Month: November 2009

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Columbia (Mo.) mayor says it’s time to put pedal to metal

[Baltimore Spokes: Note they used Federal Funding, we have a hard time getting Federal Funding because of State Policies.]

Says Columbia (Md.) needs to develop its bicycling potential

By Sarah Breitenbach – Colombia Flier

Columbia could learn a thing or two from a Missouri city that shares its name.

Darwin Hindman, the mayor of Columbia, Mo., visited Columbia, Md., Wednesday to tour the area and to talk about strategies for making Howard County more bike-friendly.

Hindman was invited to town as a guest of Columbia Tomorrow, a nonprofit dedicated to revamping downtown Columbia.

His visit included a two-wheeled tour on area bike paths and roads, and a lunch with representatives from nonprofits, businesses and local government.

“One of the things you’ve got to do if it’s going to work is take the people who don’t ride bikes now and get them interested in it,” he said.

Hindman told the group of 30 how his city used a $22.5-million federal grant to build bike paths, improve intersections and host city-sponsored bicycle safety courses.

“It’s beautiful here,” he said. “You’ve got an awful lot to build on.”

Hindman emphasized the health benefits of biking and its ability to decrease congestion when used as a means of commuting.

David Yungmann, founder of Columbia 2.0, an organization that seeks to involve younger people in the downtown redevelopment process, and a participant in the morning bike ride, said Columbia’s roads are not conducive to commuters on bikes.

“We were in people’s way,” he said. “People are trying to park, trying to drive.”

County councilwoman Jennifer Terrasa, a Democrat who lives in Kings Contrivance, said while the county’s roughly 100 miles of bike paths are great for recreation, routes are not well connected.

“It’s almost like a strategic plan,” she said. “You have to go ‘OK, how am I going to get across (U.S. Route) 29? I can get over here, but how am I going to get across that road?’ ’”

Terrasa said funds are not readily available to develop more bike paths or create dedicated lanes for cyclists, but bike usage will be a part of the planning process to redevelop downtown Columbia.

Earlier this week, the Howard County Council introduced legislation outlining General Growth Properties Inc.’s plan to bring 5,000 residential units, 5 million square feet of office space and 1.25 million square feet of retail space to downtown Columbia.

Continue reading “Columbia (Mo.) mayor says it’s time to put pedal to metal”

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Only one day left to demand safer streets

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Since I wrote you Monday, we have some exciting news to share: My team has just scheduled a meeting with U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to discuss pedestrian safety.

It’s a great chance to get the administration on board with addressing a glaring problem with our streets. Each month, on average, more than 400 pedestrians are killed in America – that’s roughly the equivalent of a jumbo jet crashing every single month!

We need our meeting with Secretary LaHood to make a big impression – so we’re going to deliver our “Demand Safer Streets!” petition to him in person during the meeting.

Please add your name before MIDNIGHT tomorrow so we can deliver your signature on Monday along with thousands of others we’ve already collected from people across the country.

– Ilana

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RIDING WHEN IT’S DARK

JOIN Joe’s Bike shop TO CONQUEROR DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME! JOE’S BIKE SHOP and LIGHT & MOTION will be hosting a demonstration of their commuter and Mountain bike light systems. TUES. NOV. 17TH 5:30PM-8:30pm AT THE INTERSECTION OF DULANEY VALLEY RD & SEMINARY AVE. You will have the opportunity to test out the lights to see what works best for your type of riding.

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Introduction to Solar Energy Systems

Next in the BCAN Speaker Series:
*’Introduction to Solar Energy Systems’*
*Thursday, November 19th, 2009, 6 – 8:30 PM
/_JEFF BLANKMAN_/* of Sunnyside Solar will answer your questions on practical aspects of getting started with photovoltaic or solar thermal systems in the home or office. He is also an expert in energy efficiency analysis. Also */_CHERYL WADE_/*, solar energy advocate and co-owner of the solar-powered Mill Valley Garden Center (which takes the locally grown concept to a new level). She will discuss opportunities and barriers with net metering: selling excess energy back to the grid. Questions & Answers, light fare. Free of charge. $5 optional contribution appreciated. Sponsored by the Baltimore Climate Action Network: https://www.baltimoreclimate.org. Mill Valley General Store, 2800 Sisson St., Baltimore 21211 RSVP appreciated but not required: mail@baltimoreclimate.org or 410-812-1447.

