely, so complaining that several cyclists are present is irrelevant.
Drivers are reaping more than a fair share of the road by using it at the same time as other users, one behind the other. For drivers to expect to move about without having to wait for fellow users is not sharing; it’s monopolizing the road and bullying people. If The Gazette wants to promote courtesy (let alone safety), then demand that drivers slow down, wait for others, and stop using smallest community roads as thoroughfares.
Continue reading “Bullying the cyclists on roadways”

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Ritchie Highway crossings being made safer

As deadly year on county roads continues, SHA pushes ahead on sidewalk, traffic signal projects
By TIM PRATT Staff Writer – Hometown Annapolis

As the State Highway Administration looks for ways to improve the part of Ritchie Highway where a Pasadena teenager was killed last month, work has begun to make more than a dozen other intersections safer for pedestrians.

The work will upgrade pedestrian crossings, traffic signals and access to bus stops along Ritchie Highway between the Baltimore City line and Route 50 near Annapolis.

Charlie Gischlar, an SHA spokesman, said design work for the improvements started about nine months ago and construction began in late June. He said that while no specific incident prompted the improvements, the SHA is aware of the high number of pedestrian accidents along Ritchie Highway in recent years.

"There have been some real tragedies over there lately and we’re trying to do everything in our power to prevent those things from happening again," Gischlar said.

This year, at least three pedestrians have been killed on Ritchie Highway.

In July, 25-year-old Alex Canales Hernandez of Baltimore was struck while on his bike near Bon Air Avenue in Brooklyn Park. Also last month, two teenagers were struck while trying to cross near Earleigh Heights Road. One of those teens, 17-year-old Kara Micciche of Pasadena, died.

In January, 50-year-old James Howard Minnix of Severna Park was killed while attempting to cross near Robinson Road.

Eight pedestrians and one cyclist have died in the county since Jan. 1, which is already more than the seven pedestrians killed last year. Ten pedestrians and one cyclist were killed in the county in 2009.

In the 101/2-mile stretch of Ritchie Highway between the Baltimore City line and Earleigh Heights Road, there were 374 vehicle crashes last year, six involving pedestrians. No statistics were available for this year.

In 2009, that same stretch of highway had 363 crashes with four fatalities. Twelve pedestrians were struck on Ritchie Highway that year.

"The overall number of crashes may seem high, but there needs to be some perspective," SHA spokesman Dave Buck said. "This is a congested 10-mile section of road with numerous signals, access points and other high-traffic-generating areas."

The SHA is using countdown pedestrian signals, coordinated signal timing and signal detection systems to enhance pedestrian safety along Ritchie Highway, Buck said.

One intersection being improved is at Ordnance Road in Glen Burnie. The SHA upgraded sidewalks, ramps and crosswalks at the intersection, and plans to add sidewalks between Ordnance and Dover roads.

One goal of the project is to connect bus stops with nearby crosswalks.

Sidewalks and ramps also were installed along portions of East Ordnance Road.

The $300,000 project is almost complete, said SHA engineer Kim Tran, though some striping and sidewalk construction still needs to be finished.

Thirteen other locations along Ritchie Highway between Baltimore and the Annapolis area also are being upgraded to give pedestrians safer highway crossings and access to bus stops.

Four of the 13 locations are in Brooklyn Park at 11th Avenue, 16th Avenue, Church Street and Hammonds Lane / Walton Avenue.

The Brooklyn Park sidewalk improvements are scheduled to begin next spring and conclude next fall. Some of the signal improvements may take a few years, Tran said.

Other intersections under construction or slated for $1.3 million in upgrades include:

Arundel Corporation Road, Glen Burnie.

The Motor Vehicle Administration entrance, Glen Burnie.

Centre at Glen Burnie.

Wellham Avenue, Glen Burnie.

Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard, Glen Burnie.

Aquahart Road, Glen Burnie.

Guildford-Farmington Road, Glen Burnie.

Jumpers Hole Road, Pasadena.

The area around the intersection at Earleigh Heights Road is on the state’s list to receive new sidewalks. That project will give pedestrians easier access to bus stops on both sides of the highway.

The SHA is studying the intersection to see if a crosswalk is needed, Tran said.

Continue reading “Ritchie Highway crossings being made safer”

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City: Grand Prix to plant many more trees than it cuts

By by Tim Wheeler – Baltimore Sun

city official is defending allowing the Baltimore Grand Prix to cut down trees along the Inner Harbor race course, saying organizers have agreed to replace those trees nearly four times over, more than tripling the downtown’s tree canopy in the process.

Beth Strommen, director of Baltimore’s Office of Sustainability says she negotiated a deal with organizers of the Labor Day weekend street race, in which they got to cut down fewer than half the trees they originally wanted to remove to improve spectators’ views of the racing.

Only 50 trees are to be cut down along the race course on West Pratt and Light streets, said Strommen – not the 136 that Lonnie Fisher, assistant Grand Prix general manager had told The Baltimore Sun on Monday.  Strommen, who spoke by telephone while vacationing in New Jersey, said she could not explain the discrepancy, but said she had confirmed the city’s agreement with the race by phone Tuesday.

