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A Regional Bike and Pedestrian
Newsflash
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...
Amber Blake
BikePed ED
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Upcoming Meetings
Bicycle Pedestrian
Advisory Group
January 7th at 1:00 PM at BMC (2700 Lighthouse Point East, Suite 310, Baltimore)
All are welcome.
>>See the Agenda and Past
Minutes
BRTB meeting with elected
officials
December 2, 2008 at 5 PM at BMC (2700 Lighthouse Point East, Suite 310,
Baltimore)
Agenda will be posted 2 weeks in advance on BMC site.
All are welcome. Public comment
opportunity at beginning of
meeting. |
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 Opening for
Citizen Member on the Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory
Group
The Baltimore Regional Transportation Board
(BRTB) is currently seeking a volunteer to sit on the Bicycle Pedestrian
Advisory Group (BPAG), to represent citizen interests related to bicycle and
pedestrian planning in the region.
The primary role of the BPAG is
provide advice and assistance to the Technical Committee concerning bicycle and
pedestrian projects, and update and evaluate the Regional Bicycle and Pedestrian
Plan.
The BPAG is an appointed committee of the Baltimore Regional
Transportation Board. The citizen members will serve a two-year term, starting
in February 2009.
For more information or to apply to serve on the
BPAG, contact Amber Blake at ablake@baltometro.org
or 410-732-0500 x1047 or download an application at
www.baltometro.org/downloadables/TEMP/BPAG/BPAG_Application2009.pdf.
>> Learn More About
BPAG |
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StreetSmart Campaign
Street Smart is an annual public education,
awareness and behavioral change campaign in the Washington, DC, suburban
Maryland and northern Virginia area. Since its beginning in 2002, the campaign
has used radio, newspaper, and transit advertising, public awareness efforts,
and added law enforcement, to respond to the challenges of pedestrian and
bicyclist safety.
The Street Smart program emphasizes education of
motorists and pedestrians through mass media. It is meant to complement, not
replace, the efforts of state and local governments and agencies to build safer
streets and sidewalks, enforce laws, and train better drivers, cyclists, and
pedestrians.
The program is coordinated by the National Capital
Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB), and is supported by federal funds
made available through state governments, and funding from some TPB member
jurisdictions.
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Cities Struggling to Create Bike-Sharing Programs
Watching the
success of a massive bicycle-sharing program in Paris, where more than 20,000
bikes are now available for public use at self-service racks, several large U.S.
cities have been exploring launching such service. Enthusiasm to reduce traffic
congestion and pollution through greater bicycle use is being tempered by
questions over funding and liability concerns, however.
Early
bike-sharing efforts involved placing donated or unclaimed lost bikes around the
city and relying on the honor system that users would return them. Many end up
being stolen, however. So, following the Paris model, cities are now looking at
more high-tech systems that require swiping a credit or membership card to
guarantee the bike's return.
Washington
became the first American city to start such a program in August. Jim Sebastian,
District of Columbia Transportation Department planner, said more than 900 users
have signed up so far with an average of 150 daily rides among the 100 bicycles
in service. Only one has been stolen and that user was billed $550 for a
replacement bike, USA Today reported. The D.C. program is funded by Clear
Channel Outdoor under an agreement that gives the company advertising rights on
the city's bus stops.
Transportation
officials in other cities including Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco are
studying the Paris and Washington programs in hopes of starting up similar
services. But efforts are being slowed in Boston by liability issues over who
would be at fault if a bike-sharing user gets injured while using the service,
in Chicago by funding questions, and in San Francisco by anti-bicycle activists
who sued the city to halt construction of bike lanes until the impact on
automobile traffic could be properly studied.
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Pedestrian Forum - Fall 2008
The U.S. Federal Highway Administration has released the latest issue of
its quarterly newsletter that highlights recent pedestrian safety activities
related to the 4 E's-engineering, enforcement, education, and emergency
services.
