Month: August 2010

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Reed Bates found Guilty of ‘Reckless Driving’

Reed Bates (AKA ChipSeal) has been found guilty in Ellis County Court No. 2 on a charge of reckless driving for not riding as far right as possible (as stated by the prosecutor instead of the word ‘practicable’) in a 12′ lane with 70 mph tractor-trailer trucks, and for not riding on an inconsistent, broken, and even nonexistent shoulder when directed to ride there by local law enforcement officers, contrary to the requirements of Sec. 551.103 of the Texas Transportation Code. Oddly, the fact that other vehicles were being allowed to exceed the posted speed limit was considered a reason to force a lawfully operating vehicle off the roadway.

Part of the case against Mr. Bates was that he was riding at dusk, even though police detained him for almost 40 minutes (from roughly 5 to 5:40 pm) before letting him proceed. He was then handcuffed and arrested.

In finding Mr. Bates guilty, the judge stated, “You may be right that it is safer to ride in the middle of the lane instead of the shoulder, but it is reckless of you to do so”… at which point a white rabbit was seen doing down the elevators at the Ellis County Courthouse.

Yes, Mr. Bates is appealing the conviction. Please donate.

Old Ellis County Courthouse in Waxahachie, Texas. Photo by Steve Averill, modified by PM Summer.

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NYCDOT Releases Landmark Ped Safety Study, Will Pilot 20 MPH Zones

by Ben Fried

To make walking safer, New York City will re-engineer 60 miles of streets per year and pilot the use of neighborhood-scale 20 mph zones, the city’s top electeds and transportation officials announced this morning. The commitments are among several street safety measures unveiled today, accompanying NYCDOT’s release of a landmark report analyzing the causes of serious pedestrian injuries and deaths, which affect thousands of New Yorkers every year.
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[B’Spokes: And here in Maryland, pedestrains remember to use the crosswalk. After all we only have the 6th highest pedestrian fatality rate and New York’s ranking is 19.]
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What? No charges pending full investigation?

Police said they charged a local woman Sunday night in a hit-and-run crash that injured a 17-year-old girl.

Police said Jodi L. Plevniak, 30, kept going after her sport utility vehicle hit the girl’s bicycle at North College and F streets just before noon Thursday.

Witnesses followed Plevniak and gave police her description and license number, police said.

They said Plevniak was charged with leaving an accident scene and a stop sign violation.
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[B’ Spokes: In MD it seems like they take every effort not to charge motorists, no mater what.]
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Houston METRO Expands Access By Removing Seats

by Angie Schmitt

Sometimes expanding access to transit can be as easy as reexamining
assumptions about riders’ needs. That may be the early lesson from
a 30-day experiment Houston METRO is conducting on 11 trains. The transit
authority has removed four benches — or eight seats — from cars on those trains in a bid to increase comfort for users who need extra space.

The move is a win
for a diverse group of transit riders, from cyclists to wheelchair users to parents with young children,
explains Dean Hall at NEOHouston:

This is a boon for bicyclists who can use the open space for their bike
while holding on to the new overhead straps.  The open area can also be
utilized by persons in wheelchairs.

However, I think the biggest gains will be for parents who transport
their infants and toddlers in strollers.  Previously, only the smallest
umbrella-style strollers could easily negotiate an LRT car’s narrow
center aisle. I have a personal experience trying to manage one of the
larger style strollers and I received looks from other passengers who
had to make room for me and the stroller that was convenient for me,
but an imposition to those around me…

So, thank you, METRO. By taking something away, you’ve improved options for three types of riders.

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You probably could care less

Since very little of our Federal money goes to cycling and by the (lack of) reaction to fact, any action anyone would lake on the League of American Bicyclists alert within the State of Maryland would most likely have zero impact. So just sit back and wave by-by to money that could have been spent on improving roads for cycling and building more trails as almost everyone could care less.

After the fold is LAB’s alert if you are curious.
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Walking to school can help kids prepare for classroom

This was forwarded to me by a fan of walkable, community-centered schools.
TIME Magazine – Researchers find walking to school can help kids prepare for classroom
Researchers at the Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences found that a stroll to school in the morning can help kids prepare for the stresses that await them in the classroom. https://wellness.blogs.time.com/2010/08/11/let-kids-walk-to-school/
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Bike Tube Recycling

by washcycle

I’m a little late on this, as it already started, but it isn’t over.

A typical bike shop will throw out a
few thousand inner tubes in the course of a year. All those tubes add up to
tons of waste when you think about all the bike shops in the Baltimore/DC area.
Performance Bike, however, is teaming up with Liberty Tire to sponsor the Bike
Tube Blow-Out over the next two weekends, which will take place at
Performance’s new store in Columbia, MD. Anyone who brings in their
flat or unused tubes, from August 13th-15th and 20th-22nd,
will receive a $5 in store credit, and can trade in up to 3 tubes for a total
of $15.

These “Blow-Outs” have been hugely popular in other cities, and the
hope is that bringing it to such a major cycling-heavy metropolitan area will
mean even more saved material from the city’s landfills.

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