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The following newsflash from the Baltimore Regional Transportation
Board details current news, events, etc. in regards to biking and walking
both in and around the Baltimore region. The information found in the
newsflash is informative; it could inspire some to become more involved in
the process of improving conditions for biking and walking. Or it could
inspire a bike-ride or a walk...
BikePedED
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Baltimore City Seeks Bike/Ped Planner |
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The City of Baltimore Department of Transportation is currently hiring
for the following position: SPECIAL BIKE/PEDESTRIAN CITY PLANNER II.
The Bike/Ped planner will be charged with implementing the Baltimore
City Bicycle Master Plan as well as developing an ADA Transition Plan
for the City.
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Safe Routes to School Funds Available |
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Fiscal Year 2008 funding is available for both infrastructure &
non-infrastructure projects that benefit children in kindergarten
through eighth grade. All interested applicants must attend a seminar
on Thursday, March 22, 2007 hosted by the Maryland Highway Safety
Office.
The purposes of the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program are: 1) to
enable & encourage children, including those with disabilities, to
walk and/or bicycle to school; 2) to make walking and bicycling to
school a safer and more appealing transportation alternative, thereby
encouraging a healthy and active lifestyle from an early age; and 3)
to facilitate the planning, development and implementation of projects
& activities that will improve safety and reduce traffic, fuel
consumption and air pollution in the vicinity of schools (within two
miles).
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Legislators Introduce "Right-Hook Bill" |
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Legislators recently introduced HB 173, or the "Right-Hook Bill." The
purpose of the bill is to prohibit a driver of a motor vehicle from
overtaking and passing a bicycle...unless the driver can do so safely
without endangering the rider of the bicycle.
Each year, the Maryland General Assembly meets for 90 days in
Annapolis to act on more than 2,300 bills including the State's annual
budget. The 2007 MD General Assembly session began on January 10 and
will run through April 9, 2007.
During the session, BMC publishes a weekly report on the status of
transportation, air quality and community development related
legislation introduced in the general assembly.
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Draft FY 2008 Work Program Open for Review |
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Every year, the BRTB develops a work program for the coming fiscal
year. This program, called the UPWP - Unified Planning Work Program
for Transportation Planning, identifies activities to be completed by
staff of the BMC on behalf of the BRTB and local and state agencies
between July 1, 2007, and June 30, 2008.
The UPWP activities focus on issues such as:
- Bicycle and pedestrian access and safety
- Environmental planning for air and water quality
- Strategies to improve mass transit
- Systems to monitor and evaluate congestion, improve safety, and
increase efficiency
- Transportation needs of the elderly, individuals with
disabilities and low-income residents
Public Review and Comment
A public review period is now open through Tuesday, February 20,
2007. A presentation on the UPWP will be made at the next Citizens
Advisory Committee meeting on February 7, 2007 at 5:30 p.m. at BMC.
This meeting is open to the public and citizens are encouraged to
attend and share their thoughts.
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New York Times Details "Wheels on Ice" |
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The mass perforation of Brownie Lake began at noon, when eight rolling
tires, thousands of shiny screw tips and the fast-pumping legs of four
bike riders were set in motion on a dizzying figure-eight track of
ice...
...Ice bike racing, a subgenre of the subgenre of winter cycling, is a
hybrid discipline where spiked tires bite solid ice on twisting,
circuitous courses cut from a mantle of snow. Riders pedal hard on
straight- aways, then slide and fishtail through the turns. Frozen
lakes and rivers serve as the medium of the sport, which mixes
elements of a sprint road race with a dirt bike rally...
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Places to Go |
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