Month: October 2011

Posted on

This page intentionally left blank

To recap what we know about the Monroe St. bike lane:

The pros:

The cons:

Options and alternatives discussed and reviewed:

*********************************************************************************
This issue is not about removal of a bike lane but about the refusal to have public participation to help insure a more favorable outcome (the above needs to be public knowledge for this to happen.) (See https://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=20111029234335139 )

The issue is you do not have a right to an open government, you do not have a right to participate in transportation decisions that effect your *right* to travel under your own power (motorized travel is a privilege that has to be licensed and that privilege can be revoked.)

Accommodating cyclists has more options then any other mode of transportation. The fact that we lost an accommodation BEFORE an alternative solution could be identified I find offensive as heck.

See our alert: https://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=20111023225019955

Posted on

The Wheelsucker Does the Baltimore Halloween Critical Mass Ride

A very amusing review of Baltimore’s Critical Mass. Some choice quotes:

"What a BLAST!!!! "

"The Wheelsucker noted that NO ONE was wearing team kit and in fact NO ONE was wearing lycra; most but not all wore helmets. And there were some GREAT costumes."

"… but much like the city of Annapolis needing to actually connect the short lengths of “cycling paths to nowhere” such that one could actually ride somewhere in Annapolis on a bike path, the Wheelsucker is not expecting this during his lifetime. "

" Well, most people were clapping and cheering as the group rode by, and when we did hear car horns they were typically short tapping blasts that suggested support rather than frustration and anger."

"Many – perhaps most – of the group actually used their bikes for transportation all or most of the time, not just for training and recreational racing as the Wheelsucker and most of his team mates do. It occurred to the Wheelsucker that this “parallel universe” of cycling was probably just as credible – maybe more so – than his own. "

"The alley cat race was a race to various locations in downtown Baltimore."

"TAKE BACK THE STREETS!!!!"
Continue reading “The Wheelsucker Does the Baltimore Halloween Critical Mass Ride”

Posted on

Officials lament loss of girl hit by car despite safety project

[B’ Spokes: Filed under news you will not see in Maryland. Note that Nevada ranks #19 with a pedestrian fatality rate of 1.32 per hundred thousand, Maryland ranks #4 with a pedestrian fatality rate of 1.98 per hundred thousand. Clark County (Las Vegas) rate: 1.47 in contrast with Baltimore: 2.51, Baltimore County: 2.66, Anne Arundell: 2.69, Prince George’s: 2.76 ]
***********************************************************************************************************
BY ADRIENNE PACKER – LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

With the number of pedestrian fatalities in Nevada nearly double the national average, traffic experts became more aggressive in their attempts to improve not only crosswalk markings but the contentious relationship between pedestrians and motorists.

Accidents involving pedestrians is a problem across the Southwest where straight, wide streets often invite motorists to exceed the speed limit and lose focus, said Erin Breen with University of Nevada, Las Vegas’ Safe Partnership Community.

"We live in a world where the car is king," Breen said. "An engineer’s job is to move traffic, but there has to be a balance somewhere."
…
Continue reading “Officials lament loss of girl hit by car despite safety project”

Posted on

James Corless, Director Transportation for America to speak at Hopkins: 11/3 @ 12:10

From MBAC post:

Hello all.

On November 3, from 12:10 to 1:20, James Corless, Director, Transportation for America will be speaking at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The seminar is free and open to the public. There is also free lunch starting at around 11:45. I hope that you can make it! Location information is below.

Bloomberg School of Public Health – Hampton House
624 North Broadway
Baltimore, MD 21205-1901
Room: B14B Auditorium

Contact Information:
Name: Pamela Davis
Phone: 410-614-1580
Email: pdavis@jhsph.edu

Continue reading “James Corless, Director Transportation for America to speak at Hopkins: 11/3 @ 12:10”

Posted on

Public Participation: More than an “Orgy of Public Process”

