Month: December 2008

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The Baltimore Office of Sustainability is looking for your photos of Baltimore

 

We would like to
request photo submissions
for the Sustainability Plan that highlight
Baltimore and its people for the following
seven chapters:

  • Cleanliness
  • Pollution
    Prevention
  • Resource
    Conservation
  • Greening
  • Transportation
  • Education
    and Awareness
  • Green
    Economy

 

In addition
we would be interested in cityscape photos that could be used in the
introductory sections.  Full credit will be given for any submissions
used.  Please send submissions by December 30th to Cassandra
Kapsos-Scouten at Cassandra.Kapsos-scouten@baltimorecity.gov

 

The Sustainability
Plan will be posted online starting December 30, 2008 at https://www.baltimorecity.gov/government/planning/sustainability/
and will be available for public comment for 30 days.

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Please consider the environment prior to printing;

www.baltimorecity.gov/sustainability

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COFFEE ANYONE?

Does caffeine inhibit or improve athletic performance? According to Australian researcher John Hawley, it helps. "With the ingestion of both caffeine and carbohydrate, the overall amount of glycogen stored in the muscle for the four-hour period was 60 percent higher than with carbohydrate alone," Hawley is quoted as saying in the following VeloNews piece. "There is absolutely no question that this additional muscle glycogen would improve performance." Potential downsides: the recommended dose can cause side effects such as insomnia, jitteriness, and gastrointestinal upset.
Continue reading “COFFEE ANYONE?”

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Who’s Trash Talking Bikes?

[From the League of American Bicyclists]
Every now and then, someone takes a potshot at bicyclists and bicycling. Sometimes it’s a politician; other times a shock jock. Whoever it is, and whatever their motivation, we don’t like it! So we keep track of who says what, and give you the chance to talk back. For responses to common trash talk, click on the menu to the right (Driving Costs, Pay Your Way, etc.)

Oct. 2, 2008: Professor John Cochran, University of Chicago

Sep. 8, 2008: Senator Jim DeMint, South Carolina

July 29, 2008: U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters

July 18, 2008: David Brooks, New York Times

Dec. 6, 2007: Representative John Boehner, Ohio

Sep. 11, 2007: Senator Tom Coburn, Oklahoma

Aug. 4, 2007: Representative Patrick McHenry, North Carolina

Talking Back points:

* Driving Costs

* Pay Your Way

* Get Off the Road

* Behave!
Continue reading “Who’s Trash Talking Bikes?”

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SMILE, HON, YOU’RE IN BALTIMORE!

BALTIMORE – Going gray waiting for the MARC? Wet leaves bring your
commute to a screeching halt? Maybe that red-light camera got your
number. Or the bike lanes that only seem to run through other
people’s neighborhoods just aren’t big enough for an OCLV carbon frame
AND and a ’78 Buick. Any which way, Eight-Stone Press (ESP) wants to
know!

Through December 31, 2008, ESP – publisher of the award-winning SMILE,
HON, YOU’RE IN BALTIMORE! series – is seeking your transit-themed
stories, essays, poetry, photography and other artwork for an upcoming
special focus issue of SMILE, HON. Potential topics/perspectives of
interest include, but are not limited to: mass transit (including bus,
MARC, light rail, subway, air travel, etc.); automobile (including
commuting, taxis, etc.); bicycle (including city, rural, etc.); and
pedestrian ventures. Articles (100 – 2,000 words) are preferably
received via e-mail (wpt@eightstonepress.com) as attached Word
documents. Image files should be at least 5″ x 7″, 300+ dpi (.TIF,
.JPG, or .PDF format). All contributors will receive a
byline/artistic credit for their work as well as two (2) complimentary
copies of the issue in which their work appears.
Continue reading “SMILE, HON, YOU’RE IN BALTIMORE!”

