Month: November 2011

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D.C. Advocates Seek Cultural Shift in View of Cyclists

[B’ Spokes: Just some highlights:]
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By Martin Austermuhle
Can you legislate a culture shift, using the law to change the way drivers perceive cyclists?
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Opponents of the law claim that it would unfairly put cyclists in a protected class offered to few other groups. But according to the law’s supporters, that’s the point. Councilmember Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) said that cyclists regularly face vehicular hostility on the District’s roads, criminal charges are rarely sought when accidents do happen and civil penalties are too low to encourage lawsuits as a means of seeking justice.
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"Until injuries to bicyclists and pedestrians are taken seriously by MPD and drivers are held accountable, the streets are not safe for our children, our husbands, our sisters," Rowan said in her testimony.
As a means to make police better understand the challenges faced by cyclists, Rowan proposed that they become cyclists themselves.
"I’d like to see every police officer spend three months on a bicycle…because they’re going to come back and say, ‘Oh my God, this is really terrible,’" she said.
Continue reading “D.C. Advocates Seek Cultural Shift in View of Cyclists”

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Opening of Anacostia River Trail [Video]

I would be more supportive of O’Malley and things mentioned in this video if:

But if you live in the DC area, this is nice:

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Hey, we beat Portland in something bike related

Baltimore had a 233% increase in bike commuters from 2000 to 2009 while Portland "only" had a 222% increase. So while our really low 1% bike commuters is nothing compared to Portland’s 5.8% it still shows hope as in 2000 Portland had only had 1.8% bike commuters. So maybe there is hope that in 9 years we will have 5% bike commuters. That is if the City will stop removing bike lanes before giving cyclists a voice in the discussion, without this key ingredient our bike commuter numbers will continue to be low.

Data from: https://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2011/09/substantial-increases-bike-ridership-across-nation/161/

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BDOT: Oops we made a mistake so we’ll make the same mistake in the other direction

Baltimore Brew has some fair coverage of the Monroe Bike Lane removal (boy was that quick) under the headline: Monroe Street bike lane: Gone baby gone.
https://www.baltimorebrew.com/2011/10/24/monroe-street-bike-lane-gone-baby-gone/

From the article:
DOT spokeswoman Adrienne Barnes said today, “We told you – there were some safety issues. And a decision was made to do these things differently. We need to talk to the community folks first [before installing a lane].”
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Ooooo "safety issues", now I understand what the problem is…. not!

In NYC they tried to play the "safety issues" card as well on the Prospect West Cycle Path and a lot of the points were just absurd and no bases in reality. Which is not to say there couldn’t be legitimate safety reasons for the removal of the Monroe St bike lane but I think if that was the case they would be articulated. The fact they have not been spoken of in any detail has me very concerned.

So because DOT did not talk to the community they chose not to talk to the bike community to correct the error. Ya that will work. [/sarcasm]

-or-

From the article: "I am sure the city never did handle this right. First they put it in without anyone knowing about it. Then they took it out without anyone knowing about it.”
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Fact check:
From the article: "Councilwoman Belinda K. Conaway, …She criticized bike advocates for not reaching out to the community earlier."
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Uhhh, that’s DOT’s responsibly, wait, I’m explaining how government is supposed to work to a councilwoman? That’s a big part of the problem here and keep in mind it’s "their" side that turned us away when a problem was discovered, so if you want to talk about not reaching out, look in the mirror.

Anyway, speaking of DOT’s responsibly they are *supposed* to provide routine accommodations for cyclists, which is what they attempted to do here. (See 09-0176R #5 https://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=20110308133257644 )

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Exercise Can Overpower the ‘Obesity Gene’

Study Shows Physical Activity Can Reduce the Effects of a Genetic Predisposition for Obesity
By Denise Mann – Web MD
Nov. 2, 2011 — Obesity may be in your genes, but that is no excuse not to exercise.
In fact, physical activity can reduce the effects of the ‘fat mass and obesity-associated’ (FTO) or obesity gene in adults.
Previous research has shown that about 74% of all people in the U.S. with European ancestry have a genetic variation associated with the FTO gene that can lead to weight gain that raises the risk for becoming obese.
According to the study, the obesity-causing effects of the obesity gene are weakened by 30% when adults are physically active.
The study is published in PLoS Medicine.
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Continue reading “Exercise Can Overpower the ‘Obesity Gene’”

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Secret To A Long, Healthy Life: Bike To The Store

by NANCY SHUTE – NPR
What would you say to a cheap, easy way to stay slim, one that would help avoid serious illness and early death? How about if it made your neighbors healthier, too? It could be as simple as biking to the store.
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin were wondering if getting people out of their cars just a wee bit would create measurable improvements in health. health. So they gathered up data sets on obesity, health effects of pollution, and air pollution caused by automobiles in 11 Midwestern cities, and did a mashup.
They found that if the Midwesterners ran half of their short-distance errands by bike rather than by car, 1,100 deaths would be avoided each year, and $7 billion would be saved in reduced health-care costs. The trips were 2.5 miles one way; less than a 25-minute bike ride, the researchers figure.
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Continue reading “Secret To A Long, Healthy Life: Bike To The Store”