SHA has a flash animation on how to ride your bike through a roundabout. Well with two lanes entering and leaving the roundabout and only one lane really wide lane in the middle, these things can get confusing. Best advice I can give you is pretend your bike is the middle of a car and ride like a car through the roundabout in that lane position and not to the far right.
SHA also present the option on how to cross the roundabout like a pedestrian, well it is an option though the riding on the sidewalk bit is a bit questionable.
Continue reading “Traveling Maryland’s Roundabouts by bike”
The case for 20 MPH roads
The safety effects of the 20 mph zones have been enormous for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers alike. In London, serious traffic injuries and fatalities have fallen by 46 percent within the zones, according to the prestigious British Medical Journal. Deaths and serious injuries sustained by children have dropped 50 percent. There’s even a small spillover effect, with areas immediately adjacent to 20 mph zones seeing an eight percent reduction in total injuries and deaths. The science is so clear that in 2004 the World Health Organization endorsed 20 mph speeds as an essential strategy to save lives.
Continue reading “The case for 20 MPH roads”
On the 20th Anniversary of ADA, Too Many Streets Remain Inaccessible
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Yesterday marked the 20th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act, the landmark law that set federal standards to make public places universally accessible. Two decades later, the ADA has improved access for millions, but in many places, the spirit of the law seems lost on those who shape the streets.
To get a sense of how far we have to go before our streets safely accommodate everyone, look no further than the Buford Highway, the suburban arterial roadway outside Atlanta featured in this PBS report (hat tip to Stephen Davis at T4America). The one-two punch of automobile-centric street design and development patterns have made this road a deadly hazard for anyone without a car — an increasingly large segment of the local population.
At the League of American Bicyclists blog, Jeff Peel makes the connection between the dangers people face on roads like the Buford Highway and the “unfinished business” of the ADA:
While we should take today to celebrate this historic achievement,
let’s also take a moment and think about the work remaining to be done.
Twenty years after ADA, and almost 40 years since the first
requirements for curb cuts in Federal projects, it’s shocking that lack
of access is still an issue anywhere in the transportation system. The
fact that it is still an issue highlights the entrenched nature of
State DOTs and local public works agencies that are so resistant to
change. Where the ADA has forced transportation agencies to integrate
the needs of people with disabilities into planning and projects, the
needs of everyday pedestrians, transit users and, of course, cyclists
are still routinely overlooked or dismissed. And don’t forget, the ADA
didn’t require sidewalks — it says that if they are present, they must
be made accessible. That’s why Complete Streets
is so critical and is part of the unfinished business of ADA, and
that’s why the disability community has been such a leader in the
Complete Streets movement.
Elsewhere on the Network: Where the Sidewalk Starts looks with envy to Victoria, British Columbia, where lawmakers are looking to decriminalize the act of jaywalking downtown. A USA Today report on commuters opting to take light rail or bike to work prompts some ideas from Walkable DFW on how to structure incentives to commute by transit. And Rob Pitingolo ponders the growing popularity of intercity bus travel.
Continue reading “On the 20th Anniversary of ADA, Too Many Streets Remain Inaccessible”
UPDATE: Aggressive hit-and-runs unresolved
by Annie Weisner
Picture yourself outside of town, driving along a midsize country road. You’re going more slowly than normal, carrying a heavy load, looking for your turn, or trying to keep your kids from fighting in the backseat. Abruptly, another driver overtakes you, blaring their horn. You move over to the right to allow them to pass. They do, still laying on the horn, coming up on your left side. As they pass, they pull from the left lane into yours, intentionally grazing your car, then speeding off. As you pull over to assess the damage, you manage to get a picture of their license plate with your phone. You call the police, relieved that no one’s hurt.
What would you expect to happen? With a picture of the driver’s license plate and a description of the car, would you expect the aggressive driver to be held accountable? Would you expect charges to be filed in response to such an intentionally dangerous act? Would you expect the police to question the owner of the car? Or would you expect, a month later, to be told your case is hopeless?
Now, imagine yourself in the same scenario, but riding a bicycle. About a month ago, a group of cyclists in Champaign County found themselves in this exact situation.
AGGRESSION OUT OF NOWHERE
…
Dornick recounts what the police told him. “The police officer drove to the [home of] the owner of the car. They saw the car parked at his house. They knocked on the door and there was no answer. They looked at the car and said there was no damage to the car, and they went home. And that was the entire investigation of the case. To my knowledge — and we followed up on this many times — no one was actually ever questioned or spoken to.“
And that was it. Dornick and Higley were told there was nothing else the police could do, despite having never spoken with the owner of the vehicle. Their investigation ended with that unopened door.