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One Less Car December Update

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Moving On
 
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A Message from One Less Car President, Greg Cantori
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Support the CYCLE CLAUS RAFFLE!
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Public comments on MARC and commuter bus cuts must be received by December 26th!
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Checklist of Maryland’s Bike Problems
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Last chance to stop the Intercounty Connector
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12 Steps for a safe and comfortable bike commute

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SAVE THE DATE! – The 2009 One Less Car
Symposium will be held on February 4th at the
Miller Senate Office Building in Annapolis.
Everyone is welcome to meet and greet their
legislators!
The Bike Commuter Tax Credit – What you need to know!

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Bike commuters are now eligible for a tax
credit! Learn more here!

Winter Biking

It’s getting cold out there! Here’s some
great Wintertime
bicycling tips from the
Great White North
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Oberstar

See Rep. James Oberstar speak
at the Pro Walk/Pro Bike Conference in
Seattle. Thanks to John Wetmore from Perils
for Pedestrians for this video!
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The Consolidated Transportation Program is
Maryland’s six-year capital budget for
transportation projects. If it’s not in the
CTP it probably won’t get built. Learn more
about the CTP and the public input process here

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Friends,

It saddens me to say that I will be leaving
my post as Executive Director of One Less Car
this month. It’s been a great twenty-two
months and I’ve had a wonderful time working
with all of you.


One Less Car is a very small non-profit and I
would be lying if I said its been easy
juggling a full schedule of events, advocacy
and administrative minutiae. But looking back
I see a lot for OLC members to be proud of –
Bicycle racks on all MTA buses, the repeal of
the state ban on bikes and peds on MdTA
bridges, the OLC BRAC report, the Fall ’08
Bike Summit, the Baltimore transit summits
and, of course, CAM and Tour du Port.


I know that OLC will continue on
a path where advocacy will be a central
focus. Marylanders need a strong advocate for
bike and pedestrian issues and OLC can
certainly fill that role.


Carol Silldorff, a former consultant for
Baltimore Green Week, will be the Interim
Executive Director of One Less Car starting
in Mid-December. I hope you will all join me
in wishing her the best of luck.

Richard Chambers, Executive Director

Richard Signature

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A Message from One Less Car President, Greg Cantori


As you all know, One Less Car has been very
lucky in having Richard work with us. His
passion for alternative transportation shows
by his literally walking the talk by busing
and biking around Baltimore since he came on
board. His efforts in getting 100% of MTA
buses fitted with bike racks was a real win
for those who need to make a bike/bus
transition. And his efforts to strengthen the
voices of bicyclists and transit riders has
been a genuine success. We wish him well!

Some organizational updates – We want to
welcome our newest board members: Tom Taylor,
John Purcell and Bruce Herman. They each
bring vital experience and interests that
will surely help One Less Car in aggressively
pursuing our dream of less cars on our roads.
Towards that end, our board will begin a
planning process to not only look at viable
ways to reduce car use, but to measure our
success with goals and outcomes that will
hold all of us and our public officials fully
accountable in making our roads less crowded.
Welcome Tom, Bruce and John!

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Support the CYCLE CLAUS RAFFLE!



HELP MAKE THIS A VERY SPECIAL HOLIDAY
SEASON FOR 12 BALTIMORE CITY CHILDREN BY
GIVING THEM NEW BICYCLES!

BUY YOUR $5 RAFFLE TICKETS ONLINE – Just go to
https://www.onelesscar.org/support_donation.php
and
make a donation based on the number of
tickets you want (i.e. a $50 donation = 10
raffle tickets).


With the proceeds from the
Cycle Claus
raffle One Less Car will be buying 12
bicycles (or
24 if 5000 tickets are sold!) for Baltimore
City children from lower income homes. One
Less Car believes that every child should
have the joy of riding a bike. It is also
our way of promoting healthier living by
helping to fight childhood obesity.


Not only will OLC be buying 12 bikes
(including all safety equipment) for the
children, but their families will receive a
gift certificate to a local grocery store to
go towards their holiday meal.


And the winner of the raffle gets his or
her choice of either a Fisher X-Caliber
Mountain Bike or a Trek 2.3 Road Bike,
courtesy of Joe’s
Bike Shop of Mount Washington!


Want more info? Contact David Schapiro at dschapiro@onelesscar.org

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Public comments on MARC and commuter bus cuts must be received by December 26th!

