Month: January 2013

Posted on

MARYLAND BIKE ROUTE: COLUMBIA TO FORT MEADE

In 2010, the Bicycle Advocates of Howard County partnered with the Howard County Department of Public Transportation and approached the state with an idea for a connection between Columbia to Fort Meade. A large portion of the employees that work in and around Fort Meade (the State’s largest employment center), live in and around Columbia . With the growing congestion on the roadways, many find it more enjoyable to commute via bicycle, however, finding a comfortable route is often challenging. SHA, with the support of the Maryland Department of Transportation, is working to identify and sign a suitable route for commuting cyclists. After in-depth investigation of many possible routes, SHA, in coordination with Howard County and the Bicycle Advocates of Howard County (BAHC) have developed a route that we feel is the most comfortable and most feasible route in this corridor (PDF, 11 MB).

This route, displayed in solid red, is designed for bicycle commuters with some riding experience that travel from the Columbia area along the MD 32 corridor. Depending on their skill and comfort level, some riders may prefer alternate routes; however, this road is currently agreed to be both reasonably comfortable and direct. The route is intended to behave as a trunk route to carry cyclists from the Columbia area to the Fort Meade area. Future routes can spur from this route to reach additional populations more directly.

Using grant money from Maryland’s Bikeways Program, the route will be signed and limited striping may be installed. Upon implementation, the route will provide directional guidance for cyclists and increase motorist awareness of bicycle travel. It will also be prioritized on Maryland’s statewide bicycle network as a priority bicycle route. This recognition will help the route receive additional funding to address remaining safety and comfort deficiencies for cyclists along the route. In essence, the goal of this route, along with the others, is to develop a system of bicycle trunks throughout Maryland connecting points of major key interest.

PLEASE SEND YOUR COMMENTS ON THE ROUTE HERE

Continue reading “MARYLAND BIKE ROUTE: COLUMBIA TO FORT MEADE”

Posted on

Understanding why Upper Northwest DC residents don’t buy into the sustainability mobility paradigm

[B’ Spokes: The opening is great and worth considering everywhere.]
*********************************************************************
By Richard Layman, Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space
If I were to think of the ideal circumstances for being able to live without "having" to own a car it would include the following:
– living about 3/4 mile maximum from a subway station, but 1 mile is acceptable (a 15 to 20 minute walk;
– living no more than six blocks from a decent bus line (frequent service to key destinations), a 1/4 mile (3 blocks) is better (this is the distance that RideOn shoots for in Montgomery County);
– living within 1.5 miles of a full line grocery store, preferably with direct transit service (interestingly WMATA doesn’t list grocery stores on their maps);
– living within 1.0 mile of a decent neighborhood commercial district, including pharmacy, hardware, some restaurants that you are happy to patronize more than once, and some other shops including, ideally barber shop/hair salon, dry cleaners, and a post office;
…
https://urbanplacesandspaces.blogspot.com/2013/01/understanding-why-upper-northwest-dc.html

Posted on

Road Wars: The Bike vs. Car Question Continues – Does 3 Feet to Pass pass muster?

by Josh Gross, Boise Weekly

image

…

Police came to Stevahn’s house that night, where he explained the incident. The two officers, Oscar Canfield and Dave Burgard, said they were unaware of the law. They left briefly to look it up for confirmation, then returned, acknowledged it, went to see Hanna and issued him a citation.

In court, Hanna plead not guilty. He claimed he saw Stevahn, and though he was unaware of the law, only passed too close because traffic prevented him from getting over. Stevahn disputed that there was traffic, but in the end, it didn’t matter. The judge told Hanna that traffic or not, the law stated that it was the motorist’s responsibility to provide safe passing distance, even if that meant not passing until there was room to do so.

…

“The goal here was less to come up with a new law to cite motorists for than it was to provide a standard for what is safe driving,” said Michael Zuzel, project manager for the Cycling Safety Task Force, which was responsible for the law.

…

https://www.boiseweekly.com/boise/road-wars-the-bike-vs-car-question-continues/Content?oid=2597595

[B’ Spokes: I really question what we should do now that MDOT keeps botching the “standard for what is safe driving”.]

