By Doug Miller
Gil Penalosa hit it right on the head.
“It’s a political problem,” he said, referring to the difficulty encountered by those who try to get around this county on foot or on bicycles. Penalosa directs the advocacy group called 8-80 Cities. He was here last week as part of the Columbia Association Speaker Series.
“We need to inform our leaders, build partnerships with them,” he said.
That’s begun to happen, particularly among cyclists, who have been galvanized by martyrs like Nathan Krasnopoler. The Johns Hopkins University sophomore from Ellicott City has been in a coma since he was struck by a car as he rode his bicycle on University Parkway in Baltimore. He is not expected to recover.
Cycling advocates won a victory in Annapolis this session in getting a bill passed that would allow prosecutors to seek stiffer penalties against drivers whose negligence kills cyclists. They have begun to feel their oats as a political force.
But politics is about conflict, remember, and motorists who see cyclists as a self-important impediment to the daily commute are pushing back, railing in print and online against their presence on roads built to accommodate auto traffic.
And if that backlash ever coalesces, watch out, riders. Such a force would be to the bicycle-riding public as the Republican Party is to the Greens.
If politics is the art of compromise, some artistry is called for here.
Continue reading “Wheel politik”
Which Was Worst: Katrina, or Car Culture?
By Christopher Hume
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One also can’t help but notice that the devastation wrought by Louisianans upon Louisiana far outweighs anything a hurricane can do. The mighty Mississippi, invisible behind vast levees, is lined with trailer parks and oil refineries. The bayous are degraded, the cypress swamps compromised beyond recovery. It is a landscape of desolation, broken only by the exquisite remnants of 19th-century plantation culture, as refined as it was corrupt.
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And despite the vast differences between New Orleans and Toronto, the automobile has brought a startling degree of sameness, similarity, even homogeneity, to the two centres. Notwithstanding the modernist architecture that turned cities around the world into copies of one another, it is the car that reduces even the most idiosyncratic urban form to a monotony of asphalt and empty spaces, not to mention congested highways and traffic reports.
And despite the vast differences between New Orleans and Toronto, the automobile has brought a startling degree of sameness, similarity, even homogeneity, to the two centres. Notwithstanding the modernist architecture that turned cities around the world into copies of one another, it is the car that reduces even the most idiosyncratic urban form to a monotony of asphalt and empty spaces, not to mention congested highways and traffic reports.
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Not until one leaves the isolation of the automobile does the rest of the landscape reveal itself — the palm trees, the heat, the smells, the architecture … . Not until one steps out of the car does one cease to be an observer and become part of the landscape.
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Continue reading “Which Was Worst: Katrina, or Car Culture?”
Driver charged for hitting a j-walking a pedestrian
[B’ Spokes: What bothers me in too many of our local stories is no mention of the driver tried to stop and avoid hitting the pedestrian as that is a legal obligation in Maryland.]
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Distraction and tragedy
Lives changed forever, needlessly
By Erika Stutzman
T he National Safety Council estimates that at least 1.6 million vehicle crashes — 28 percent of the total — are caused each year by drivers using cellphones or texting. Some of these crashes are fatal.
So it`s not shocking, at least statistically, that a woman was sentenced this week for careless driving in a fatal accident in Boulder during the very month called National Distracted Driving Awareness Month.
Kathryn Wulliman, 28, hit and killed pedestrian Dorothy Hoffins, 85 as Hoffins crossed Lookout Road in Gunbarrel last summer. Wulliman said she didn`t see Hoffins, who didn`t cross in a cross walk or with the benefit of stopped or slowed traffic. Wulliman explained she was entering information in to her windshield-mounted GPS device at the time. She was fined and sentenced to 240 hours of community service, which of course sounds like a light sentence, but nonetheless reflects the late woman`s choice to make a treacherous crossing.
Texting while driving is illegal in Colorado. The text of the law applies not just to text messages, but "other similar forms of manual data entry or transmission."
There`s no reason not to take the driver at her word: She said she never saw the pedestrian at all. And since common sense tells us that most drivers aren`t driving around looking for pedestrians to kill, it rings true.
The family members didn`t want the driver to get jail time, which is compassionate, and the defense attorney did his job by pointing out Hoffins should not have crossed the street the way that she did.
