Baltimore is NOT the safest city in the nation to raise kids, according to magazine ranking

Madison is the safest major city in America in which to raise kids, according to a ranking released Thursday by Men’s Health magazine.

Madison beat out 100 other major cities in the country evaluated by Men’s Health magazine, with the examined criteria including the accidental death rates for 5- to 14-year-old children, the number of sex offenders per capita and the rate of abused children shielded from further abuse.

The five least safe cities in order were Jacksonville, Fla.; New Orleans; *Baltimore*; Bakersfield, Calif.; and Tulsa, Okla.
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New ‘Get The F*** Outta The Road’ Program Aims To Increase Pedestrian Safety

via the Onion:

WASHINGTON—In an attempt to address rising pedestrian deaths, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched a new educational outreach program Monday to encourage people to “Get The Fuck Outta The Road.”

The new billboards stress the importance of not being an unbelievable asshole, and paying attention.

The program began in selected cities this month with the distribution of pamphlets at each city’s most dangerous intersections. It will also expand into national radio spots, televised PSAs, and, most importantly, word-of-mouth. Included in the pamphlets are tips on how every responsible pedestrian can learn to “Get The Fuck Outta The Road,” including “Move your ass!” and “Look where you’re fucking going for once!” as well as an instructive diagram for removing one’s head from one’s ass prior to stepping into the crosswalk.

NHTSA officials say they hope the program will eventually branch out to include elementary schools with the child-friendly program “Hey Kids, Get The Fuck Outta The Road!” which will feature a mascot called Tire-Tread Teddy.

“Our studies show that a large majority of accidents were caused by a direct failure of the pedestrian to not step right in front of a goddamned bus,” program director Drew Dawson said during a press conference to announce the NHTSA’s new website, MoveItOrLoseItAsshole.com. “We designed this program to be an easy-to-understand informational tool that will hopefully get these geniuses to pay some fucking attention.”

“We’re already planning a follow-up campaign to keep our message fresh,” Dawson added. “By the third time you tell a pedestrian to get outta the road, they’re already on their fucking cell phone again.”

The NHTSA has also launched a number of complementary subprograms using funding from the National Truck Drivers Union and Greyhound Bus Lines. These include “Oh, Good, Just Ride Your Bike Down The Middle Of The Road Why Don’t You,” “Ever Heard Of A Crosswalk, Dickhead?” and, for more affluent metropolitan neighborhoods, “What The Fuck—Are You Listening To Your Special Getting-Hit-By-A-Car Mix On That iPod, You Vacant Asshole?”

The new program has already shown positive results. A test study in downtown Chicago was found to be nearly twice as effective in preventing pedestrian casualties as the NHTSA’s previous “Have A Safer Journey” program. Likewise, early trials the family-oriented, “You Must Be Thinking, ‘Hey, I Bet My Kids Are Playing In The Driveway, So I Think I’ll Go Back My SUV Out Of The Garage Without Even Fucking Looking And Pulp Them Into A Steaming Red Mess,'” have been similarly successful.

Pedestrians who have been exposed to the NHTSA’s innovative approach have reportedly received the message loud and clear, with many crediting the ad campaign with reminded them of the importance of being vigilant and responsible pedestrians.

“Cram it up your ass, I’m walking here,” said Robert Catalonis, a D.C. native. “I’m an asshole? You’re the asshole.”


[B’ Spokes: Seems clearer then our Street Smart Campaign:
image]

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Delaware Governor signs Vulnerable Road Users Bill into law

[B’ Spokes: Note that the Maryland legislator and MDOT is very opposed to “special” privileges unless of course you are a road worker. I guess that’s different because they have ligament reasons to be in the road and we don’t.]


by

Today Delaware Governor signed SB 269 into law. The bill, modeled after an Oregon law, enhances the penalty for drivers convicted of careless or inattentive drivers who cause serious physical injury to cyclists, pedestrians and other vulnerable road users. The new law includes sentencing guidelines such as:

  • completion of a traffic safety course
  • perform up to 100 hours of community service related to driver improvement and providing public education on traffic safety
  • fines up to $550
  • suspension of driving privileges

In response to the bill signing, League President Andy Clarke said “We’re excited that Delaware is becoming the third state in the nation to pass such a Vulnerable Road Users law that offers additional protection to cyclists and other non-motorized users of our shared roadways. It is this sort of leadership that has propelled them to 10th in our annual state rankings and garnered them a Bronze Level Bicycle Friendly State designation. We look forward to Delaware’s continued progressing in making their state a great place for bicyclists.”

