baltimorespokes

from Streetsblog Capitol Hill by Catherine Lutz

Gerontologists in a laboratory at the University of Southern California exposed a group of mice to the same atmospheric conditions that humans encounter when driving along the freeway. Horrifyingly, they discovered that the mice’s brains showed the kind of swelling and inflammation associated with diseases such as Alzheimer’s. The researchers didn’t super-dose to get these results: the mice were exposed to freeway air for the equivalent of 15 hours a week– less than the 18.5 hour average Americans spend in their cars. Jokes aside about getting those darn mice off the road, the study suggests that driving less can reduce our risk of brain damage.

…

The UCLA mouse study joined other recent reports that highlight the variety of ways in which remaining overly reliant on the private automobile is self-destructive. But these reports should also make clear that changes in individual behavior can alleviate some of the problems. Here’s just a sampling:

• The obese are at increased risk of injury in a car crash, according to University of Michigan researcher Jonathan Rupp, and the percentage of the population that is obese is rising. The automotive press presented this as a problem faced by the industry, rather than exacerbated by it. Their answer, of course, is not to encourage more walking and biking but to push for improved safety equipment so that drivers can stay obese and stay on the road.
• Sitting for long stretches greatly increases the risk of heart disease – even if you exercise afterwards – according to a study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. It may come as no surprise that sitting isn’t good for your health, but what’s shocking is that the raft of articles following the study tended to ignore active transportation while advocating improbable solutions such as standing treadmill desks. What’s more practical than replacing some of our long hours planted in the driver’s seat with walking, biking, or getting by foot to public transit stops?
• While there was some good news in the American Lung Association’s 2011 State of the Air Report, as one commentator put it, it was “like getting a 53 on your math test after you got a 49 on your last one.” Half of Americans live in areas in which air quality is unhealthy. The ALA points out that the elderly, the young, and the sick are most vulnerable to the effects of pollution. And of course some of the sick—such as those suffering from asthma and heart disease—can trace the very causes of their conditions to air pollution.

…
Continue reading “This Is Your Brain on Cars—Oh, and Your Lungs and Heart and Gut, Too”

from Welcome to the Fast Lane: The Official Blog of the U.S. Secretary of Transportation by Ray LaHood

High gas prices are hitting American families in their wallets and pockets pretty hard these days.  But did you know that more than 40 percent of urban trips in the United States are less than two miles, yet 90 percent of those short trip are taken by car? 

Many of these trips could easily be taken by public transit, on foot or by bicycle–saving money, helping the environment, and even affording the chance to stay fit all at the same time.  At the Department of Transpoertation, we know these are the kinds of alternatives people are looking for, and we’re working to provide transportation options that don’t require getting into the car.

That’s why I was pleased to hear about a new competition called the 2 Mile Challenge that demonstrates how many car trips could be replaced by bikes.

The challenge is pretty simple.  Organizers have selected three non-profit team sponsors.  Each team recruits members, who log their miles traveled by bicycle from May to October.  Anyone can register online and join a team–and you don’t even have to go to any meetings!

The gold team pedals for the Alliance for Biking and Walking, the blue team pedals for 350.org, and the red team pedals for the Safe Routes to School National Partnership. 

Challenge organizers aim to replace 100,000 car trips, and sponsor Clif Bars will donate a total of $100,000 to bicycle advocacy and climate protection.  The team with the most miles and points wins the largest grant for their particular organization.

The challenge builds a community, encourages more citizens to get out and bike, and supports nonprofits that are working to increase active transportation.   But the best thing about the challenge is that every mile counts.  If you only ride your bike five times a year, go ahead and sign up–those five trips will help your team.  Even if you only ride once, that trip counts.

Make a commitment to saving money, getting exercise and helping the environment by riding your bike on short trips today – sign up here to be a part of the 2 Mile Challenge.

Continue reading “Are you ready for the 2 Mile Challenge?”

[B’ Spokes: It looks like someone got the hint from Washcycle and Baltimore Spokes.]

from Bikeleague.org Blog by Darren

Whether bicycling to work, to improve their health, save money, or to reduce their overall carbon footprint, bicycling is on the rise and the League of American Bicyclists and AAA want motorists and bicyclists to make safety on our shared roadways a priority.

“As more cyclists hit the road and trail, we welcome the opportunity to work with AAA to reinforce the safety messages that both cyclists and motorists really need to take to heart,” said Andy Clarke, President of the League of American Bicyclists. “We have a shared responsibility to share the road – and the reality is that most cyclists are also motorists at some point.”