But it should be repeated time, and time again, that if Wulliman had pulled over at some point — into the strip mall lot farther west, the gas station, into any of the neighborhood side streets or parking lots that dot the road — she could have entered her GPS data at a full stop. Continuing on her way, she may have been surprised or even alarmed to see a pedestrian walking across a busy, fast-paced street where there is no crosswalk, but she would have seen her. Hoffins` friends and family members wouldn`t have suffered such a horrendous loss, and Wulliman wouldn`t have to live the rest of her life knowing that she killed a fellow human being with her car.
Continue reading “Driver charged for hitting a j-walking a pedestrian”
Elderly Driver Cited For Striking Cyclist
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — A Hopkins student was hit while riding his bicycle near campus and the driver behind the wheel was issued two traffic tickets.
Andrea Fujii explains why the student’s family is disappointed.
The 83-year-old driver who hit and seriously injured Johns Hopkins student Nathan Krasnopoler as he rode his bike near campus has been ticketed. The traffic citations include negligent driving and failure to yield. The maximum penalties are a $500 fine and three points for each violation, but Jeanette Walke can keep her driver’s license.
Andrew Slutkin represents the victim’s family.
“As a result of her age and the fact that she had just seen him, they are concerned that she probably should not have been driving,” Slutkin said.
The state’s attorney would not answer any questions but issued a brief statement that read in part, “Our combined investigation found no evidence of gross negligence, which is required to support a charge of vehicular manslaughter. We will prosecute drivers who harm cyclists to the fullest extent of the law.”
Krasnopoler will never fully recover from his injuries; his brain was cut off from oxygen for far too long. His dad spoke to WJZ several weeks ago.
“Three seconds would’ve prevented all that, maybe two seconds. She just needed to wait,” said Mitchell Krasnopoler. “If you see a bicycle, you need to pay attention to where it is, and if that means waiting a few seconds, then just wait the few seconds because our life has been turned upside down.”
“The punishment in this case could never fit the conduct that took place,” Slutkin said. “It is a true tragedy in every sense of the word. No one benefits from this.”
Facing just two minor traffic tickets, the elderly driver may never even appear in court.
The General Assembly just passed a new law that would create tougher penalties for those who kill people as a result of negligent driving. It’s been pushed by bikers for years, who say it fills in gaps in the current law.
WJZ was unable to reach the driver for comment. Krasnopoler remains in the hospital.
Continue reading “Elderly Driver Cited For Striking Cyclist”
Officials unveil draft of campus master plan at the University of Maryland
By Spencer Israel
In Facilities Management’s second on-campus forum this semester, university officials presented the first draft of the department’s new master plan, highlighting eco-friendly transportation and campus-wide beautification projects.
About 20 university community members attended the nearly two-hour discussion on the Facilities Master Plan — the guide to on-campus development for the next 20 years — that largely centered around how to make the campus more friendly to bicyclists, pedestrians and motor vehicles, an area DOTS bicycle coordinator John Brandt said needs drastic improvement.
"When you’re providing for vehicles and pedestrians, you also have to provide for bicycles," he said. "There also needs to be a multi-access sidewalk across campus."
Lisa Delplace, the chief executive officer of a landscaping firm hired to consult on the plan, said this will be achieved by redeveloping the land behind McKeldin Library to better accommodate pedestrian traffic and converting the space occupied by Lot 1 into new academic buildings, a parking garage and a tree-lined road.
"It’s not saying ‘cars are not welcome,’" Delplace said. "It’s creating a better choice for traveling on campus. Why do people get into their cars a mile from campus?"
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Continue reading “Officials unveil draft of campus master plan at the University of Maryland”
Bicyclists should be licensed
[B’ Spokes: Shameful letters in the Sun, Bicyclists don’t kill people in Maryland as drivers of cars do, it really is as simple as that. I find it interesting turning to licencing rather then more traffic law enforcement that would actually catch these cyclists not knowing the law as well as the drivers, whoops a lot more drivers are going to get ticketed, so lets try and bend this so only cyclists are inconvenienced.]
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Michael Dresser’s "Driver’s ed redux? Motorists need to get up to speed" (April 4) focuses on motorists’ knowledge of the traffic laws applicable to bicycles. But what about bicyclists’ knowledge of the traffic laws applicable to motorists?