If you live in Delaware please be sure to thank bill sponsors Senator Sokola and Representative Barbieri and co-sponsors Sen. Bunting and Reps. Bennett, Carson, Hudson, Jaques, Miro, Schooley, D. Short, Walls & Brady. Thanks also to Bike Delaware, Delaware Bicycle Council and Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia for their work in advocating for this law.

~Jeff Peel
State & Local Advocacy Coordinator

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Best policies for biking my foot

1992-2007

Nationally Maryland
percent of TEP funds 55.10% 44.00%
off-road trail projects 45.70% 34.00%
on-road facilities 14.10%
rail trails 11.80% 10.00%

“In order to leverage its limited TEP (Transportation Enhancement Projects) funds, the State of Maryland has implemented stricter limitations on the types of trail projects TEP funds can be used for than those outlined by FHWA. Within Maryland, TEP funds may only be used for construction of off-road trails.

Please note that in 2007-2009 Maryland had the lowest bike/ped TEP spending (13%) which has left ~$20 million in the bank, limited funds my foot.

So besides a consistently lower then average of TEP money going to bike/ped projects no locality can seek money for on road bike projects, which typically run $5,000 to $50,000 per mile. (See our poll on in the right column.)
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Pop Musician Ditches the Van for a Bicycle-Based Tour

by Jim Motavalli
You could say singer-songwriter Ben Sollee likes a slower pace of life. Sollee’s music on two recent albums is modern pop, but it’s spare, melodic and played on acoustic instruments–with his expressive cello up front. And if the show you happened to catch started late, it’s not because the band’s van broke down on the highway–Sollee and his percussionist travel by bicycle. Call it the Ditching the Van tour, because they do.
"Going green" for many bands means fueling the vehicles with biodiesel and playing on solar stages. Sollee is from Kentucky, where producing energy often means the environmental disaster known as mountaintop removal mining (a theme that runs through his second album, Dear Companion). That would be reason enough to park the gas-guzzling van, but the bicycle-based tour that begins August 18 is more about thinking and acting locally than it is about reducing carbon footprints.

The tour starts in San Diego at a combined sushi bar and art gallery, and winds its way through southern California before heading east for stops in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Kentucky. It’s not about big venues–stops include the Renewable Energy and Sustainable Living Festival in Kempton, Pennsylvania, Biller’s Bikes in Havre de Grace, Maryland, the Edmund Burke School in Washington, D.C., and the Tour da Arts in Santa Monica, California.

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San Francisco rolls out new smart parking meters with ‘demand-responsive pricing’

[B’ Spokes: I’ll assert that free on-street parking takes usable space from cyclists so it would be nice if these things could fund bike/ped projects. But that aside, cheep parking means too many cars and expensive parking means more alternate transportation so this is a great way to arrive at a balance. (I’m not anti-car just pro appropriate use of cars, and no I am not trying for the Olympics just because I can bike 6 miles, that distance should be doable for the vast majority of people.)]


by Donald Melanson

San Francisco has been working on making parking “smarter” for quite a while now, and it’s just recently taken another big step in that direction by starting to replace over 5,000 older parking meters with the snazzy new model pictured above. Those will not only let you pay with a credit or debit card (and soon a special SFMTA card), but automatically adjust parking rates based on supply and demand, which means you could pay anywhere from $0.25 to $6.00 an hour depending on how many free spaces there are. Those rates are determined with the aid of some sensors that keep a constant watch on parking spaces, which also means you’ll be able to check for free spaces in an area on your phone or your computer before you even leave the house. Hit up the link below for the complete details, and to check if the neighborhoods you frequent are included in the initial rollout.

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