Month: March 2011

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“The City of Baltimore is proud to have contributed to NACTO’s Urban Bikeway Design Guide,” said Khalil Zaied, Director of Transportation for the City of Baltimore. “Having implemented our Bicycle Master Plan over the past 4 years has helped us learn what bike facilities work and what’s needed to get more citizens to choose cycling over driving. Baltimore’s Department of Transportation looks forward to utilizing this design guide as we move continue to promote cycling and alternative transportation.”
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Continue reading “Cities release Bikeway Design Guide”

CBS (WJZ)

A Johns Hopkins University student is in a coma, injured after he was hit by a car while riding his bike.
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Krasnopoler is in a coma after being hit on his bike, but family and friends are devoting all of their prayers and energy to his recovery.
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“There’s really no way to predict what the outcome will be for him and brain injury is very variable,” said his mother, Susan Cohen.

Krasnopoler survived, but remains in a coma at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He sustained brain injuries, bone fractures, cuts and bruises. He was trapped under the vehicle when paramedics arrived and received third-degree burns on his face and torso.

City police say an 83-year-old woman trying to make a right turn in her car hit Krasnopoler.

“If you see a bicycle, you really need to pay attention to where it is and if you need to wait a few seconds, wait a few seconds,” said his father, Mitchell Krasnopoler. “Our life has been turned upside down.”
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But the video says the police do not anticipate filing charges, at least at this time. I find that statement a bit disconcerting, is CBS just modifying previous coverage or is the the new and "improved" version after MBAC meeting with the police?
https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2011/03/09/vigil-held-for-seriously-injured-hopkins-student/

Baltimore Brew
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Krasnopoler urged the cyclists to “please be safe on today’s ride and always.” He urged government officials, police, the news media and “you in the biking community” to use the opportunity afforded by the tragedy “to do some good.”

“We hope everyone will work even harder to educate drivers about their legal obligations to give the right of way to a bicyclist in a bike lane.”

He noted that, despite the reported comments by some Baltimore police officials suggesting that no charges would be filed against the driver of the car, the case remains open. “Please be patient, and please join us in thanking the police officers involved for doing a very thorough job,” he said.
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This is not a protest ride. Not this ride, not today,” Penny Troutner told the assembled crowd. The owner of Light Street Cycles, Troutner organizes the Meetup group “Biking in B’more.”
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“We are coming together to comfort each other and to vent our frustration to people who understand,” she said, “and to reach out to Nathan and his family – to embrace Nathan and his family.”

But those frustrations were being vented freely yesterday by clearly emotional cyclists, who said the Feb. 26 incident is a grim reminder of the dangers they face from unsafe road design and motorists who are either oblivious to their presence or downright hostile.
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I’m outraged by it, when they say that the car is not at fault,” Campbell said. “We have a driving culture here that just does not recognize bikes.”
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She said Nathan, who was trapped under the vehicle and stopped breathing for a time following the crash, remains in stable condition at the Hopkins ICU, but has still not emerged from the coma. He also sustained 3rd degree burns on his face and torso, as well as bone fractures and bruises.

“The doctors cannot tell us when he will come out of it and they’ve also told us he might not,” she said.

Mitchell Krasnopoler returned often to the idea that his son’s injury should be a reminder to motorists to be more cautious around bikes.

“If you see a bicycle, you need to really pay attention to where it is and if you need to wait a few seconds, just wait the few seconds,” he said. “Because our life has been turned upside down.”
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They mishandled it. I think definitely at the very least, they failed to cite the woman who should have gotten some kind of ticket,” said Adam Zeldin, president of a student organization, Hopkins Cycling. “The streets around campus are really bad. I hope Baltimore and the school do something about it.”
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Others agreed that the bike lanes offer no protection for cyclists if drivers don’t respect them.

“I don’t think the bike lanes are safe,” said Campbell, describing close-calls he’s had on city streets and county roads with careless or antagonistic drivers.

Despite the fact that he is careful to bike lawfully, he said, motorists have frequently swerved around dangerously in front of him “and yelled at me to obey the rules of the road.”
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Cyclist Justin Winokur, a 23-year-old graduate student in engineering at Hopkins, said he has had similar experiences, including one memorable incident with a Baltimore police car.

“The cop came up behind me and honked,” Winokur said. “He said, ‘You’re not allowed to be on the road because there’s no ‘Share-the-road’ sign.” [This is an an unlawful order. Do not confront the officer with this fact! (You can get into more trouble if you do.) just get some sort of ID (car number at least) and report here, with Nate, MBAC and/or police HQ.]
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https://www.baltimorebrew.com/2011/03/10/baltimore-cyclists-hold-vigil-and-ride-to-support-critically-injured-biker/
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I am disappointed that more attention has not been drawn to "Bicycle Safety: It’s a Two-Way Street," by SHA. An excerpt
• Be Careful in Intersections – … yield to them [bicycles] as you would to any other vehicle. Do not turn left or right in front of bicyclists unless you can do so safely. You can be fined $1000 and receive 3 points if you injure a bicyclist by violating their right-of-way:
https://www.choosesafetyforlife.com/pdfs/Bicycle_Booklet.pdf

More attention has been given to not charging the diver and "the cyclists did hit the car." then getting this safety message out. And what’s the safety message for cyclists at this point? "Don’t ride in bike lanes" seems to be what it is coming down to. Seriously this is what the City wants?