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Downtown Columbia public hearing set for Saturday, Nov. 14, 9 a.m.

Below is information on a Saturday 14 November County Council Meeting on the Downtown Columbia redevelopment plan for. Columbia Tomorrow and the Horizon Foundation are looking for people to testify — especially in the area of bicycle/pedestrian access and multi-modal (bus/bike/walk) transportation options that are needed. Chris Tsien of the BAHC Board has agreed to provide testimony for BAHC in these areas, but if any other members (especially Columbia residents) are interested in participating/testifying/attending details are provided below. We were also asked that if some bicyclists can ride to meeting and show up in spandex that would be excellent PR.

Concerns I felt are key for bicyclists (and pedestrians) in the Downtown development plan:

* Focus on both intra (Village to Village to Downtown) bike accessibility as well as inter (Columbia to recreational/commuter routes) bike routes (Little Patuxent Pkwy, Cedar Lane, Harper’s Farm, etc.). Part of this involves Columbia Association path improvements/extensions (including some possibly lighting and directional signs/maps) to modify path system for bike transportation as well as recreational use and part is County responsibility to provide bike paths on major arterial routes in and out of downtown.
* The plan should include bike racks and storage at Park and Rides on periphery of Columbia, downtown at Mall and lakeside, and at major employers (HC General Hospital, HCC, APL, etc.).
* Safe routes must link with all these locations.

Jack Guarneri

Chair Bicycling Advocates of Howard County

Continue reading “Downtown Columbia public hearing set for Saturday, Nov. 14, 9 a.m.”

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Phys Ed: Does Exercise Boost Immunity?

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In the second experiment, published in the same journal, scientists from the University of Illinois and other schools first infected laboratory mice with flu. One group then rested; a second group ran for a leisurely 20 or 30 minutes, an easy jog for a mouse; the third group ran for a taxing two and a half hours. Each group repeated this routine for three days, until they began to show flu symptoms. The flu bug used in this experiment is devastating to rodents, and more than half of the sedentary mice died. But only 12 percent of the gently jogging mice passed away. Meanwhile, an eye-popping 70 percent of the mice in the group that had run for hours died, and even those that survived were more debilitated and sick than the control group.
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Cycling community rides to honor one of its own

By Laura Vozzella – Baltimore Sun

About 80 bicyclists [I guesstimated over 80 and under a 100] pedaled through North Baltimore on Sunday, claiming a bit of the roadway and remembering an avid cyclist who died last summer doing the same.

The second annual Tour De Greater Homewood was also known this year as the Jack Yates Memorial Ride.

John R. "Jack" Yates, 67, died cycling in August. He’d been riding south on Maryland Avenue when a truck turned right onto Lafayette Avenue in front of him. Yates sustained fatal injuries when his bike got entangled in the truck’s rear wheels.

"The cycling community really took this to heart," said Karen Stokes, executive director of the Greater Homewood Community Corp., which organized the ride. Yates was one of the group’s board members.

Organizers hoped the event would raise awareness about bicycle safety. Seven people have died in bicycle accidents every year in Maryland from 2005 through 2008, according to State Highway Administration figures.

"There’s so many more cyclists now," Stokes said. "The more people ride, the better cars will understand" how to share the road.

Some also hoped the tour would draw attention to Yates’ accident, which remains under investigation. Police have not identified the truck’s driver, who police believe was not aware of the collision before leaving the scene. The commander of the Police Department’s traffic section has said that surveillance video indicated that Yates was at fault, but a lawyer representing Yates’ family has said the video shows the tanker truck did not signal that it was making the turn.
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O’Malley one of The 2009 Public Officials of the Year

…this is a time for focus. Because now, more than ever, the key question facing government officials is not what they want to do. It’s what they have to do. What is really important to the health, safety and welfare of citizens? Yet even as they trim their ambitions, states and localities can still strive to make government work better. As Jay Williams, the mayor of Youngstown, Ohio, puts it, a leaner future can be a healthy one, too.

…Some, like Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, are numbers-driven seekers of efficiency. …

So the question before us are we going to see more attention to cycling projects? At least it sounds like we got a good sound bite to make the case.

Continue reading “O’Malley one of The 2009 Public Officials of the Year”