To legally drive an automobile, a person must be a certain age, take a driver’s education course and pass a written exam and driving test. Not so with riding a bicycle. All you have to do is get on and start riding. No training, no testing. How does that help promote safety for bicycle riders and promote road-sharing with motorists?
Motorists should have confidence that bicyclists know the traffic laws. There is a big difference between riding a bicycle on neighborhood sidewalks and riding on the streets and mixing with cars, trucks, buses and trains.
The solution is simple: Require licensing for all bicycle riders that use public roads. The licensing requirements would include a safety course for riding on city, state and federal highways. And there would be an added benefit: Gov. Martin O’Malley and the state legislators could have another revenue-generating licensing fee.
Ron Wirsing, Havre de Grace
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I agree with Ron Wirsing’s April 6 letter that bicyclists should be licensed.
A day does not pass that I do not witness a bicyclist violate the 3-foot law by weaving through stopped traffic at an intersection, then run a red light or fail to even slow down, much less stop, at a stop sign.
I have seen bicyclists ignore a school bus with flashing red lights and breeze by the flagman on a road crew. I have seen bicyclists riding at night with no headlights or taillights.
Mr. Wirsing is right: The only solution is to require licensing and a safety course.
Continue reading “Bicyclists should be licensed”
Seattle to spend $1 million to fix unsafe grates for cyclists
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“There’s clearly a lot of work to be done,” said Seattle City Councilman Mike O’Brien. “And you know it’s kind of a balancing act — Seattle Public Utilities is almost a billion dollar a year operation and so we’re spending a modest amount on improving the grates.”
SPU says it has about $60,000 set in its annual budget each year for this type of work.
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Continue reading “Seattle to spend $1 million to fix unsafe grates for cyclists”
The Urban Bike Adventure
Jukes of hazard
By Daryl Lang
Is there a worse car spot on TV right now than the “Donut Action” commercial for the Nissan Juke? Take a look:
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Are you kidding me, Nissan? In just 60 seconds, the viewer has to read not 1 but 4 disclaimers warning that the behavior in the commercial is dangerous. And it is! Driving while distracted, passing city traffic using your turbocharger, leaping through a freakin’ window, skidding through a parking structure, and far more showboating than the situation calls for.
If the ad were a masterpiece of slapstick comedy—if the humor overpowered the disturbing shot of large truck about to plow into a young driver—it might be deserving of a pass. There’s almost a tragic, Office/Office Space-style mood to it. There’s something funny about having a job so lame that you’re a hero for providing donuts. But it’s not funny enough.
This ad is uncomfortably close to the kind of real behavior that sends young drivers—likely Juke owners—to the emergency room. You can easily imagine an alternate ending: Kowalczyk speeds to run some trivial errand in his freshly waxed sportcross, clips the curb, mows down a cyclist, and rolls over in a ditch, blood oozing down his forehead. (Announcer: “The all-new Nissan Juke. With dual-stage front airbags!”)
Cars are dangerous. And while it’s common to see dangerous driving in commercials, it’s usually for beauty shots—a truck bounding over rocks, or a sporty car taking a tight corner on a mountain road. Here it’s used as part of a story that echoes a real-world situation. I doubt any kid is going to smash a Juke into a truck because of this commercial, but it sends a message that aggressive driving is fun and sexy. This ad shouldn’t have aired.
A Visionary Plan to Eliminate Traffic Congestion in NYC
from Project for Public Spaces by Project for Public Spaces
April 1, 2011
SADDLE RIVER, NJ- An unlikely coalition of retired traffic engineers, trucking company executives, suburban politicians and New York Post reporters unveiled here today a new proposal to eliminate all traffic congestion in New York City by 2025. The bold plan involves widening all roads to a minimum of twenty lanes and deporting all bike riders to the Netherlands.
Traffic will flow smoothly on Fifth Avenue if the proposed congestion relief plan for New York is adopted. Crosswalks, however, have become considerably longer.
The genius of the idea is that not only will there be plenty of space for cars in the short term, but because so many homes and businesses will be removed no one will ever have a reason to visit the city in the future. This will also solve the city’s transit budget woes, since no one will need to use the subway.
The millions of people who lose their homes or jobs as the city comes to resemble the outer suburbs of Cleveland, can move into the vast underground space vacated by the subway trains- another sustainable aspect of the plan.
Continue reading “A Visionary Plan to Eliminate Traffic Congestion in NYC”