“Education–on both sides—is key for all road users, of all ages,” said AAA’s Traffic Safety Specialist Rhonda Markos. “Despite conventional wisdom, children are not the primary victims of bicycle crashes.” Of the 630 bicyclist deaths in 2009, eight out of ten were adults over 21, so the League of American Bicyclists and AAA have partnered on a campaign to encourage adult bicyclists to take five easy steps to safer riding:

• Follow the Rules of the Road:
  • Always ride with traffic, using the rightmost lane, obeying the same laws as motorists.
  • Use hand and arm signals to indicate your intention to stop, merge or turn.
• Be Visible:
  • Ride where drivers can see you. Do not ride on the sidewalk.
  • Wear brightly colored clothing at all times. At night, use a white front light and red rear light or reflector, and wear reflective clothing.
• Be Predicable:
  • Ride in a straight line and don’t swerve between parked cars.
  • Make eye contact with motorists to let them know you are there.
• Anticipate Conflicts:
  • Always be aware of traffic around you and be prepared to take evasive action, exercising additional caution at intersections.
  • Learn braking and turning techniques to avoid crashes.
• Wear a Helmet:
  • Helmets, when worn properly, are up to 85 percent effective in protecting the head and brain in the event of a crash. Should you crash, or have an impact that affects your helmet, replace it immediately.
  • Fit matters: Wear your helmet level on your head, low on your forehead, with no more than two finger widths above your eyebrow.

“AAA is pleased to work with the League of American Bicyclists to remind adults about safe bicycling practices and to encourage motorists and bicyclists alike to share the road,” Markos said.

Motorists should also make an effort to reduce bicyclist injuries and fatalities.

AAA is encourages it’s members to take the following precautions when sharing the road with bicyclists:

• Stay alert, avoiding all distractions while driving.
• Yield to bicyclists when turning.
• In bad weather, give bicyclists extra passing room.
• Check mirrors and blind spots for bicyclists before entering or leaving a lane of traffic.
• Slow down and give at least 3 feet of clearance when passing.
• Reduce your speed when passing bicyclists, especially when the road is narrow.
• NEVER honk your horn at a bicyclist just to let them know you are there; it could cause them to swerve into traffic or off the roadway and crash. Save your horn for emergencies.
• Always check for bicyclists before opening your car door.

For information on bicycle safety, please visit BikeLeague.org and SharetheRoad.AAA.com

Darren Flusche
League Policy Analyst

Flusche joined the League in April 2009 and has a B.A. in history from Syracuse University and a Masters of Public Administration with a concentration in public policy analysis from New York University.

Continue reading “The League partners with AAA on road safety for National Bike Month”

from New Urban Network – The Source for Urban Planning, Walkable Communities & Smart Growth by Charles Marohn
…
The Complete Streets concept is one that is long overdue. We’ve spent two generations transforming a public realm once comprised of walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods into auto-only zones. These are places where the kids used to play ball in the street. Today a kid can’t even play safely in their own front yard.
At Strong Towns, we’ve worked to illuminate the fact that this transformation has been done at tremendous financial cost. This is not only because the construction of wider, flatter and straighter streets has been expensive, but because the auto-centric nature of the transformed public realm drives private-sector investment out of traditional neighborhoods, dislocating it to places that provide more buffering to the car.
…
I’ve now seen two projects where engineers promoted the use of "complete streets." In each I see the engineering profession co-opting the Complete Streets moniker without any thought to a Complete Neighborhood. For the engineers on these projects, the approach remains the same. I’ll quote from our piece, Confessions of a Recovering Engineer:
An engineer designing a street or road prioritizes the world in this way, no matter how they are instructed:
1. Traffic speed
2. Traffic volume
3. Safety
4. Cost
The rest of the world generally would prioritize things differently, as follows:
1. Safety
2. Cost
3. Traffic volume
4. Traffic speed
In other words, the engineer first assumes that all traffic must travel at speed. Given that speed, all roads and streets are then designed to handle a projected volume. Once those parameters are set, only then does an engineer look at mitigating for safety and, finally, how to reduce the overall cost (which at that point is nearly always ridiculously expensive).
Continue reading “Co-opting Complete Streets”

From this web site.

Inspired by NYC DOT’s Don’t Be A Jerk campaign and the hope for equal safety and enforcement of traffic laws for all New Yorkers.

Take the pledge:

I, as a driver, want to help keep New York’s streets safe for everyone. I pledge to:

1. Yield to pedestrians
2. Stop at red lights and stop signs
3. Obey the 30MPH speed limit
4. Keep bike lanes, crosswalks and intersections clear
5. Give cyclists adequate space when passing
6. Never make an illegal U-turn