[B’Spokes: Let me pull this out for emphases: "stakeholders should or must be consulted due to ethical, legal or social obligations."]
**************************************************************************************************************************************************
By Michael Hooper
Over the past two years, a growing number of voices have criticized the role of public participation in urban planning. These voices include Andrés Duany, the architect and New Urbanist, who has decried America’s “absolute orgy of public process.1 They also include Tom Campanella, who argues in essays in Planning magazine and the journal Places that, “it’s a fool’s errand to rely upon citizens to guide the planning process.”2, 3 A position justified, Campanella claims, because, “most folks lack the knowledge to make intelligent decisions about the future of our cities.” Criticism of participation is not new, but the increasingly strident tone of anti-participation sentiment should worry citizens and policy makers alike. In fact, there are good reasons to encourage participation in public processes, perhaps now more than ever.
…
In their comments on participation as process, critics seldom mention the well-established instrumental benefits of participation. These are the benefits of participation that go beyond the idea that stakeholders should or must be consulted due to ethical, legal or social obligations. While there are powerful arguments for participation on these terms, there is also strong evidence that participation actually improves project outcomes and the likelihood of project success. These outcome-oriented aspects of participation are seldom mentioned by critics and so are worth reiterating. Before doing so, it should be noted that participation is also important as an outcome in its own right. Participation not only has the potential to improve project outcomes, but is itself an outcome. Participation has been shown to have positive spillovers through fostering democratic norms and development of social capital, both of which are important societal objectives.
…
Based on data collected from 1965 onwards, they examined 105 wastewater projects and found that participation and project outcomes were positively correlated. A 2000 study by Beierle, of 239 environmental projects, showed that stakeholder participation improved decisions and outcomes.
…
This is not to say that participation is a panacea or that the participatory processes currently in use are ideal. But, it is a mistake to broadly criticize participation as an impediment to progress, without recognizing that it also is one of the most important elements in ensuring the success of both the projects that architects and planners want so badly to build and of our cities over the long-term.
Continue reading “Public Participation: More than an “Orgy of Public Process””

Posted on

Mannequins help kick off pedestrian safety blitz

[B’ Spokes: if Baltimore was the size of Chicago we would be putting up 61Mannequins (vs. Chicago’s 32 ), yet pedestrian safety remains a low priority for Baltimore.I can’t find the link at the moment but bicycling facilities have been shown to improve pedestrian safety. My speculation is anything to get motorists to think about something other then "just other cars" helps.]
**********************************************************************************************************************************
By Jon Hilkevitch, Tribune reporter

Chicago officials appear willing to try whatever tricks it may take to eliminate pedestrian deaths — even as they push a bill in the state Legislature that would allow cameras across much of the city to catch speeders.

City officials kicked off an effort Tuesday to reduce vehicle-pedestrian crashes, which includes safety messages stenciled on sidewalks, stickers inside taxis urging passengers to report reckless cabdrivers and flags for people to carry to boost their visibility while crossing streets.

The combined education and police-enforcement effort, involving about 15 initiatives, began with placing 32 mannequins — representing pedestrians killed in 2010 crashes across the city — on Wacker Drive downtown from Michigan Avenue to Wells Street.

"You’ll notice that some of it is sort of hard-hitting, some of it may even be a little bit shocking," Chicago Transportation Commissioner Gabe Klein said. He stood at Wacker and Wabash Avenue near mannequins wearing T-shirts reading, "One of 32 pedestrians killed last year in Chicago."

The city announced a goal to reduce pedestrian fatalities to zero by 2020. In addition to the 32 deaths last year, about 3,000 pedestrians were injured in vehicle-related accidents citywide, records show.
…
Continue reading “Mannequins help kick off pedestrian safety blitz”

Posted on

How Much is a Bike Trail Worth?

by JULIE IRWIN ZIMMERMAN
With budget crises a reality for local governments all over the country, recreation amenities like bike trails are often the first places to look for cuts. But according to research coming out of the University of Cincinnati, proximity to trails in urban areas increases property values, which in turn boosts the amount of property taxes filling government coffers.
…
Continue reading “How Much is a Bike Trail Worth?”

Posted on

In letter to officials, Brochin takes city to task for Loch Raven policies

By Kevin Rector – Baltimore Sun
State Sen. Jim Brochin has lashed out at Baltimore City officials over issues at Loch Raven Reservoir – again.
In the last few weeks, Brochin has been one of the most vocally unrestrained critics of city officials’ recent decision to close down popular but unsanctioned mountain biking trails throughout the Loch Raven Reservoir forest buffer.
During a trail tour he helped organize on Oct. 14, Brochin chatted freely with media, mountain bikers and city councilmembers about how "ridiculous" he thinks the city’s stance on the trails is. He rejected the idea that bikers cause significant erosion and sedimentation in the water supply.
…
"Baltimore City may own the reservoir, however it is in my Senate district," he wrote. "Furthermore, your ownership in no way gives you immunity from adhering to the environmental laws of the State of Maryland."
…
In an interview, Brochin said he was tired of the city hypocritically blaming mountain bikers for erosion while really causing it themselves, and had decided to turn the tables.
"They say they are very concerned about the water quality, and they are harassing bikers who don’t damage the water quality at all, and in the meantime they don’t have a clue about keeping up a reservoir, maintaining open space, and keeping up this gem," Brochin said.
"I don’t think Baltimore City is being a good steward to the environment."
Continue reading “In letter to officials, Brochin takes city to task for Loch Raven policies”