Biking in Baltimore
It’s been more than a week since the snow storm ended. All major roads are clear. Side streets are passable. So why is the Inner Harbor bike path snowed in when all 4 lanes of Pratt Street are clear? There’s plenty of room for snow to be dumped right to the side of the lane, and just clearing a 2-4 foot path wouldn’t be terribly hard to do. The harbor is RIGHT THERE. That’s where all the snow is being dumped anyway, right?
More information and analysis here : https://blog.cyclosity.com/?p=1608
ATTORNEYS and judges may be sticklers to the word of the law but it seems they are not quite so adherent to the rules of the road, topping a list of the the top 10 most dangerous drivers by profession.
A study by online US insurance company insurance.com found 44 per cent of attorneys claimed a prior accident when looking for a car insurance comparison quote from insurance.com.
The findings were based on accident claims as a percentage of quotes in which drivers need to give details of their driving record.
Second in the list came financial professionals followed by government workers while the study found the least dangerous drivers were athletes, with only 17 per cent reporting prior accidents and homemakers at 24 per cent.
"Professions that demand multi-tasking – being on the phone, moving fast on a tight schedule – are prone to more distractions and, from there, more accidents," insurance.com vice-president Sam Belden said.
"Though the job of a homemaker demands multi-tasking, young children are often along for any car ride and when children are involved, people tend to take their time and use greater caution."
He added that homemakers and athletes also tended to be off the road during rush hour.
The Top 10 most dangerous drivers by profession are:
1. Attorney/Judge
2. Financial professionals
3. Government worker
4. Bartender or waiter
5. Business professionals
6. Dog groomer
7. Marketing/advertising professionals
8. Barber/stylist
9. Coach
10. Nurse
Continue reading “Judges most dangerous on road – study”
Recently, while taking the Bart, I found a new type of public library in the Cerrito Station. It is a book vending machine called Library-a-Go-Go which caries about 400 popular titles. You just have to be a member, swipe a card and your commute becomes more pleasant. This library system operates in transit stations, shopping malls and under-served areas in the suburban landscapes.
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Continue reading “Library-a-Go-Go”
From the League of American Bicyclists
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Some disappointments:
Portland, OR applied for 21 different grants and had big ambitions for bicycling projects, but only one got funded – it will add a streetcar line and bicycle and pedestrian facilities.
Kansas City, MO/KS put together an excellent application. You can see how they calculated the miles, trips, benefits, and cost in the appendices using resources on the economic impacts of investing in bicycling. They calculated a ten to one return on investment for their proposed project. Kansas City received badly needed funds for sidewalk access to bus stop in what they call a Green Impact Zone. Unfortunately, the bicycling component was stripped out. Brent Hugh from Missouri Bicycle & Pedestrian Federation believes Kansas City’s focus on recreational riding hurt their application’s chances.
The good news is there are now dozens of strong projects conceived of and proposals written that can be worked on in the future.
Read more below to see the successful applications that include bicycling components.
Continue reading “TIGER grants fund bicycling (but not here.)”
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[An excerpt from the 1958 Disneyland TV Show episode entitled Magic Highway USA.]
In his first post on the topic, Avent framed the problem this way:
Every weekday, tens of millions of Americans get into vehicles that are
full of passenger space which won’t be used, with engines capable of
horsepower and speeds that won’t be attained, holding fuel tanks that
could power the car for distances that won’t be traveled. The result of
all this over-engineering is that cars cost way more than a vehicle for
daily commuting need cost, and they consume way more energy than a
vehicle for daily commuting need consume. This all adds up to a
remarkable waste of resources, even before you begin talking about
things like congestion. Why are we stuck in this wasteful equilibrium?
In the State’s Drivers’ Manual it says the following:
"A pedestrian does not have the right of way to cross a roadway outside of a crosswalk. A pedestrian who crosses a roadway outside of a crosswalk must yield to any vehicle, although a driver must always avoid hitting the pedestrian."
That is to say even if the pedestrian is not crossing in a legal manner motorists must do their best avoid hitting the pedestrian. But in our safe passing bill the cyclist must be riding lawfully, that is to say as far right as practicable and if police and/or the courts or even possibly the motorist feel that the cyclists should be further right then their is no obligation for a 3′ passing distance.
This years 3′ safe passing distance adds these two exceptions:
(I) THE BICYCLE, EPAMD, OR MOTOR SCOOTER RIDER FAILS TO OPERATE THE VEHICLE IN CONFORMANCE WITH § 21–1205(A) OF THIS SUBTITLE (“RIDING TO RIGHT SIDE OF ROADWAY”) OR § 21–1205.1(B) OF THIS SUBTITLE (“ROADWAY WITH BIKE LANE OR SHOULDER PAVED TO SMOOTH SURFACE”); OR
(II) A PASSING CLEARANCE OF LESS THAN 3 FEET IS CAUSED SOLELY BY THE BICYCLE, EPAMD, OR MOTOR SCOOTER RIDER 10 FAILING TO MAINTAIN A STEADY COURSE.
In other words "but the cyclist swerved" would be a codified legal excuse as would be "but the cyclists was not riding as far right as possible."
Continue reading “A thought about our 3′ safe passing bill”
From Portland’s Transportation Safety Summit Summary
By Aaron Tarfman
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The head of ODOT for the Multnomah region spoke about numerous ‘improvements’ for 82nd ave
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One comment on Bikeportland stated “I find the middle of the block to be the safest place to cross, what with folks blindly turning right on red. Little white stripes and a "walk" light don’t make you safer…especially not on 82nd.”
After he spoke, I grabbed his ear and mentioned in no uncertain terms that every single road under ODOT’s control is a road that I am afraid to walk or ride my bike on. I mentioned several examples including Southeast Powell, 82nd Ave, East Burnside, and Sandy. While he diplomatically cited several areas where ODOT has put in crosswalks etc, the fact of the matter is that the high crash maps still show more incidents on these roads than anywhere else.
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Continue reading “Portland has some of the same problems as we do”