When contacted for this article, Champaign County Sheriff Dan Walsh explained things differently. “The investigation is still being actively worked,“ Walsh stated in an email. “Since this is an ongoing investigation, I have no further comment for right now.“
Ed. note: We attempted to rectify this apparent contradiction with Sheriff Walsh yesterday afternoon, but did not get a response by the time the article posted. We’ll insert any response that we receive as it arrives.
The official reason given to Higley and Dornick was the lack of an eyewitness who could identify the driver from a line-up. Due to the heavily tinted windows of the car and the aggressive speed at which it overtook the riders, none of the cyclists got a clear view of the driver. Without cooperation or a confession from the driver, it is likely that a visual ID would be necessary for a criminal case to proceed. In this case, however, the owner of the vehicle was never interviewed, leaving a multitude of questions unanswered. Was the owner driving at the time of the hit, and if not, would the owner come forward with the name of the driver? Would the driver confess, given the weight of evidence against him and the large number of eyewitnesses? Why didn’t the deputies attempt to elicit a confession?
FIVE SURGERIES LATER, STILL NO SATISFACTION
…
“So [the sheriff’s department] contacted the people, and they of course said, ‘No, I didn’t do it.‘ And that was the last that they did.“
Sheriff Walsh stated, once again in an email, “I do not believe sufficient facts exist to criminally charge an individual concerning this incident and, barring something unusual happening, I do not think this situation will change.“
…
“A lot of the reason that bikes have a really bad reputation and people don’t respect bikes is that people don’t ride in a manner that gets bikes respect,“ says Dornick. As a motorist, “it’s hard to justify taking time out of your day, going all out of your way to make sure this cyclist is safe when he doesn’t care what he’s doing with you. It’s definitely mutual. We need some cooperation, and hopefully we don’t have to have someone get hurt before it starts happening.“
Continue reading “UPDATE: Aggressive hit-and-runs unresolved”
Pedestrians no longer have to play "Frogger" [video]
The Ann Arbor City Council unanimously approved a new pedestrian safety ordinance Monday night that gives walkers and bicyclists the upper hand when trying to brave traffic to cross city streets.
…
“The major change is that you’re not required to risk one of your limbs to claim the right to the crosswalk,” Hohnke said. “So that if you’re intending to enter the crosswalk, if you’re about to enter the crosswalk, it now gives police officers the discretion to say (to motorists), ‘Hey, you know that person wanted to get into the crosswalk, and I’m going to ask you to provide them the right of way to do that.'”
Under the previous ordinance, Hohnke said, even if a pedestrian was waiting several minutes to enter a crosswalk, police had no opportunity to help them.
…
Continue reading “Pedestrians no longer have to play "Frogger" “
Fatality maps that may be of interest
Fatalities per 100 Million VMT
Note that Maryland’s decrease is slower then the National Average.
Traffic reduction: An urgent public health priority
[B’ Spokes: Note Maryland’s pedestrian fatality rate has increased from 1.75 per 100,000 population in 2004 to 2.06 in 2008 (last reported year) and the percentage of traffic fatalities that involved pedestrains went from 15% to 20%.]
from Greater Greater Washington by Ken Archer
Traffic is the leading cause of death among children worldwide and the leading cause of death among 1-34 year olds in the United States. So, why isn’t traffic considered the top threat to public health by the CDC, WHO and federal, state and local governments?
Photo by Diana Beideman on Flickr.
Why don’t officials approach traffic reduction with the same urgency that they approach, say, tobacco or malnutrition? The answer can be found in the CDC’s publications on injury prevention.
CDC’s research and prevention efforts target this serious public health problem. We focus on improving car and booster seat and seat belt use and reducing impaired driving, and helping groups at risk: child passengers, teen drivers, and older adult drivers.
The CDC, NIH and other agencies focus on traffic safety as the preventable cause of death, not traffic itself. WHO’s recommendations for addressing traffic fatalities are “speed, alcohol, seat-belts and child restraints, helmets, and visibility.”
The flaw in this exclusive focus on traffic safety is that increased safety only matters when vehicle miles traveled (VMT) are kept static or reduced. Instead, safety improvements that reduce fatalities per VMT have been offset by rising VMT.
Investments in traffic safety finally began to matter in 2004. According to the Brookings Institution, “driving, as measured by national VMT, began to plateau as far back as 2004 and dropped in 2007 for the first time since 1980,” obviously due to rising gas prices. As a result, the rate of traffic fatalities per 100,000 population finally began a much steeper decline in 2004 compared to earlier periods when safety improvements had been largely undermined by VMT increases.
