Posts

Posted on

A thought about our 3′ safe passing bill

In the State’s Drivers’ Manual it says the following:

"A pedestrian does not have the right of way to cross a roadway outside of a crosswalk. A pedestrian who crosses a roadway outside of a crosswalk must yield to any vehicle, although a driver must always avoid hitting the pedestrian."

That is to say even if the pedestrian is not crossing in a legal manner motorists must do their best avoid hitting the pedestrian. But in our safe passing bill the cyclist must be riding lawfully, that is to say as far right as practicable and if police and/or the courts or even possibly the motorist feel that the cyclists should be further right then their is no obligation for a 3′ passing distance.

This years 3′ safe passing distance adds these two exceptions:

(I) THE BICYCLE, EPAMD, OR MOTOR SCOOTER RIDER FAILS TO OPERATE THE VEHICLE IN CONFORMANCE WITH § 21–1205(A) OF THIS SUBTITLE (“RIDING TO RIGHT SIDE OF ROADWAY”) OR § 21–1205.1(B) OF THIS SUBTITLE (“ROADWAY WITH BIKE LANE OR SHOULDER PAVED TO SMOOTH SURFACE”); OR
(II) A PASSING CLEARANCE OF LESS THAN 3 FEET IS CAUSED SOLELY BY THE BICYCLE, EPAMD, OR MOTOR SCOOTER RIDER 10 FAILING TO MAINTAIN A STEADY COURSE.

In other words "but the cyclist swerved" would be a codified legal excuse as would be "but the cyclists was not riding as far right as possible."
Continue reading “A thought about our 3′ safe passing bill”

Posted on

Portland has some of the same problems as we do

From Portland’s Transportation Safety Summit Summary
By Aaron Tarfman
…
The head of ODOT for the Multnomah region spoke about numerous ‘improvements’ for 82nd ave
…
One comment on Bikeportland stated “I find the middle of the block to be the safest place to cross, what with folks blindly turning right on red. Little white stripes and a "walk" light don’t make you safer…especially not on 82nd.”
After he spoke, I grabbed his ear and mentioned in no uncertain terms that every single road under ODOT’s control is a road that I am afraid to walk or ride my bike on. I mentioned several examples including Southeast Powell, 82nd Ave, East Burnside, and Sandy. While he diplomatically cited several areas where ODOT has put in crosswalks etc, the fact of the matter is that the high crash maps still show more incidents on these roads than anywhere else.
…
Continue reading “Portland has some of the same problems as we do”

Posted on

Nine mechanical engineers build a spokeless bicycle


Nine mechanical engineering majors had a dilemma: what do you do for your mechanical design class when you only have a semester? Well, this guys decided to build a spokeless bicycle. Admittedly, only the back wheel is spokeless, but there are reasons for that.

The students that posted this up were in a mechanical engineering class at Yale, and wanted to prove that you could build a human powered spokeless bicycle. It’s a very impressive project, and make sense when you think about it. The design allows for the possibilities of an electric motor, or even (as the student put it) “some sort of gyro balanced storage basket”. Keep in mind, this is a prototype so it’s a little rough around the edges, but the concept is sound. Also, the design originally called for both wheels to be spokeless, however due to budget and time restraints they stuck to just the back wheel.

Continue reading “Nine mechanical engineers build a spokeless bicycle”

Posted on

Become a bikeUMD Ambassador!

BikeUMD Bicycle Ambassador
What is bikeUMD?
bikeUMD is a campus program with the goal of promoting bicycling within the UMD community. Funding comes primarily from the Department of Transportation Services (DOTS) but the program also depends heavily on collaborations with the Campus Bike Shop in Cole field house and the Campus Police.
What are we looking for in a Bicycle Ambassador?
We are looking for energetic, punctual students, faculty and staff who are comfortable riding a bicycle and eager to advocate for improved bicycle facilities on our campus. Candidates should be interested in promoting safe and fun biking behaviors and events. Interested students should not expect to graduate before spring of 2011.
Duties:
* Chalk bicycle related messages
* Pass out bicycle related information during Bicycle Week (April 5 – April 9, 2010) (Please be willing to commit to 4 hours of volunteer time during this week.)
* Attend training sessions and informational sessions. (No more than 2 a semester) (food provided)
* Share announcements about bicycling on campus through facebook, twitter, email and other social media
* Represent the student body by giving input and feedback on facilities and plans
* Other opportunities to promote cycling:
o Lead bicycle tours, assist with helmet fittings, promote use of u-locks, etc.
Continue reading “Become a bikeUMD Ambassador!”

Posted on

but really…. it is not as much as CAR VERSUS BIKE as it is ME ME ME!

by gwadzilla
the other day I got out on the bike…
it was not a training session
it was not a workout
it was just a way to get from POINT A TO POINT B
so often on this short cross town trek from my home in Mount Pleasant to my dad’s house in Bethesda I found myself playing chicken with the oncoming cars
it was not just frustrating… it was also dangerous
there were cars swerving to dodge snow crossing the double yellow line coming straight towards me
funny… the car drivers work so hard to avoid damage to their cars
if only they worked so hard to not risk injury to pedestrians and cyclists
so often a car driver will slow for a pothole in the road… while that same driver will not alter their speed when approaching the pedestrian or the cyclist
Continue reading “but really…. it is not as much as CAR VERSUS BIKE as it is ME ME ME!”

Posted on

San Francisco Takes Parking Spaces for Trial Sidewalk Extensions

mojo_p2p.gifA photo simulation of the new Pavement to Parks public space in what was once two parking spaces in front of the Mojo Bicycle Cafe in NOPA. Image: RG Architecture.

With the success of San Francisco’s Pavement to Parks trial plazas, the city is about to unveil its newest plan to use its streets for something other than cars when it converts parking spaces to public space by extending sidewalks into the street with durable wood platforms.

City planners acknowledge that the inspiration for these new pedestrian spaces came from the success of Park(ing) Day, an international sensation developed by Rebar, where people in cities around the globe occupy parking spaces for one day a year and build pocket parks and other innovative facilities.

The first iteration of the loosely dubbed Pavement to Parks 2.0 projects, which could happen in the next few weeks, will be the transformation of two parking spaces in front of Mojo Bicycle Café on Divisadero Street, in coordination with the massive construction project that is remaking the Divisadero corridor.

“The idea is essentially to build a cheaper bulbout, to get the same effect as a $100,000 [concrete] bulbout at a fraction of the funds,” said the San Francisco Planning Department’s Andres Power, project manager for Pavement to Parks. “We will take the occupation of a sidewalk off the sidewalk and move it into the parking lane.”

Continue reading “San Francisco Takes Parking Spaces for Trial Sidewalk Extensions”

Posted on

Obama’s Transportation Budget Request – Good for now but not sustainable

By Steve Van Beek

the Administration proposes to fund the increase by tapping what user revenues there are and by significantly increasing the proportion of transportation programs paid for by the nation’s taxpayers.

…
these are five reasons why these strategies are unsustainable:

(1) Transportation cannot consistently out-compete other domestic priorities,

(2) Experience shows that annual appropriations without dedicated funding sources often go unfunded or fall short of authorized levels,

(3) Injecting taxpayer money into trust funds breaks the historic link inherent in current programs between how monies are raised and how they are spent,

(4) Transportation providers and federal agencies need a solvent and predictable trust fund regime to plan and invest in multi-year infrastructure projects, and

(5) Current surface transportation and aviation policies require reform and changes need to be linked with new trust fund regimes.
Continue reading “Obama’s Transportation Budget Request – Good for now but not sustainable”