Articles include:
- FHWA Safety Policy Memo Contains
Provisions for Pedestrians
- Developing an Effective Measure of
Pedestrian and Bicycle Exposure to Risk
- Evaluation of the Miami-Dade
Pedestrian Safety Demonstration Project
- NHTSA Report on the Evaluation of
Safety Benefits of Legacy Safe Routes to School Programs
- National Survey of Bicyclist and
Pedestrian Attitudes and Behavior Results Finally Released
- NHTSA Conducts Pedestrian Assessment
in Nevada
- NHTSA Releases National Pedestrian
Crash Report
- Pedestrian Road
Safety Audits Conducted in California and New Jersey
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| A U.S. Bicycle Route System
 An official
U.S. Bicycle Route System (USBRS) could help make the United States' cycling
infrastructure more competitive with these other expansive route networks. Given
the sheer size of the U.S., the USBRS could become the largest cycling network
in the world.
Adventure Cycling Association and several other
organizations have teamed up with AASHTO (American Association of State Highway
Transportation Officials) to develop such a system.
With staff support
from Adventure Cycling AASHTO's Tasl Force on U.S. Bicycle Routes has developed
a corridor-level plan and designation system. The Corridor Plan was just
approved by the Executive Board of Directors at the AASHTO Annual Meeting.
Similar to La Route Verte, the vision of the USBRS is to create a seamless
rural-suburban-urban cycling experience.
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Financial Bailout Bill Includes Tax
Break for Bicycle Commuters
Tucked in the $700 billion bailout bill intended to help the nation's
financial sector is a small provision to help promote bicycling to
work.
Starting in January, bicyclists will be eligible for a $20-per-month
tax-free reimbursement from their employers for bike-related expenses, the San
Francisco Chronicle reported. Employers who choose to participate in the
voluntary program will be able to deduct the expenses from their federal taxes.
The money could be used to purchase, store, maintain, or repair bikes that are
used for a substantial portion of an employee's commute.
Bike advocates worked for seven years to get such a provision
approved by Congress. The bicycle benefit was championed by members of the
Oregon delegation, who squeezed it into the mammoth bailout bill signed Oct. 3
by President Bush. Supporters estimate the federal government will lose about $1
million a year in tax revenue as a result of the new benefit, with the exact
amount depending on how many companies decide to offer the money to their
employees (Source: AASHTO Journal Oct. 16, 2008
Page 10).
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Implementing Smart
Growth Streets
The U.S. EPA Office of
Development, Community and Environment (widely known as the ''Smart Growth''
office) is sponsoring a study on ''Implementing Smart Growth Streets'' that is
being conducted by ICF International and Ellen Greenberg. Readers of Smart
Growth Online are invited to participate in this work by bringing candidate case
studies to the attention of the project
team.
The project, which is in its
initial phases, is using the following summary definition of smart growth
streets: ''Smart Growth Streets are roadways designed and operated to support
compact communities while promoting least-polluting transportation performance
and preserving environmental resources within and beyond the right of
way.''
Study
organizers are seeking exemplary cases that demonstrate innovation, quality, and
replicable results with respect to one or more of the principles. It is not
expected that each case study will illustrate all of the principles. The study
is focusing on documenting such examples, as well as on the implementation
activities and institutional arrangements that are leading to positive
outcomes. |
 Active Transportation for America:
A Case for Increased Federal Investment in Bicycling and Walking.
"This report quantifies, for the first time,
the benefits that America can expect from elevating the priority of bicycling
and walking in our nation's transportation system.
This case statement
for increased investment in bicycling and walking infrastructure evaluates
benefits in the areas of transportation, oil dependence, climate change, and
public health, and puts dollar estimates to the economic value of these
benefits. Benefits from bicycling and walking are quantified for the status quo,
and for prospective increases in bicycling and walking under a Modest Scenario
and a Substantial Scenario for the future.
The analysis concludes that
modest increases in bicycling and walking could lead to an annual reduction of
70 billion miles of automobile travel. More substantial increases could lead to
the avoidance of 200 billion miles per year." (Excerpt from the Executive
Summary of the Report)
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Baltimore Metropolitan Council | 2700
Lighthouse Point East, Suite 310 | Baltimore | MD | 21224
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