Month: April 2013

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Shocking rhetoric from John Townsend and AAA

B’ Spokes: What I like best about this article and AAA Mid-Atlantic sometimes war against cyclists/walkable cities is the chance to promote Better World Club.
"In the meantime, residents do have a choice when purchasing towing, insurance, and travel discounts. Better World Club is one company that offers many of the same benefits as AAA, but without the disdain."
Better World Club: https://www.betterworldclub.com/
Read about the Ku Klux Klan accusations from AAA Mid-Atlantic here: https://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/18573/shocking-rhetoric-from-john-townsend-and-aaa/

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The template for improved road safety

"The template–informing the public that traffic safety laws will be strictly enforced followed by high visibility, zero-tolerance enforcement, culminating in publicizing enforcement data–changes driver behavior."

https://fastlane.dot.gov/2013/04/distracted-driving-awareness-month-guest-contributor-capt-shannon-trice-enforcement-works.html

B’ Spokes: Note the "publicizing enforcement data" which is a very rare for the Baltimore Metro area.

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Transport U: Colleges Save Millions By Embracing Policies to Reduce Driving

by Angie Schmitt, Streets Blog
Jeffrey Tumlin was managing transportation programs at Stanford in the mid-1990s, when he made an important finding: It was cheaper for the university to pay people not to drive than to build new parking structures.
Offering employees just $90 a year not to drive to campus was enough to entice many of them to use transit, carpools, or bicycles. Meanwhile, the annualized cost of each parking space can range from about $650 for surface spots in suburban locations to over $4,000 for structured spaces in cities, according to the Victoria Transport Policy Institute
…
https://dc.streetsblog.org/2013/04/16/transport-u-colleges-embrace-policies-to-reduce-driving/

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The brand new Bike Corral at Oriole Park

Via email

The attached
was just installed yesterday [April 3],
compliments of the Baltimore Orioles.  The bike corral
(which is in addition to the racks next to the Babe Ruth statue) will
accommodate 100 bikes.  It will also be supervised during Orioles home
games (although the O’s and MSA encourage you to secure your vehicles.)
 
This corral, just outside Gate C on Maryland Square, can be accessed
via Lee Street or the breezeway in the Warehouse near the Veterans Memorial.
 
You will also find bicycle racks in front of Dempsey’s Brew Pub, on the
east side of the Warehouse, and at the Camden Yards MARC station (which will be
upgraded this year.)
 
Please help us get the word out to the Baltimore cycling
community.  Look forward to seeing you at the ballpark.  Go O’s !!!
 
Jan Hardesty
Public Information Officer
 
PS.  Here is the message the O’s
posted on the center rack

image

image

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City as banker and venture capitalist

[B’ Spokes: I’ll pull a couple of examples from this article that I think the Baltimore area needs to pay attention to. And for those of you not familiar with Strong Towns, a stroad is something that is supposed to function as a street and a road but fails at both miserably.]

By CHARLES MAROHN, Strong Towns

…

Examples #2: A street in a city is in disrepair and a maintenance project is planned. In evaluating the project, it is discovered that new growth and a rise in property values along the street has doubled the revenue the city is getting from within the project area to $400,000 per year. An enhancement that would widen sidewalks, installed decorative lighting and make other improvements would add $50,000 per year to the long term costs of the project, bringing the total annual cost to $100,000 per year. The city goes ahead with the project with the knowledge that the tax base has grown a sufficient amount to cover the long term costs.

Example #3: A STROAD runs through the city, bisecting two neighborhoods in a way that artificially separates them. Development along the STROAD is not very productive, providing an annual revenue stream of only $400,000. The cost to maintain the STROAD alone is $600,000 per year, which does not include costs for policing, responding to accidents and other normal city costs. The city secures a grant from the federal and state governments to put the STROAD on a road diet, narrowing the overall surface, connecting the adjacent neighborhoods and improving the overall prospects for the corridor. As a result of the project, the annual cost to maintain the STROAD (now a street) decreases to $300,000, an amount now covered by the corridor’s revenue stream. The growth in value expected along the corridor — if it materializes — will only enhance the city’s already marginally-positive position.

…

https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2013/4/8/city-as-banker-and-venture-capitalist.html

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County Ped/Bike Group Hears Community Suggestions

B’ Spokes: Great post on Bmore Bikes: https://www.bmorebikes.com/county-pedbike-group-hears-community-suggestions/

What caught my eye:
"All these projects will have limited county funding for studies, design or construction. Baltimore County intends to apply for Recreation Trails funding…"

Sorry but Maryland differs greatly from federal guidance and what other states are doing, each project can only get $30K max of ~$100K we get each year. This is purely a Maryland made up rule. (Yah they can do that but why?) But more importantly who do we talk to get this changed? My impression is no one knows who is in charge of this and this is the way it always has been done so we are stuck with it.

So if you are interested in seeing where a $100k goes see: https://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=20120912021430852