Month: December 2015

-> Vision Zero is a multi-pronged approach to the complex problem of street safety. We know that speed is a common factor in traffic fatalities and severe injuries — especially for people biking or walking. And one of the key lessons learned from the early adopters of Vision Zero in Europe is that speed reduction must be a top priority if we are serious about the goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and severe injuries. Vision Zero proponents are exploring Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) as a means to increase capacity to control deadly speeding. A new report (Automated Speed Enforcement Implementation: Survey Findings and Lessons Learned From Around the Country: https://bit.ly/1QMhCtS) includes a wealth of real-world examples of success with safety cameras that help manage speed: “ASE has been found to be an effective tool that over 130 communities throughout the country have implemented to improve safety for all road users.” For instance, Washington D.C. had a reduction in drivers speeding more than 10 mph over the speed limit from 1 in 3 to 1 in 40 — and reported a 70% reduction in fatalities. https://bit.ly/1OjsieV
from CenterLines, the e-newsletter of the National Center for Bicycling & Walking.
[B’ Spokes: IMHO You would not know that speed cameras are effective tool around here with all the bad press they have been given.]

What GAO Found
Pedestrian and cyclist fatalities and injuries represent a growing percentage of all traffic fatalities and injuries. For example, pedestrian fatalities comprised 10.9 percent of all traffic deaths nationwide in 2004, but 14.5 percent in 2013. Cyclists represented 1.7 percent of all United States traffic deaths in 2004, but 2.3 percent in 2013. Estimates of pedestrian and cyclist injuries also grew during this same time frame.
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https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-16-66

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, was awarded a Bicycle Friendly Business silver award by the League of American Bicyclists on Dec. 9.
Recognized for its investment in bicycling to promote employee health and social responsibility, APL has an active cycling club and, for bike riders, offers showers, locker rooms, secure parking and personal fitness financial incentive.
Recently, the Lab quadrupled its bike parking capacity and introduced a bike share program. With the announcement of 43 new and renewing BFBs today, APL joins a group of more than 1,090 local businesses, government agencies and Fortune 500 companies in 49 states and Washington, D.C.
“Cycling is one of many activities we encourage to contribute to the health of our staff members, which is terrific for our organization,” said Maria Cimilluca, head of the Facilities Maintenance Department at APL. “Our bike share program has been a big success in promoting a fun and active atmosphere on our campus. We aim to make APL a welcoming place for cyclists.”
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https://www.jhuapl.edu/newscenter/pressreleases/2015/151216.asp

BY JOSH COHEN, Next City
In December 2014, U.S. Representatives Rick Larsen, Eleanor Holmes Norton and Peter DeFazio voiced concern that the number of pedestrians and bicyclists in the U.S. being seriously injured or killed was on the rise, while traffic deaths and injuries as a whole were declining. More specifically, they worried that over-engineered roads meant to help cars move faster were a leading cause. To see if their suspicions were true, they commissioned a Government Accountability Office study.
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https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/federal-study-bike-pedestrian-safety-data-more-funding

“The organizations released the report on Dec. 3 as the UN COP21 climate debates continued. “The analysis shows that the Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States account for some $80 billion per year in public support for fossil fuels, while their total pledges to the Green Climate Fund only amount to $2 billion per year,” the report stated.”
https://newsofscience.com/fossil-fuel-subsidies-outweigh-renewable-energy-subsidies-by-40-to-1/

By Dennis Wright
“If you want to drive your car, then by all means, go ahead – I don’t disagree with the right to move around the city in whichever way you want. But don’t moan about it when you finally reach your destination after sitting in the same traffic which has been gridlocking our city for decades now.”
https://www.bristol247.com/channel/opinion/your-say/transport/drivers-stuck-in-traffic-stop-moaning
[B’ Spokes: How long are we going to keep promoting car only transportation that hasn’t gotten any better in decades? At best there is a short improvement that is near equal in time to the traffic delays that the construction “to make it better” took. Think about it, billions spent on short sections of car centric road widening projects that at best are only a improvement that last a year.]