Bethesda, MD: At approximately 5:30 p.m. on April 14, 2011 The Maryland-National Capital Park Police, Montgomery County Division responded to the Capital Crescent Trail at Little Falls Parkway for a bicycle and vehicle collision.
An adult male was riding a recumbent bicycle outbound on the Capital Crescent Trail in the crosswalk at Little Falls Parkway. As the cyclist entered the westbound lanes of Little Falls Parkway, a BMW approached and both vehicles slowed. The cyclist proceeded in the crosswalk and was struck by the vehicle. The driver then stopped to render aid.
The cyclist was transported to a local hospital with superficial injuries. The grill of the BMW was cracked, but the bicycle had no apparent damage.
The Maryland-National Capital Park Police remind drivers to keep an extra eye out for cyclists and pedestrians, especially now that the weather is getting warmer. Drivers must yield to those in crosswalks.
Cyclists are reminded to wear reflective gear and helmets when riding, and to be extra cautious when riding in traffic. The Maryland-National Capital Park Police has implemented a trail safety program that includes education and enforcement at trail crossings. For more information on this program please contact Sgt. Lauryn McNeill at 240-876-6670
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How to get a $4/hour raise…
Go car free. The math can be found here:
https://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ecovelo/posts/~3/fMvDF6TPEO0/
Shoulders disappearing in front of me and rumple strips to the side of me
Friends, have you noticed any changes to the roadways you use that make cycling more challenging?
It has come to our attention that SHA (roads that have an alternate number naming convention) has removed some shoulders or placed rumble strips within the bikeable space rendering it useless. Is this just a local problem or are other people experiencing this as well?
On the flip side, if SHA has re-striped a road to make it more bike friendly, let us know that too.
We are just trying to get a handle on how well current bike friendly policies withing SHA are doing, so any help you can provide.
Thanks.
Man found hanging near area bike path
ODENTON – A man was found hanging from a road overpass above a bike trail early Thursday morning, county police and fire department officials said.
The 23-year old man was spotted by a witness who called 911 at 5:57 a.m., reporting a body hanging near Old Waugh Chapel Road.
The witness was not sure if this was a joke or a real body, but thought it should be investigated, said Division …
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The Netherlands to Pave Roads with Solaroad Solar Panels
from INHABITAT by Brit Liggett
In addition to being one of the most bike-friendly places in Europe, the Netherlands is about to make their bike lanes even more green — by paving them with solar panels. The initiative is part of a larger plan to pave all of their roads with solar panels but the Dutch have elected to start the experiment with two-wheeled transportation lanes. The technology is called SolaRoad and was developed by the Dutch firm TNO.
Read the rest of The Netherlands to Pave Roads with Solaroad Solar Panelsh
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Share The Road – Buses and Bicycles [video]
Someone needs to get this to MTA.
Baltimore could be bicycle city
by Paul Day, Baltimore
I’m often amazed at home much time and money is spent on transit expansions that never happen. Look at the Regional Rail System plan. It’s a great plan, but it’s been nearly 10 years and no movement. The problem with large bureaucracies is they mistake planning for building.
Expanding transit is important, but let’s not neglect projects that are cheaper, easier to build, and serve more people. Transit projects are incredibly expensive and take decades. For a fraction of the cost of the Red Line, we could build an amazing bike lane network that far outperforms Portland and Washington and serves every corner of the city and beyond. We could become the nation’s top cycling city.
We could even use a chunk of that money to serve low-income communities through a low-cost bike sharing system, cycling education and more secure bike parking facilities. More people biking won’t happen in any substantial way without better infrastructure, outreach and security.
Portland says it’s spent only $60 million on its amazing bike infrastructure. Just a mile of highway costs about the same. The Red Line will cost the state over $230 million, and that’s not counting $1.5 billion in federal funds. This is a no brainer, people.
With more bike infrastructure, we’re solving our budget, obesity, traffic and environmental crises in one fell swoop. Let’s not pass up this opportunity to be No.1 at something without breaking the bank.
