baltimorespokes

WHAT MAKES EUROPE GREENER THAN THE U.S.?
-> According to a Sept. 28th Yale/Environment 360 article by Elisabeth Rosenthal, "…Europe, particularly northern Europe, is far more environmentally conscious than the United States, despite Americans’ sincere and passionate resolution to be green. Per capita CO2 emissions in the U.S. were 19.78 tons according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, which used 2006 data, compared to 9.6 tons in the U.K., 8.05 tons in Italy, and 6.6 tons in France…
"Part of the problem is that the U.S. has had the good fortune of developing as an expansive, rich country, with plenty of extra space and cheap energy. Yes, we Americans love our national parks. But we live in a country with big houses. Big cars. Big commutes. Central Air. Big fridges and separate freezers. Clothes dryers. Disposable razors…"
Source: https://tinyurl.com/ybvcotk
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD: WILL THAT ROAD MAKE YOU SICK?
-> According to a Sept. 28th Washington Post article, "[Montgomery County, Maryland,] officials on Tuesday will propose requiring health studies before major roads are approved. They want to gauge how vehicle exhaust will affect minors, seniors, women who might have children, heart patients and others.
"’If one lives close to a major highway, it can have real impacts on respiratory function and lung capacity,’ said council member Duchy Trachtenberg (D-At Large), who is introducing the idea with four of her colleagues. ‘If a project is going have a negative impact on the population…we have an obligation as public servants to work with that information and make sure we protect the public’s health and well-being.’
"The regulation would require predicting pollution levels near proposed roads and their effects decades into the future. Major state and county roads within 1,000 feet of parks, schools, day-care centers, retirement homes or hospitals would be affected. Federal highways would get a pass…"
Source: https://tinyurl.com/ybbho7p
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Title: "Montgomery Wants to Know: Will That Road Make You Sick?"
Author: Michael Laris
-> "Be an Ambassador for Cycling: Just because there’s some road rager out there who wants to mix it up with cyclists doesn’t mean that we have to dance to his tune. The most powerful things we can do to effect positive change in the road environment are proactive, not reactive. You have the power to bring a positive influence to your road environment, just as you have the power to bring a negative influence to your road environment…"
— Bob Mionske, Bicycling Magazine
Source: https://tinyurl.com/lc5kcf

[From my mail bag:]
"When the pair stuck with their plan, they were met by school administrators and a state trooper, who emphasized that biking was prohibited."
Read more: https://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=847190&TextPage=1#ixzz0Shb57gTg
Please take a minute to support Adam and Janette’s RIGHT to freely choose their method of transportation by sending a quick email.
Contact Maple Avenue Middle School Principal Stuart F. Byrne at:
s_byrne@saratogaschools.org
Let Mr. Byrne know that you support Adam and Janett’s RIGHT to free movement and self determination, and that a ban on biking to school is simply wrong.
Thanks for your time and your support.
Brian McCormick
"I bet I can find 1 million American families who want big beautiful bike paths"

Each year, approximately 900 pediatric pedestrians younger than 19 years are killed. In addition, 51000 children are injured as pedestrians, and 5300 of them are hospitalized because of their injuries.
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Driver Characteristics
Driver characteristics also contribute to child pedestrian injuries. Male drivers, drivers younger than 40 years, and those with a record of multiple driving infractions and suspended or revoked licenses are more likely to be involved in a collision with a child pedestrian.50,51 Two studies performed by the National Safe Kids campaign show that large numbers of drivers speed and fail to stop at stop signs in school zones
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Driver Education and Enforcement
Although pedestrian advocates recommend driver-education programs to remedy dangerous driving, there is little research regarding interventions aimed at improving driver knowledge, attitudes, or skills to avoid pedestrian crashes. Furthermore, a study that looked at state driver’s license manuals showed that most of these publications had no information about common locations for pedestrian-vehicle conflicts, automobile movements that are most hazardous for pedestrians, safest ways to conduct turns, or requirements for yielding to pedestrians at stop signs and intersections.58 One 4-year program that combined a media campaign with strong police enforcement of crosswalk laws did not result in drivers becoming more willing to stop for pedestrians.59
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Walkability Checklists
The Partnership for a Walkable America (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Federal Highway Administration, Institute of Transportation Engineers, Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation) advises the use of a "walkability checklist," available on the Internet,85 to score the walkability of a community and identify the safest pedestrian routes for children. For each type of pedestrian problem, the checklist outlines specific strategies to help individuals and community groups who want to create safe walking routes for children. Formal evaluation of the ability of such checklists to decrease pediatric pedestrian injury is lacking.
Continue reading “Pedestrian Safety”