But did this demonstrate the urgency of reducing traffic? Not according to NHTSA Administrator David Strickland, who said the following in a press release celebrating the decline:
This continuing decline in highway deaths is encouraging, but our work is far from over. We want to see those numbers drop further. We will not stop as long as there are still lives lost on our nation’s highways. We must continue our efforts to ensure seat belts are always used and stay focused on reducing distracted and impaired driving.
Attributing the recent decline in traffic fatalities solely or primarily to safety improvements is not only sloppy statistics given that safety improvements have lead to steady declines in fatalities per VMT for decades. It also sends the wrong message — people can feel safe driving, as driving itself is not part of the problem — a message which will only increase VMT further and bring a halt to reductions in traffic fatalities.
Attributing the declining fatality rate to safety improvements also allows the myth to perpetuate that moving to the suburbs is safer than living in the city, a myth that, left unchallenged, increases VMT and undermines safety improvements. This myth was exposed by the New York City Department of Health, which recently revealed that their low VMT per child made NYC a much safer place for children than the rest of the country.
So why does the CDC, WHO, NIH, NHTSA and probably every other public health agency treat poor traffic safety as the preventable cause of the top killer of children worldwide, and not traffic as well? And how many children will have to die for this to change? Are we serious about public health? The sooner we start demanding honesty about the causes of the top killer of children here and abroad the better, because during the 2 minutes you spent reading this article, another child died in a traffic collision.
Continue reading “Traffic reduction: An urgent public health priority”
The Virtual Supermarket Project
Current Sites and Locations
Location: Enoch Pratt Free Library (Orleans Street Branch) 1303 Orleans Street
Ordering: Wednesdays, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Delivery: Thursdays, 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Location: Enoch Pratt Free Library (Washington Village Branch) 856 Washington Boulevard
Ordering: Mondays, 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Delivery: Tuesdays, 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Both locations accept cash, credit, checks and food stamps for orders.
Cycling Baltimore, Inner Harbor Middle Branch Park ride
by Jacksonville Bicycle Travel Examiner Donald Crowson
Cycling Baltimore, Maryland is not complete without a ride on the Gwynns Falls Trail. This 15-mile greenway trail connects the Inner Harbor with 2,000 scenic acres of parkland in the west and southwest of Baltimore.
Light Street Cycles is the cycle rental shop nearest downtown and the Inner Harbor and their daily rental fees are $25 ($15 add. day) for hybrids and $50 ($35 add. day) for road bikes. Their friendly and knowledgeable staff are eager to help fellow bicycle travelers.
The ride starts at the Visitor Center, at Inner Harbor (see Google Map below), where an informative printed map of the Gynns Fall Trail is available (The same map is also available at Light Street Cycles.). Plus, a must have for bicycle travelers to Baltimore is their New Baltimore Bicycle Map, produced by the city’s BikeBaltimore program. A printed copy may be obtained by calling 410-396-6856.
After picking up your map and starting your trek along Light Street, the ride winds its way through the Otterbein & Federal Hill districts. Arriving at Solo Gibbs Park, the trail’s first off-road sections begin. As I395 towers above the ride passes M&T Bank Stadium and Parcs Animal Shelter and then off-road again for the Ridgely’s Cove section. This section is a quiet, winding greenway, where a homeless community has set up residency. Even though the area is spotted with several homeless camps, the area is void of trash and liter. The ride returns to an on-road route as it passes the huge smoke stack and travels along Kloman Street, past the Westport rail station. Once arriving at Middle Branch Park the ride again returns to an off-road path. Wildlife such as Great Blue Herons and various migrating ducks & geese can be experienced throughout the park and at several wildlife observation boardwalks. Past fishing piers and the Harbor Hospital the route reaches its turn-around point at Cherry Hill Park.
This southwest side of the Gynns Falls Trail is definitely a plus for Baltimore and especially for the areas it passes through. Further benefit is a future planned route along the western shore of Middle Branch. As always read the bike safety article, practice safety first, don that helmet be observant and get cycling!
[Read the full article for maps and pictures!]
Continue reading “Cycling Baltimore, Inner Harbor Middle Branch Park ride”
Cyclist Dies and Heat is Expected Cause
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A 20 year-old cyclist was biking at 11:15am yesterday on a path that runs between the Oxon Hill Farm and the National Harbor when he went into cardiac arrest, causing him to go unconscious and fall off his bike. A bystander administered CPR until paramedics arrived and the cyclist was then taken to Fort Washington Hospital Center, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arriving.
The cause of death will not be determined until an autopsy is performed,
but paramedics reported that temperatures in the mid 90’s and humidity
at 43 percent more than likely played a role in the death.
The same story is reported here, here and here. If you do go biking in the heat, make sure to bring water and pay attention to signs of heat exhaustion in yourself and others.