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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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Walk to School Day is October
8th
Join kids and families around the globe to walk
and bicycle to school in October.
In the U.S., International Walk to School Day is
expected to include 5,000 schools from all 50 states. Walkers from the U.S. will
join children and adults in 40 countries around the world.
Walk to
School events work to create safer routes for walking and bicycling and
emphasize the importance of issues such as increasing physical activity among
children, pedestrian safety, traffic congestion, concern for the environment and
building connections between families, schools and the broader
community.
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Design a Bike Rack for the Arts District
 Station North Arts &
Entertainment, Inc. announces the Station North Bike Rack Project.
Eight uniquely designed bike racks will be created and installed throughout the
Station North Arts & Entertainment District to enhance the area with these
sculptural installations, while simultaneously promoting bicycling within the
City of Baltimore.
Request for Proposals are due
November 7th, 2008.
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Baltimore Earns Honorable Mention from
League of American Bicyclists
Biggest Round of Applications
Since Program's Inception
 Ten new communities were honored with the League of American
Bicyclists prestigious Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) designation. This was
the program's biggest application cycle to date-51 communities applied for the
designation. All BFCs enjoy quality of life benefits to which many other
communities aspire.
The five categories
local and national reviewers look at are:
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Education: Does the community have systems in place to
train children and adult cyclists?
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Engineering: Are bicyclists included in the city's
transportation plan?
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Enforcement: Do police officers understand and enforce
bicyclists' rights and responsibilities?
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Encouragement: Does the community participate in Bike
Month, offer bike rodeos, host community bike rides, or otherwise encourage
cycling?
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Evaluation: Does the community have methods in place to
ensure their bicyclist programs are making a difference?
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Beijing Police Turn Back to Bicycles
Bicycles
have begun to return to Beijing police on their patrol in the capital city after
a 10-year absence.
About one third of the police in Beijing started to
patrol on 1,600 bicycles or electric bicycles this October, returning to the
tradition in the 1990s.
The measure was taken in a bid to reduce energy
consumption and air pollution, said a report from the Beijing
News.
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Califonia Completes the Streets
 Governor Schwarzenegger signed AB
1358, the California Complete Streets Act of 2008, into law Tuesday night. AB
1358 requires a city or county' s general plan to identify how they will
accommodate the circulation of all users of the roadway, including motorists,
pedestrians, bicyclists, children, seniors, individuals with disabilities, and
users of public transportation.
The Complete Streets Act codifies policy that all streets be
designed to accommodate all users including bicyclists. According to San
Francisco Assemblyman Mark Leno, who introduced AB 1358, "Streets aren't just
for cars, they' re for people and AB 1358 will ensure our roadways are safe and
convenient for everyone - young or old, riding a bike or on foot, in a car or on
a bus."
Complete Streets has many societal and public health benefits. When
people have more transportation options, there are fewer traffic jams and the
overall capacity of the transportation network increases. Additionally, physical
inactivity is linked to our growing obesity epidemic. One study found that 43%
of people with safe places to walk within 10 minutes of home met recommended
physical activity levels.
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 Transportation Outlook
2035 Amendment Process
Update
Comments and suggestions obtained from the the public
review period have been posted on the Transportation Outlook 2035 webpage.
You can see the follwing two documents:
>> Read the
Comments |
 Bicycle Commuter Benefit
Act
Is passed with Wall Street Bailout
Package
The benefit -- up to $20
per month -- begins with the new year in 2009. Employers may reimburse
employees, tax free, for "reasonable" expenses related to their bike commute,
including equipment purchases, bike purchases, repairs, and storage if the
bicycle is used as a "substantial part" of the commuter's trip to work for the
month. If you already receive another commuter tax-free fringe benefit (like a
Commuter Check or EcoPass), you don't qualify, so multimodal commuters are out
of luck.
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