The criminal justice system can be plagued with “murder snobs” — people who think of these violent crimes as less important than intentional crimes. This remains true in spite of the fact that statistics consistently show that the average citizen is far more at risk from homicidal drivers on our roads than from criminals committing intentional homicides.
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Bike Lanes Needed In Baltimore!
- Target: Baltimore City Department of Transportation
- Sponsored by: Bike Maryland
Support Please SIGN this important petition!
We need to encourage the development of bike lanes as Baltimore City moves forward with bringing the 25th Street Station development to Remington. This is a great opportunity for bike lanes! However, throughout the public process, the needs of cyclist have been marginalized by several community groups. While traffic concerns and traffic calming are important issues that should not be ignored, Baltimore needs to acknowledge that not all traffic is car traffic. Car traffic will decrease if distinct bike lanes are created to offer a safer corridor for cyclists. Furthermore, plans have been developed that will not impede automobile traffic.
Please sign this important petition and encourage the Department of Transportation to create bike lanes on Huntingdon Avenue and 25th Street. 25th Street is a vital link in the city%u2019s bicycle network being the only east-west bike amenable street between North Avenue and 33rd Street. This route will not only connect Hampden and Remington neighborhoods to the Guilford Avenue bicycle boulevard and points downtown, but also provide a safer route for Johns Hopkins students from the university to the medical campus. Please SIGN! Thank you!
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Houston Planners Will Spend All Their Federal Air Quality Funding on Cars
Houston planners justified their decision by saying more roads are needed and that pedestrian and cycling infrastructure benefits special interests.
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Baltimore metro area kicks off Street Smarts with new and improved pedestrian safety signs
Expect to see these signs popping up around Baltimore to improve pedestrian safety.
The first sign is to warn pedestrians that they will get tickets if they cross the road other then at a signal.
The second one is to remind pedestrians they are always a target on the road, even at crosswalks. So even if you have the right-of-way don’t be dead right.
Many thanks to those who made this happen in an effort to improve pedestrian safety in Maryland.
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Things to Do
Antietam Battlefield
The Antietam Battlefield is just four miles away and a great place for history buffs, walkers, runners, cyclists, and anyone else interested in the details of the bloodiest battle of the Civil War. The first Saturday in December the park holds a candle vigil – one candle for each soldier who died – a spectacular sight to behold. The annual Independence Day fireworks celebration is another must see event.
C&O Canal
We are located one-half mile from the C&O Canal, mile marker 73 and each year we get to meet hundreds of people from all over the world who are cycling or hiking through on the 184 miles of the Canal or just taking in a short section. The Canal is an important piece of American history used from the 1820’s thru 1924 to access coal in the Allegheny Mountains. When the railroad industry and damaging floods closed the canal for the last time in 1924 it sat dormant until the 1970’s when it became the C&O Canal Historical Park.
Great Allegheny Passage
The Great Allegheny Passage is a (crushed gravel) rail trail that connects to the C&O Canal in Cumberland, MD, and continues through the Allegheny Mountains towards Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh end is still under construction, but cyclists can currently access a continual stretch of trail from Cumberland to McKeesport, Pennsylvania.
Potomac River
The Potomac River sits in our backyard and can be accessed by the public boat ramp in Shepherdstown. This section of the river is flat and calm (unless it rains a lot), and is a great spot for fishing or recreational kayaking/canoeing.
Washington County, Maryland Bicycle Tours
If you enjoy road cycling visit Washington County, Maryland, Bicycle Tours for local cycling routes promoted by cycle-friendly Washington County, Maryland.
Warning Crossing Extremely Hazardous
by William Carpenter
Putting the Masses Behind Mass Transit
By Bill Worthen
It’s no secret that Americans are in love with the automobile. Yet, this heavy reliance on autos is taking a toll on the country’s flawed transportation system. Fluctuating gas prices, rising everyday living costs, environmental concerns and an aging infrastructure further tax our transportation system and suggest that it’s time to reconsider this long-standing love affair with cars.