Posted on

[Cycling] Group Again Seeks Support To Clean Up City Park’s Trails

BY JOANNE SHRINER, The Dispatch
SALISBURY – Local bicycle advocates pushed the Salisbury City Council this week to sanction a plan to rebuild the city park’s trails on the east side.
…
“This is just not an informal group of folks that are getting together and dreaming about stuff. These guys are actually doing it,” Drew said. “They are a very effective organization as they have proved they can work with public and private land owners to bring about trails to working communities.”
…
Council President Terry Cohen responded the council is waiting on liability information from the city attorney and when that information is received she will look to schedule a formal discussion with ESIMBA.
https://www.mdcoastdispatch.com/articles/2013/01/18/Top-Stories/Group-Again-Seeks-Support-To-Clean-Up-City-Parks-Trails

Posted on

Rightsizing Streets

The needs of our communities evolve over time, and our street design should, too. That’s the idea behind ‘rightsizing streets’ – reconfiguring the layout of our streets to better serve the people who use them, whether they’re commuters driving, shoppers walking, or children bicycling. Across the country, communities large and small are achieving impressive safety, mobility, and community outcomes by implementing such reconfigurations. Project for Public Spaces created this rightsizing resource to highlight the accomplishments of these communities and share best practices. Our transportation staff can advise stakeholders and decision-makers, skillfully facilitate a rightsizing process, and adeptly produce rightsized designs for agencies and community groups.
…
https://www.pps.org/reference/rightsizing/

Posted on

I’m Walking Here! 12 Ideas to Improve Public Transit in Baltimore

by Eric Hatch

Relying on public transit in Baltimore makes me feel like Don Quixote, Ignatius Reilly, and “Ratso”  Rizzo all rolled into one. As a rare “choice” rider in this city—someone who could afford a car (albeit a crappy one) but chooses to walk and ride instead—I’m accustomed to ruling out activities in whole chunks of the city. I go out most nights, but this means allocating extra time in each trip for buses that never come, trains that creep at half the speed they could, and long walks to destinations that should have service but don’t.

 

It doesn’t have to be that way. Literally 100 years ago, Baltimore had one of the best streetcar systems in the world, covering more area and running more frequently than today’s nightmarish bus system. In fact, many neighborhoods of Baltimore were literally developed around streetcar service, built with little walkable commerce since residents could rely on public transit to get them anywhere they needed to go.

 

We’ve all likely heard about streetcars before, but pause for a minute to let this sink in: 100 years ago a pedestrian in Baltimore could get to more places, and make their trips faster and easier, than we can in 2013. What should’ve been a source of enduring health and pride for the city was demolished after WW2 in the name of “progress,” a gross capitulation to car culture, the suburbs, and corporate power that resulted in inconvenience to me, but real horrors for much of the city. The death of the streetcar led to the creation and exacerbation of food deserts, to name one dire consequence, not to mention a working-class populace that must choose between either building their daily life around an unreliable transit system, or becoming shackled to the barely sustainable expenses of car payments, insurance, gas, and repairs.

 

Baltimore is bouncing back from hard times. In so many quality of life measures that matter to me, things are better than they were when I moved here in 1996.  Despite a still-raging and horribly destructive drug war, most of our city is safer than it was then. Life is also potentially more enjoyable: we have more cafes, more clubs, more movie screens, more art galleries, more bike lanes, and a vibrant music scene that’s become internationally known.

 

Public transit lags behind. Why? …

https://www.facebook.com/notes/eric-hatch/im-walking-here-12-ideas-to-improve-public-transit-in-baltimore/10151301962227144

Posted on

Midweek Bike Sweats at Montebello

Wednesday, January 23, 2013 6:45 PM

Lake Montebello Curran Drive, Baltimore , MD

This week we’ll be working on hard, fast efforts around Lake Montebello. There is a simple and effective plan for this workout, but there are a couple rules to follow to make it work. We will explain what needs to happen 10 minutes before the start.

What you need to know:
• We’ll start rolling at 7PM. Be at the south parking lot at 6:50PM
• It’s dark. Have decent lighting.
• You can participate with any bike, BUT you’ll have more fun on a road-style bike.
• You will need good reflexes on this ride. Let’s save the boozing for afterwards.

questions? bring ’em

https://www.meetup.com/Biking-in-Bmore/events/100427652/