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MTA To Introduce Smart Cards In Baltimore Region

BALTIMORE — The Maryland Transit Administration is aiming to introduce an automated fare card system by October.

But MTA will wait on its goal of making the service interchangeable with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s SmarTrip cards.

MTA spokeswoman Jawauna Greene said the two agencies weren’t able to negotiate a revenue sharing agreement. She said the cards for Baltimore-area transit are compatible with the Washington cards and could be integrated in the future.

The cards store credits for fares on an embedded microchip. They will be accepted on MTA’s core services: buses, light rail and the Metro subway, but not on MARC trains or commuter buses.

MTA customers would pay an upfront charge for a card and would add value to it by depositing cash at MTA machines around the region.
Continue reading “MTA To Introduce Smart Cards In Baltimore Region”

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Wheeling in Employees: How to Keep Cyclists Happy at the Office

EPA bike room
YOU’VE DECIDED TO BECOME a bike commuter. Kudos. But how successfully you stick with that resolution depends on whether your office goes the distance.

As cycling gains ground in the D.C. area, some businesses have been bona fide trailblazers. Toole Design — a Hyattsville-based transportation consulting firm — and the World Bank‘s D.C. office have even been recognized by the League of American Bicyclists as two of the nation’s most bicycle-friendly workplaces.

Want to know how your employer can follow their lead? Keep reading.

Be Accessible
Most folks aren’t going to want to hop on I-66 to wheel their way in. So, companies in neighborhoods near multi-use jogging and cycling trials — like Bethesda, which is close to the Capital Crescent — are more likely to lure two-wheelers. Second best are offices near roads with bike lanes (or little traffic).

Employees also have the option of pedaling to the closest Metro station, locking up their Schwinns and riding the rails the rest of the way. For those who want to haul a bike on the train — they’re prohibited during peak riding hours — Toole Design planning director R.J. Eldridge suggests a small, foldable model. “You can take it on the Metro anytime,” he says.
NIH Bicycle Commuter Club

Continue reading “Wheeling in Employees: How to Keep Cyclists Happy at the Office”

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Bike Baltimore , Vol. 1, Issue 1

Thank you for subscribing to the BIKE BALTIMORE e-newsletter distributed by
the Baltimore
City , Department of
Transportation.  Here you will find the latest information regarding the
city’s efforts to make Baltimore
a safer and more enjoyable place to bike.

 

SUPPORT!

 

Contact your congressional representatives and ask them to
support new active transportation projects for the
Baltimore area!  The City of Baltimore
has 4 projects that will need federal funding – Herring Run Trail
extension, Baltimore & Annapolis Trail extension, Bike Station improvements
and reconstructing the Middle Branch Bridge for cyclists and pedestrians! 
A brief description of these projects can be found at www.baltimorecity.gov/bike

 

BIKE INFRASTRUCTURE

 

New Bike Lanes – The first bike lanes of the 2009
construction season are installed on Wabash
Avenue between
Bareva Rd and
Hilton Rd.   These bike lanes are
along the left side of the road to improve access for the residents in this
area.  The lanes will further extend to the Cold Spring Metro Station and
West Cold Spring Lane .

 

New Bike Parking –
Baltimore has 2 new bike parking
facilities:  The on-street bike parking in
Charles Village
and new bike lids at the West Baltimore MARC Station.  The on-street
facility in Charles
Village converts a
vehicular space and provides parking for 10-12 bicycles.  The bike lids
provide longer term parking to commuters at the MARC Station.  The lids
effectively cover the bike protecting it from vandals and weather.

 

 

BIKE EVENTS

 

The Bike Blast on
April 25th and the Bike Summit on
May 1st were both a huge success!  The Bike Summit laid out a
vision of what biking in Baltimore
will look like in 10-15 years.  Cycling advocates, city and state
officials came together to share ideas and resources to improve biking in
Baltimore . Results from
the Bike Summit will be posted online when available.

 

Bike To Work Day is Friday, May 15th,
2009.  The annual downtown rally at War
Memorial Plaza
is one of many rallies taking place in Baltimore . 
Register online here.

 

Tour Dem Parks, Hon is Sunday, June 14th!

 

All these events and more can be found on the Bike
Baltimore website at www.baltimorecity.gov/bike

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Support Delegate Al Carr As he prepares for the 2010 election

[Baltimore Spokes: Please note that Delegate All Carr introduced HB 1197 last year and is not only a supporter of cyclists he is a cyclist, so please help in anyway you can.
Info about HB 1197: https://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=20090216224144300 ]

Sunday, June 7th, 2009
5:00pm – 7:00pm

Sub*Urban Trading Co.
10301 Kensington Pkwy
Kensington, MD 20895
(301) 962-4046
Continue reading “Support Delegate Al Carr As he prepares for the 2010 election”

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:o Vehicular assault on a delegate!!!

Please forward to your friends and colleagues the following message: I have just begun my crusade. This past weekend my girlfriend and I both nearly got run off the road…unnecessarily.

We have to keep up the good fight.

Working hard for Maryland,

Jon S. Cardin
11th District, Maryland House of Delegates

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Craigslist ad leads police to alleged bike thieves

BELLINGHAM — Two Bellingham men were arrested Thursday, May 7, after police discovered the pair had been stealing bicycles and selling them on Craigslist.
The investigation began when a woman, whose mountain bike had been stolen, told Bellingham Police she thought she saw the bicycle for sale on Craigslist, said Mark Young, police spokesman. An officer went to the Web site, tracked down the listing and saw the bike being offered for $1,500. The ad included a picture that matched the description of the woman’s bicycle, Young said.
The police officer called the phone number provided in the listing and set up a time with the seller to buy the bike.
The officer drove an unmarked patrol car to a local shopping center where he met Jeremy Randall Schuitema, 22, who came to the meeting riding the bike, Young said. The officer checked the serial number, which matched that of the woman’s missing mountain bike.
Continue reading “Craigslist ad leads police to alleged bike thieves”

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Sorry, Portland

Being involved with the more established bike groups as well as the alt bike culture this article raises an interesting thought, what if bike friendly cities were rated by Critical Mass, Ally Cat races, bike polo and the number of fixed gear riders?
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Continue reading “Sorry, Portland”

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BIKE FROM WORK DAY CELEBRATION!

Can’t make the Bike2Work Day rally?

Have to be work too early?

Just not a morning person?

Seems to me if you bike TO work on Friday, May 15th, you’re gonna bike back home FROM work, too.

Ahem,

INTRODUCING:

(drum roll)

The First . . .

Annual . . .

BIKE FROM WORK DAY CELEBRATION!

4:30PM – ?
DuClaw Brewery
901 S. Bond Street (at Thames Street)
Fells Point (21231)

Happy Hour Specials
(3PM – 7PM)
Givaways!
(depending what I can get anybody to donate)

This is a viral gathering, NOT officially sponsored by:

DuClaw
The Baltimore Metropolitan Council
The Baltimore City Dept of Transportation
The Mayor’s Bicycle I-wouldn’t-advise-that Committee

OK, not even unofficially sponsored by the above.

Come meet your fellow city cyclists.
Trade MTA horror stories.
Compare routes.
Compare equipment (you know you always are anyway).
Refuel for the evening ride.
But don’t get too hammered to track a straight line.

Be there or be square!

Greg Hinchliffe

(Who?)