As you may know, the Maryland Transit
Administration is proposing drastic cuts to
MARC rail and commuter bus service in the
Baltimore and Washington areas. Most dramatic
is the proposal to cut commuter bus service
from Columbia to Downtown Baltimore to the
very bone.


If you use MTA commuter services, or if you
just happen to think Maryland should be
cutting new road projects (like the ICC)
before cutting essential transit service,
please contact MTA BEFORE DECEMBER
26th! Click here
for information on who to send your
letter or email to.

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Checklist of Maryland’s Bike Problems


Below is a list of some of the reasons why
the League
of American Bicyclists ranked Maryland a
lowly 35th in their annual ranking of
bike-friendly states. One Less Car
strongly encourages you to read over
the list and demand that the Maryland
Department of Transportation address these
issues. We believe that this checklist should
serve as a workplan for MDOT staff as they
move forward on improving bike accessibility.

No 3ft or greater safe passing law
Existence of a discriminatory mandatory
bike lane law
No Complete Streets or Bicycle and
Pedestrian Accommodation policy (Note: the
state has language encouraging bike/ped
accommodations, but no plan for ensuring that
these accommodations are actually built)
No Mountain Biking Plan
No CO2 Reduction Plan that includes
bicycle usage
No policy requiring bike parking at state
owned facilities
No system in place to determine
percentage of state highways that have paved
shoulders
No dedicated state funding source for
bicycling projects or programs
No questions regarding the
responsibilities of motorists towards
cyclists on driver’s test

Bicycle safety is not addressed in
Highway Safety Plan
No education of officers on cyclist
rights & responsibilities through academy or
continuing education
Information on cyclists rights and
responsibilities not made available to
traffic judges

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Last chance to stop the Intercounty Connector


In a time when billions of dollars are being
taken away from sustainable transportation
projects statewide Governor O’Malley has
chosen to continue his support of the
multi-billion dollar Intercounty Connector
highway project. In case you did not know,
the ICC is a proposed toll highway that will
connect Laurel to Montgomery County. If
built, Maryland taxpayers will be out
billions of dollars that could be used on
everything from schools and parks to bike
infrastructure and mass transit.


Learn more about the ICC boondoggle here.

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12 Steps for a safe and comfortable bike commute

Start off easy
Don’t feel you have to go the distance
Figure out your route
Test it before you commute
Find a bike buddy

Learn the rules of the road for bicycles
Investigate parking
Devise a cleanup plan
Carry flat fix essentials
Learn emergency adjustments
Inspect your bike before every ride
Perform routine maintenance
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If you build it, will they ride?

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The research identified three key contextual factors that Douma and Cleaveland believe strongly influence the success of new bicycle facilities in attracting riders: location along usable commuting routes, overall network connectivity, and amount of publicity and promotion given to the facilities. In cities where these three factors were not effectively addressed, the number of commuters traveling by bicycle did not increase significantly.
…
Continue reading “If you build it, will they ride?”

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A blueprint for a green agenda

PRESIDENT-ELECT Barack Obama intends to make an economic stimulus package a priority, with the emphasis on investments in public works infrastructure. While moving quickly is important, this is an opportunity for more coherent planning that accomplishes multiple goals.
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However, special attention should be paid to the kinds of infrastructure projects to be funded, and how these projects fit into a broader, long-range plan. We’re at a transformational moment when economic competitiveness, energy independence, responding to climate change, and developing a transportation system for the 21st century can all converge. The New England region can do its part by being ready with a model plan that transcends traditional boundaries.
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The Obama administration should assess the projects that will bring infrastructure systems into the 21st century, jump-start the economy, and prepare for the post-carbon, post-cheap oil future. Not just any old infrastructure will do.

Instead of new highways, which often enable unsustainable land development patterns, the policy should be "fix it first" – keeping existing roads and bridges in a state of good repair. The major infrastructure projects in any stimulus package should emphasize transit – bus systems, streetcars, light rail, and inter-city rail – and moving more freight capacity to rail as well.
Continue reading “A blueprint for a green agenda”