News of the tree cutting has upset some residents, who contend that it violates the city’s forest conservation code (Article 7, Natural Resources) and is at odds with the city’s sustainability plan, which calls for doubling Baltimore’s tree canopy by 2037.  

Critics have begun circulating an online petition calling for a halt to any more race-related tree cutting until the plan is fully aired and each tree to be removed identified, as required by city code. Petition drafter Dave Troy contended in an email that the plan for cutting and replacing trees because of the race was “haphazard” and “shoved down the throat of the public without due process.”

Strommen said the deal she’d negotiated with race organizers hasn’t been announced yet because it has yet to be finalized, reviewed by city lawyers and signed.   But it calls for planting 59 replacement trees in the race corridor, she said, and another 135 trees are to be planted in already empty sidewalk “pits” for trees elsewhere in downtown. 

Strommen said she has been hashing out tree removal and replacement with race organizers for months and had expected to unveil the plan next week when she returned to Baltimore from vacation.

Baltimore Grand Prix managers could not be reached yesterday evening to confirm the terms of the deal Strommen described.

Strommen said the city agreed to allow the removal of some trees that would block views of the street action from temporary grandstands to be erected along the race course. But she said the city exacted a price in additional trees to be planted elsewhere.

“They had their needs to sell tickets,” she said. “We had our needs to preserve the beauty of downtown and make Pratt Street continue to be a main street in a great downtown area.”

Strommen acknowledged that some of the trees cut bordering the federal courthouse were “big and healthy,” as critics have complained. But she said others, particularly those near the convention center, were in decline because they did not have adequate space to grow and their roots were constantly trampled by pedestrians.

The trees to be replanted along the race course will be relocated, Strommen said, to spots where they won’t be in the way of spectators in future years, as the city has a deal to host the Grand Prix for up to five years. And 14 of them around the courthouse will be planted in specially designed, oversized planters, she said, to test the viability of having movable trees.

Beyond replacing the trees cut along the race course, Strommen said she got race organizers to agree to plant 135 additional trees in every empty spot in the sidewalk downtown where a tree used to be or was intended to grow. Some details, such as the mix of trees to be planted, have yet to be nailed down, she said, but all the trees are to be planted this fall or within the next year, more than tripling the number of trees downtown.

“I’m feeling pretty good about getting every tree pit downtown filled, myself” said Strommen.

Continue reading “City: Grand Prix to plant many more trees than it cuts”

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Annapolis: Maryland’s Biking Capital

If Annapolis’ Bicycle Master Plan ever gets off the drawing board and onto the streets, our capital city could be Maryland’s biking capital.

The thoughtful plan, introduced last week, is the work of the Toole Design Group whose specialty is moving people, have created bike plans across the country, from Washington, D.C., to Seattle, Washington — including Baltimore, Philadelphia, Winston Salem and Asheville.

Envisioned is a cross-city “network of on-street and off-street routes” realized in six years over three phases. The first two years’ projects are easy fixes requiring only paint and signage.

Main Street, Calvert and Cathedral streets, King George Avenue, Bay Ridge and Chesapeake avenues and a bit of Hilltop Lane fall into the first phase.

The plan starts with pathways and street lanes. But it doesn’t stop there: Bicycle sharing stations and parking, safety education for all ages, enforcement and an active website are also part of the plan.

After the plan is reviewed and completed, it goes to the City Council for ratification as part of the City’s Comprehensive Plan. Of course getting it done takes some money, as well.

Take a look at the plan at https://www.ci.annapolis.md.us/Government/Departments/Transit/BikeAnnapolis/draft.pdf
and the map at

https://www.ci.annapolis.md.us/Government/Departments/Transit/BikeAnnapolis/BikeMap1.pdf

You have until July 29 to comment: Iain Banks at ibanks@annapolis.gov.

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Cecil County, Maryland Bicycle Plan

[B’ Spokes: If this is were you live get involved! Details via the link at the end of the article.]
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Introduction
WILMAPCO, in coordination with Cecil County, Maryland departments (MDOT, SHA, MDP), municipalities, cyclists and other stakeholders will develop a Cecil County Bicycle Plan to establish recommendations for improved access and comfort of bicycling. The Plan will map proposed bicycle facilities, include an update of Cecil County recommendations outlined in the 2002 Maryland Bicycle and Pedestrian Access Master Plan, identify where further bicycle investments should be made, and present actions for implementation. It will promote safe and enjoyable bicycling opportunities for commute, recreation, and fitness, and will link to other modes of transportation throughout Cecil County. This Plan will also improve Maryland’s Bicycle Friendly State ranking from the League of American Bicyclists by having county-level bicycle plans.
The development of this Plan will be guided under the direction of an Advisory Committee that will represent a variety of stakeholders and agencies needed to implement the Plan, such as county and state officials, municipalities, community groups, businesses, and citizens.
Plan Objectives
Identify best practices for bicycle transportation and their possible use in Cecil County
Evaluate existing bicycle conditions and identify gaps in the network
Identify links to other modes of transportation, including bus and rail, pedestrian connections and park and rides
Propose policies, programs and projects for achieving the plan goals
Develop an action-oriented implementation plan, including funding sources and partnerships
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Continue reading “Cecil County, Maryland Bicycle Plan”