We’re reaching the limits of our capacity and density regarding transportation. Anyone who commutes to work via automobile is likely well-versed in the frustrations caused by traffic, highway degradation and other problems. Yet across the nation we see a real resistance to mass transit.
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Most romantic in the world – no freeways through the center of town.
from Switchboard, from NRDC › Kaid Benfield’s Blog
Kaid Benfield, Director, Sustainable Communities & Smart Growth, Washington, DC
One of my most popular recent posts was published last month on Valentine’s Day. In it, I pointed out that some of the cities considered the most romantic in the world – such as Prague, Paris, Lisbon, Rome, Vienna, and Venice – had a number of things in common: walkability, lively public spaces and thriving downtowns, a strong sense of place, good public transportation, and so on.
Here’s something else they have in common: no (or almost no) freeways running through the center of town.
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Fares are just taxes by another name
[B’ Spokes: in light of Assembly pushes for higher MTA fares the following seems appropriate.]
via Google Maps Bike There
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Fares are just taxes by another name Posted: 30 Mar 2011 03:09 AM PDT So says Noam Chomsky in his book Class Warfare (pdf). This means that an increase in fares is an increase in taxes. We should oppose these tax increases, which are very regressive, aimed at everyone but the rich — because, generally speaking, rich folks don’t take public transit. And now that bike-sharing schemes are increasingly falling under the umbrella of ‘public transit’, it is likely their fares and fees will be raised, too — for example, up to 70% for Paris’ Velib system (hat tip: World City Bike). Keep in mind that you don’t have to be a socialist to be against raising taxes against those who can least afford it — even relatively conservative/capitalist institutions like the Editorial Board of the New Jersey Star-Ledger understand that raising public transit fares is tax that is going to make it even more difficult for working families to get by. Even avowed individual capitalists understand that class war is being waged by the rich against everyone else, and the rich are winning. There may be reasons why we may decide that having non-rich folks pay more in taxes for public transportation is required or desirable, but for me, I’d rather we have rich folks start paying some taxes — and corporations, too. |
Woman arrested in bicyclist hit and run
[B’ Spokes: Sounds very close to Natasha Pettigrew fatality but WITH charges of hit and run. ]
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Pete Skiba
LEESBURG, Ga. — A 25-year-old woman has been charged after authorities say the SUV she was driving Monday night slammed into a bicyclist in a hit-and-run incident.
Mia Register was jailed on charges of drunken driving, hit and run with serious injury, failure to report an accident with injury, and endangering a child.
The bicyclist, Jeffrey Haire, was taken to Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital after the crash, which happened about 8:20 p.m. He was listed in good condition Wednesday, a hospital spokeswoman said.
“Her boyfriend was in the vehicle with her,” said Lee County Sheriff Reggie Rachals. “He came to the sheriff’s office and turned her in because he knew it was the right thing to do.”
Also in the 2002 Mazda Tribute SUV with Register was her 7-year-old son, said Georgia State Senior Trooper Walter Spurlin, who interviewed the couple after the arrest was made around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday.
“The man tried to get her to stop because he knew she hit someone,” Spurlin said. “She said she thought it was a trash can or a mailbox.”
Spurlin said that at the time of the crash, Haire was wearing a helmet, a reflective vest and had two flashing red lights on the rear of his bicycle. Haire, an experienced cyclist, was following the rules of the road and had taken all safety precautions, Spurlin added.
Register lives about 50 yards from Haire’s street, Spurlin said.
Someone in the neighborhood called the night of the crash to say they saw Register cleaning the SUV. Deputies were already on their way to Register’s home, he added.
The name of Register’s passenger was not immediately available from Spurlin or Rachals. A jail spokeswoman said Wednesday afternoon that Register was in jail awaiting a first appearance before a judge. The initial court appearance could come as early as this morning.
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