You can read about Chicago’s effort here: https://www.economist.com/node/21562252
And what Baltimore has done here: https://www.baltimorecity.gov/Government/AgenciesDepartments/Transportation/Planning/BikeBaltimore.aspx
Bicycling as traffic calming
[B’ Spokes: Richard Layman has a nice summary of (pioneering) resources on this topic in particular this one which never accrued to me before. The problem with typical crosswalk besides drivers rarely yielding is that pedestrians do not have a solid right-of-way, drivers are turning right or left across their path. So how do we dial up accommodating pedestrians (i.e. people)? From https://urbanplacesandspaces.blogspot.com/2012/09/bicycling-as-traffic-calming.html]
There needs to be more “Barnes Dance” pedestrian scramble intersections, where pedestrian movement is prioritized over cars and the pavement treatment needs to emphasize this, like in Pasadena or Oakland, California–DC has such an intersection, but there is no special treatment of the crosswalks, in particular the diagonal crosswalks. If there were, it would emphasize the importance of pedestrians.
Barnes “Dance” intersection treatment, Oakland, California, from the Streetsblog entry “Eyes on the Street: History of Oakland Chinatown’s Barnes Dance Intersection.” The entry has some great photos.
Enjoy yourself as you and the road make beautiful love together
If a driver honks and shouts "Get off the [expletive] road!" What he means is…
[Warning language content] https://www.bicyclemeditations.org/road.html
What drivers should know about sharing the road with bicyclists
By Ashley Halsey III, Washington Post
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10 things every driver should know about sharing the road with cyclists:
●You look for pedestrians when you’re making a turn, right? Why not take a couple of seconds longer to look for a cyclist? The rider has the right of way if he’s going straight and you’re turning right.
●The bike lane serves a purpose, and it isn’t for you to park in, even for “just a couple of seconds.” When you do that, cyclists have to swerve into traffic lanes — lanes in which drivers don’t expect them because there is, after all, a bike lane.
●You may never feel more powerful than when your foot’s on the gas pedal, but if you are at fault in a collision with a cyclist — even if you just “brush” against the biker — you might lose your driver’s license for a while and your private auto insurance forever. You could be looking at criminal charges, too.
●Riders go through stop signs. It’s illegal, and it can be annoying if they do it cavalierly. Other cyclists slow down, look both ways and then roll through. Usually it’s because their shoes are mechanically attached to the pedal. Yes, they can clip out, but they opt not to.
●Don’t count on a cyclist to hear your car coming from behind. A rider is hearing a lot more noise than you are inside the car with the windows rolled up. And some foolishly listen to music while they ride. But don’t lean on the horn.
●Wonder why that bike rider stays five feet away from the row of parked cars as you’re trying to navigate a narrow street? Cyclists call it being “doored.” If someone swings open the door of a parked car, the cyclist who is too close goes down. With many drivers pausing to check text messages or finish phone calls before they get out of a car, there’s no telling when a door will pop open.
●It would be great if every street had a bike lane and every road had a wide shoulder, but they don’t. Even when they do, there are things that you might not notice that push cyclists into the traffic lane. It’s stuff you roll over — potholes, sewer grates, pavement cracks, branches, broken glass, junk that falls off cars or out of trucks and the McDonald’s bag somebody tossed out the window.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/what-drivers-should-know-about-sharing-the-road-with-bicyclists-and-vice-versa/2012/09/15/4b8c9426-fe72-11e1-8adc-499661afe377_story.html
5 Diseases on the Move in North America, Thanks to Climate Change
Climate change, it’s not just about the weather anymore.
https://www.alternet.org/environment/5-diseases-move-north-america-thanks-climate-change
In Canton, a spontaneous wake for Scunny
by Louie Krauss, Baltimore Brew
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Along with McCusker’s friends and customers, several bicycle advocates showed up to pay their respects to a fellow cyclist and to promote safer driving and the construction of more bike-friendly roads.
Chris Merriam, of BikeMore, spoke about the problems that streets solely intended for cars pose for bike riders and pedestrians.
“I know that road he was on,” Merriam. “It’s designed to be almost like an interstate. The lights are timed so cars can easily get to 60 mph.”
Elswyth Strassberger, another Baltimore cycling advocate, said the many pedestrian deaths on the Coastal Highway are evidence of how dangerous it is.
This year a 22-year-old man and a 15-year-old girl died in vehicle-pedestrian accidents.