WITHDRAWAL OF AASHTO REGULATORY RECOMMENDATION REGARDING USDOT BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN GUIDANCE
In response to the concerns expressed by several members of AASHTO’s Board of Directors, President Martinovich has directed AASHTO for the time being to withdraw its request that FHWA rescind its guidance on the meaning of “due consideration” of bicycle and pedestrian needs. This will give AASHTO an opportunity to meet with bicycle and pedestrian advocacy groups on May 19 to discuss this issue. It will also allow time for AASHTO’s Board of Directors at our annual meeting in October to discuss this issue and provide policy direction on how best to deal with it. Several state DOT CEOs have expressed the concern that this issue is not one that the Board was briefed on, or one on which they were asked to take a position. We will brief the Board more fully on this matter at our meeting May 6.
Background. April 1, 2011, I responded to a U.S.DOT notice asking for a review of regulations to identify those we found to be outmoded, ineffective, or excessively burdensome. After consultation and input from the states, AASHTO submitted a list of approximately 30 regulations that States wanted improved.
One of the recommendations states submitted was for a change to FHWA’s guidance on implementing the statutory requirements related to bicycle and pedestrian facilities in the planning and design of highway projects. Our intent in making the request that the guidance be changed is to streamline the effort and paperwork required to justify why bicycle or pedestrian facilities may or may not be appropriate on a given federal aid project.
The statutory language calls for bicyclists and pedestrians to be given “due consideration” in the development of comprehensive transportation plans, and to “be considered, where appropriate, in conjunction with all new construction and reconstruction of transportation facilities.” We have no problem with this requirement.
What we have objected to is FHWA guidance which increases the level of requirement from “consideration” to “accommodation.” The guidance says “that bicyclists and pedestrians will be accommodated” which is a much more expansive requirement in that states must prove exceptional circumstances when not providing for bicyclists and pedestrians as part of a federal aid highway project.
We reported on AASHTO’s recommendations regarding regulatory change in the AASHTO Journal April 8. The article contained links to AASHTO’s submittal letter and to a 15-page supplemental document which contained the text of our recommendations regarding the bicycle and pedestrian guidance.
Our comment on FHWA’s guidance has apparently caused concern in the bicycle community. When contacted in this regard by the League of American Bicyclists and the National Center for Bicycling and Walking, I offered to meet with them and others to hear their concerns and to explain what we recommended and why. A meeting has been scheduled for May 19 here at AASHTO.
You may receive similar contacts from bicycling and pedestrian interests in your state or community. We hope you will share with them our support for bicycling and pedestrian facilities, as well as our interest in limiting FHWA’s guidance to what was defined in the law.
Here is a link to the full explanation as submitted to USDOT, https://bit.ly/RegulatoryReviewRequest.
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Dangers of Lorries to Cyclists
This was filmed in the UK so their left turn is like our right turn.
The main point here is at intersections stay in-between cars/trucks or follow behind cars/trucks and never put yourself purposely alongside a truck. Stay safe out there, it’s easy to do just be mindful.
Road Rights: Finding Middle Ground in Maryland
By Bob Mionske
Nathan Krasnopoler was on his way home from the Farmer’s Market. At least that’s what his family is thinking, because the fresh produce he was carrying was scattered along the roadway when Jeannette Walke, 83, right-hooked him on February 26. Krasnopoler, a 20 year old engineering student at Johns Hopkins University, was pinned under Walke’s car and severely injured. He went into cardiac arrest on the way to the hospital, and has remained in a coma since the day of the collision. On April 9, Krasnopoler’s family announced that doctors do not expect him to recover.
Walke was charged with negligent driving and failure to yield. This was a mixed victory for cycling advocates. For six weeks, it appeared that she might not be charged at all, despite clear evidence of several violations of the law.
It wouldn’t have been the first time that a driver escaped charges in Maryland. In 2009, Jack Yates was killed under the rear wheels of the truck that right-hooked him. No charges were filed. In 2010, Natasha Pettigrew was run down by a driver who continued driving home, and later reported that she thought she had hit a dog, or a deer. No charges filed.
So when charges were filed against the driver who hit Nathan Krasnopoler, it was a small victory for justice—but what a small victory.
Failure to yield? That’s the best we can come up with to describe what happened? Failure to yield is what happens when a driver nearly causes a collision. It’s what happens in a minor fender bender. It does not describe what happened to Nathan Krasnopoler, and neither does that negligent driving charge.
…
One reason for this inability to distinguish between serious and minor violations is that the law reflects an unconscious assumption among legislators that the roads are for cars, and thus, that minor violations will only result in fender benders. To kill somebody in another car, it usually takes more extreme behavior, and that extreme behavior is punished under existing law.
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