Last Sunday Baltimore cyclists gathered to honor a cyclist that was killed (Baltimore Sun coverage) by a right turning truck (that did not signal) and a lot of conversation was about how dangerous it is to bike in the city. And if you look at all traffic fatalities in the city it does indeed look like a very frightening place to ride.
Map of all traffic fatalities 2003-2007:
But the world I see when I bike is this:
Map of Cycling fatalities 2003-2007:
That's what cycling fatalities look like here. And the tragically ironic bit is too many of our bicycle crashes are because people feel unsafe cycling on our streets so they try their best to stay out of the way of cars by adopting unsafe practices like riding against traffic or even worse, riding against traffic on the sidewalk where no motorist is looking for traffic. So while it may feel initially safe to be out of the area of attention of motorist or to be able to "see it coming" the cold hard fact is for safety we need to ride our bikes as part of traffic, not invisible or contrary to traffic. Aggressive motoring calls for assertive cycling, timid cycling on an aggressive motorist road/time of day just does not work, that's the basic law of the jungle.
Being assertive is often considered rude but being a aggressive motorists is even more rude. So the question is how do we cope and ride safe in this environment? My first recommendation is reading a few articles on Ken Kifer's site and then watch the video produced by MDOT filmed mostly in Baltimore and hosted by One Less Car (note there are 5 parts to the video, when done with one part click the next part under the video.)
From conversations I have had, the people that are still reluctant to ride because they feel that the more people that ride the more bike crashes and fatalities will happen. But there is ever increasing evidence that is not the case, as one example, data from Portland, OR which has seen tremendous increase in cycling yet their cycling crashes remain fairly constant:
In conclusion: Cycling is good for you, your health and the environment and the more people that ride, the safer it is for everyone. So while some "street smarts" is required for safety, it's not rocket science. Oh ya, it's also fun and practical way to go places, get things done and enjoy life.
Annapolis, MD; Baltimore, MD; ... Cumberland, MD; ... Rockville, MD;...The League of American Bicyclists promotes bicycling for fun, fitness and transportation, and works through advocacy and education for a bicycle-friendly America. The League represents the interests of America's 57 million bicyclists, including its 300,000 members and affiliates. For more information visit www.bikeleague.org.http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bicyclefriendlyamerica/pdfs/bfc_fall2009_pr.pdf
Congratulations and thanks to these cities for helping to make Maryland a better place to bike!
Thanks again for applying for the BFC designation and congratulations on your honorable mention. I know Baltimore is going to get the bronze soon, so keep up all your excellent work! I have attached feedback that was compiled from the application review. You will find a few significant measures that should be taken to improve the community’s bicycle friendliness in addition to program and policy measures in each of the Five E’s. The BFC application is broad and no one right or wrong answer will put a community over the edge either way. In our experience, it takes a breadth of programs across each category to make a truly Bicycle Friendly Community.
Each question of the BFC application is designed to point the community to a good measure for improving cycling. So, please use this document in conjunction with the BFC application as a roadmap to building a great community for cycling.
Best regards,
Bill Nesper
Director, Bicycle Friendly America Program
League of American Bicyclists
Greg Cantori, President of the Board of Directors of One Less Car, and Marc talk about the challenges and dangers of biking through the streets of B-More. Nate Evans, bike and pedestrian planner for the city of Baltimore, shares what's next for making Baltimore more biker friendly.
http://www.steinershow.org/radio/the-marc-steiner-show/october-1-2009-hour-2
Sustainability Weekend: 23-25 October 2009
The Roland Park Civic League will kick of its Sustainability Initiative with three-days of community activities. The event will be one of thousands of actions orchestrated globally by the virtual organization 350.org to raise awareness about climate change (www.350.org). It will involve surrounding communities and local schools and churches. This will be the first of three Sustainability Weekends slated through July 2010.
On Friday, 23 October, local students will walk or bike to school. Adults will find alternative ways to get to work. That week, students will prepare artwork and presentations on various sustainability issues: biodiversity, energy conservation, recycling, eco-friendly design, climate change and other themes. Students will earn community service credits for their work.
Saturday 24 October will be a sustainability “teach-in” and work day. Southbound Roland Avenue will be cordoned off from Deepdene Road to Indian Lane from 9AM until noon. Tables and booths will be set up in front of the Roland Park Library. The RPCL will have a table where citizens can make personal sustainability pledges and sign up for various sustainability-related activities. The Office of Sustainability, local vendors and other community organizations will have displays and materials on sustainability themes. Students will display their sustainability artwork and presentations. In the afternoon students will go door-to-door to drop sustainability leaflets and schedule homeowners for visits by the Baltimore Neighborhood Energy Challenge (BNEC) Program captains. The movie “Kilowatt Ours” will be shown continuously that afternoon in the RP Library.
On Sunday, 25 October, Roland Park will host “Sunday Streets” (cyclovia). Southbound Roland Avenue will be blocked at Northern Parkway and Cold Spring Road. All westbound lateral streets will be barricaded. The street will be reserved for pedestrians, cyclists, skaters and skateboarders from 8AM until 1PM. Students and other volunteers will be trained and deployed as safety officers. People from nearby communities will be invited to walk or ride to Roland Avenue. If successful, a larger Sunday Streets event will be organized in March 2010, connecting Roland Park, Lake Montibello and Druid Hill Park (the “Lake to Lake” pilot route).
For more information contact the Roland Park Civic League (Marni) 410-464-2525. To volunteer, contact Sustainability Initiative co-chairs Mike McQuestion (443-912-7655) or Rita Walters (443-610-3403).
We are proud to see that three Maryland cities have applied for the League of American Bicyclists Bicycle Friendly Community Award. Those cities are:
It is really great to see more cities interested in making biking apart of daily life. Best of luck to you all!
A brand-new transportation system is coming to the downtown area soon. To better connect Baltimore residents, workers, businesses, and visitors, twenty-one hybrid EcoSaver IV buses will circulate on three downtown routes, seven days a week-with no fare or boarding fee. The circulator routes will run south to north from the Inner Harbor Visitor Center to Penn Station, and east to west from Harbor East to the B&O Railroad Museum. With buses arriving approximately every ten minutes, the circulator system is planned to connect with Amtrak, MARC, Light Rail, Metro Subway, MTA bus lines, two water connectors (Maritime Park to Tide Point and Canton Waterfront Park to Tide Point), and parking garages located on the fringes of downtown. For more information, visit www.yournameyourride.com.
Well bike of course! Hundreds of cyclist found out just how convenient it was to bike to Artscape and thanks to the free bike parking courtesy of the University Baltimore it was safe and secure. Volunteers from the Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Committee as well as One Less Car helped distribute bike safety materials from State Highways as well as bike maps from the State, Jones Fall Trail and Gwynns Falls Trail. The Friends of the Charles Street Trolley were there as well talking about the advantages of mass transit in an urban core.
Biking is just fun, practical and a great way to do things!
One Less Car recognized by Mayor Sheila Dixon for its help in the Baltimore Bike Master Plan.
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