Month: April 2008

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Complete Streets Legislation in US Sentate

On Monday, March 3, 2008, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) introduced Senate bill S. 2686, The Complete Streets Act of 2008. The Complete Streets Act of 2008 was introduced to ensure that all users of the transportation system, including pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit users as well as children, older individuals, and individuals with disabilities, are able to travel safely and conveniently on streets and highways. The bill would require that state DOTs and MPOs develop complete streets policies for the use of federal funds.

Co-sponsors and supporters of S. 2686 are essential – please call or write to your Senator today to gain their support. Visit the Complete Streets website for talking points, fact sheets and updated information. The Safe Routes to School National Partnership is supporting this bill, as complete streets help to make our roadways safer for everyone, including children, the most vulnerable users.

[Maryland ranks in the top 10 worst states with the highest ratio of bike/ped traffic fatalities, this is important to us. I will also note that during the previous administration too often the additional ~2% expense for complete streets where appropriate was claimed to be too expensive while at the same time coming in UNDER the transportation budget by ~2% (the transportation budget includes many big ticket items where complete streets would not be appropriate for the bulk of the project, such as expressway expansion.) We need policy to counteract this sort of malfeasance.]
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NYC Got on the Bus

New York City is finally on the BRT bandwagon.

Mayor Bloomberg announced "Select Bus Service" along the BX 12 line last week, a plan that many policy-minded readers might know by a different name: Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). Yes, after years of hard-nosed advocacy by Transportation Alternatives, the NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign and a growing chorus of advocates like "Communities United for Transportation Equity," the City and the Bloomberg Administration finally got on the BRT bus.

Expect prepaid fares, signal priority at intersections, colored "bus only" lanes, entrances in the front and rear of the vehicle, as well as fewer stops along this flagship BRT route that runs on 207th Street in Northern Manhattan and on Fordham Road and Pelham Parkway in the Bronx. If all of these measures are made a reality, well-maintained and strictly enforced, New York City will see its first ever surface subway, a bus line capable of quickly moving a train’s worth of people for a fraction of the cost.
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House Bill 875 – allow bikes on toll bridges, please.

Senate Bill 492 [House Bill 875] is now being heard by the House Environmental Matters Committee. A vote may come at any time. If passed, it would allow the state Department of Transportation to grant bicycle and pedestrian access on new and state-owned retrofitted bridges. If this bill does not pass walking and bike paths on the new Nice Bridge currently being planned over the Potomac could be put in jeopardy. Contact Environmental Matters Chairwoman, Maggie McIntosh [ref HB 875] and tell her we need this bill to come to a full House vote. The bill already passed in the Senate 47 – 0 !!
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Road Safety Needs to be Taken Seriously

Hi Everyone,

Pop quiz. What’s the number one killer of kids in the world?

No. Not the scary murderer on the 11 o’clock news.

Not some disease with a hard to pronounce name.

It’s cars. More young people are killed on roads than anywhere else. This is true WORLDWIDE.

In America the numbers are pretty grim. Every day 6 children age 14 and under are killed on U.S. roads, while another 670 are injured. That’s 2,200 children dead each year and a staggering 245,000 injured.

Most of this carnage is accidental. But all of it is totally avoidable. Speed is usually the fundamental reason for these deaths. A child hit at 25 mph has a 90 percent chance of surviving. If he is hit at 40 mph his survival rate is less than 10 percent.

This year One Less Car has been doing its best to raise the profile of the road safety issue in Maryland. We supported bills in Annapolis that would have increased the penalties for reckless motorists and we put a lot of effort into passing a requirement that motorists give 3 feet when passing bicycles. Both of these measures failed.

In our opinion these bills would have made Maryland roads a safer place for all users (including motorists). The fact that they failed to make it out of committee is a disgrace. It’s disheartening that so many of our elected representatives seem so ignorant of how dangerous our car culture has really become.

As the weather gets warmer and more of us are out walking and biking give some consideration to how you would make the case for safer roads to your state delegate or senator. Think about your neighborhood and how much better it would be with fewer and slower cars. Do you think you could make your elected representatives listen? We’ll need your voice during the next General Assembly session.

Meanwhile, take a look at the website of the Make Roads Safe Campaign https://www.makeroadssafe.org/ . They are tackling the problem on a global scale. If you have time, please sign their petition for safer roads in developing countries. Every name helps.

Thanks,

Richard Chambers, Executive Director

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When will Baltimore be a more bike friendly city?

Deputy Mayor Andy Frank on the Marc Steiner Show – December 2007

Caller, Q: "When will Baltimore be a more bike friendly city?"

Frank, A: "The transportation department working with planning dept is implementing a bike strategy, we funded $1mm worth of construction mostly in lane striping improvements to connect what is referred to as the collegetown route to connecting some of the universities in Baltimore. If you drive down some of the streets now you’ll begin to see the striping

We opened the promenade in the inner harbor to biking.

The mayor every Friday morning is leading a delegation of city cabinet heads and community folks who want to come out at 6:30 in the morning, it’s a little too early for me, [Marc: too early for you?] if she did it at 12:30 in the morning I might get up and do it…

We have a bike coordinator and we have an entire plan and every time now when we design and construct streets we do it keeping in mind that there need to be bike lanes, this is a major part of the mayor’s cleaner and greener initiative and we want to encourage more biking."

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DONATE $50 or more to OLC and get a chance to win a Half Dome 4 Tent from REI!

DONATE $50 or more to OLC and get a chance to win a Half Dome 4 Tent from REI!

One Less Car is YOUR voice for better bicycling, walking and mass transit in Maryland. You may not know this, but a significant percentage of our funding comes from donations. The more you donate the more we can work for safer streets, less car traffic and better transportation choices.

Our very good friends at REI in Timonium have donated a great HALF DOME 4 TENT (list price $250) to us. We’d like YOU to have it! Just make a tax-deductible donation of $50 or more to One Less Car by May 5th, 2008 and you’ll be entered to win this very cool prize.

You can make your donation by using our new online system or by sending your check to One Less Car, PO Box 19987, Baltimore, Md. 21211

The winner will be announced in our May email update.

THANKS and GOOD LUCK!

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Our New Pace Car Coordinator is Looking for YOUR HELP

When One Less Car started its Community Pace Car program back in October of last year, our objective was simple – to give people an opportunity to make a statement and curb speeding on their neighborhood streets. Since then over 100 Marylanders have joined the effort.

In February we hired Eva Khoury, the former Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator for the City of Baltimore, to be our point person for the Pace Car project. Since then she’s been working hard educating people about the Pace Car concept and expanding our ability to make an impact on road safety in Maryland.

But now we need your help to make Community Pace Car a success. If you are interested in any of the following, please contact Eva at ekhoury@onelesscar.org

* Participating on our Pace Car Advisory Board, or
* Volunteering to help get the word out in your community for an hour or two a week, or
* Gathering your neighbors to sign the Pace Car pledge

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Hopkins 4K for Cancer – 2008

Hi everyone!

I’m part of an group called Hopkins4k, and this summer we are going to ride from Baltimore to San Francisco in order to spread Awareness, raise funds, and foster hope for cancer patients and their families. Our goal is to ride 4000 miles, raising $1 for every mile we ride. You can find out more information at https://hopkins4k.org/

Please help me achieve my fundraising goal! Visit https://www.active.com/donate/hopkins4k/H4KJGao to donate online, or email me at hopkins4k@jamesgao.com if you have any questions.

Thanks!