Merriam called on government planners to do more to safeguard cyclists and pedestrians.
“There’s a connection between this man dying and the design of the roads,” he said.
“It’s not just, ‘Oh, we wish cars were more respectful of bicyclists.’ There is something we can do about it.”
…
https://www.baltimorebrew.com/2012/08/26/in-canton-a-spontaneous-wake-for-scunny/
A Baltimore cyclist in the news
By Maria Wiering, Catholic Review
The best investment for a good retirement?
Your health, says Dr. Errol Rushovich, an endocrinologist and internist at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore.
A cyclist who regularly commutes by bike between downtown Baltimore and his Pikesville home, Rushovich hopes his first cross-country ride inspires patients and colleagues to add regular exercise to their portfolios.
On Sept. 15, he and 13 riders, including his wife Berenice, will begin a 3,160-mile trek between San Diego and St. Augustine, Fla. Their route is taking them through America’s southern states, many of which will be new to Rushovich, the medical director of Mercy’s Center for Bone Health and Division of Endocrinology.
Rushovich views the cross-country trip as a way to model good behavior to his patients. Exercise is crucial in combatting some types of diabetes and osteoporosis, two diseases Rushovich addresses at Mercy, he said.
“Over the years, I’ve strongly believed in exercise in being essential to your good health,” he said before the ride.
Organized by the Missoula, Mont.-based Adventure Cycling Association, the ride is self-supported and self-contained; riders carry their own gear, camp most nights and take turns cooking for the group without a support vehicle’s aid. Rushovich expects beans and rice to comprise many dinners, he said.
Rushovich biked a lot as a kid growing up in South Africa, he said. He got serious about cycling as an adult about 20 years ago, and has completed several 500-mile rides, including one on a tandem bicycle. He regularly trains with his wife on long rides around Maryland, he said.
“We love the outdoors, we enjoy exercise, we enjoy traveling and (cycling) is a combination of those three things,” he said.
The cross-country trip is scheduled to take 65 days, including nine orientation and rest days, with an average of 56.4 miles per cycling day.
The point? “The joy of cycling,” Rushovich said.
It is a joy he experiences two to three days per week as a bike commuter, which “is great way of being physically active,” Rushovich said. “(Exercise) gets built into your day . . . and it feels less like a chore.”
Riding also increases his awareness of the city, he said.
By bicycle, “I find that the city feels very different at different times of the day,” he said, contrasting a Sunday morning to a weekday evening.
For their long ride, the Rushoviches invested in custom-made bicycles from Bilenky Cycle Works in Philadelphia. They cost about $4,000 each, but riding them is the cycling equivalent of driving a Cadillac, Rushovich said – a luxury he hopes will ease full days of cycling.
After nine years at Mercy, it is difficult to step away from his medical practice for two months, he said, but the hospital’s administration, colleagues and his patients have been supportive and are excited to hear about the ride.
“It’s just an adventure,” he said. “I enjoy the challenge.”
Follow Dr. Rushovich’s journey on his blog, https://cyclecoasttocoast.blogspot.com.
Is “Forgiveness” Just for Auto Drivers?
by Bill Lindeke, streets.mn
There’s been a rash of pedestrian accidents lately. When these accidents get reported in the paper or batted around the water cooler, there are often underlying assumptions about blame. The stories typically imply that victim was intoxicated, in the wrong place, young, old, or unhelmeted (for bicyclsits). Because we all drive almost all the time, and we all assume equal responsibility for our automobile system, our kneejerk reaction is to blame the victim. (E.g. the Strib’s recent subheadline: “distraction, inattentiveness blamed for deadly collisions”)
This is the wrong approach. We should be blaming the road.
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It’s particularly interesting to me because transportation engineers and road designers have long had a different approach to designing roads. “Forgiveness” is a concept taught in engineering programs. It basically means that, to ensure safety, roads should be designed to allow for people to NOT be on their best behavior.
,,,
This concept makes a lot of sense, until you start to consider that designing a forgiving road means designing an unforgiving sidewalk.
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Thankfully, urban road design has turned a corner, and cities around the country are starting to realize that making roads less forgiving might make them safer for everyone. (The Compelte Streets movement is a great example of this.)
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Read more: https://www.streets.mn/2012/09/11/is-forgiveness-just-for-auto-drivers/
No seriously, if you are a cycling advocate read this.
