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Health & Fitness

Maryland Bike Advocates Plan for the 2012 Legislative Session

Biking advocates plan to push for safer streets.

On December 19, Bike Maryland sponsored a meeting of cycling advocates to set priorities for next year’s legislative session. 

The first issue on the agenda was distracted driving. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has recently recommended that all non-emergency use of cell-phones be prohibited while driving. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, there were 32,885 highway fatalities in the U.S. in 2010, and over 2.2 million people injured. In one year, traffic crashes killed 4,280 pedestrians and more than 618 cyclists. Of all the traffic deaths, at least 3,092 were related to distractions, such as distraction by dialing a cellular phone or texting and distraction by an outside person/event.

Cell Phone Use While Driving

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Many of the biking advocates supported making non-emergency cell phone use while driving a primary offense – that is, police could stop a driver using a device or phone while driving, even in hands-free mode. Some advocates thought that banning hands-free use might be a reach too far for the legislature. However, given the proven risk of crashes, all agreed that at the least some additional education or awareness campaign seemed warranted.

Safe Passing Law

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A second priority was beefing up the state’s safe passing law. Maryland requires that cars pass slower-moving vehicles with at least 3 feet of space. The new proposal would clarify that safe passing can allow drivers to cross the center yellow line to pass slow moving vehicles when it is safe to do so. Under current law, crossing the centerline is acceptable for making left turns and for other reasons, but it is not spelled out that drivers can do so when safely passing bikes.

The solid yellow lines are painted to designate unsafe areas for passing other high-speed vehicles. However, they are often not designed with regard for slow-moving vehicles like bikes or tractors, which can be passed safety in much less space. Some suburban roads have unbroken solid yellow lines for their entire length; the proposal would clarify that it would be legal to safely cross the yellow line to pass bikes with sufficient clearance.

Funding for the ICC Bike/Pedestrain Trail

Another priority was funding for the bike/pedestrian trail along the Inter County Connector (ICC), which was not completed as originally designed along the highway’s right of way. Weirdly, the complete trail was rejected for environmental reasons, while the 6-lane highway somehow was deemed environmentally sound! 

Completing the continuous trail would allow bike commuters to get from northern Prince George’s County to employment centers in Montgomery County and vice versa. It could also create a spur from Montgomery County to the East Coast Greenway

Bikes on MARC Trains

The group also discussed allowing bikes on MARC trains. Currently only folding bikes are allowed, but with new cars being added, bike commuters hope MARC will make room for full-sized bikes, perhaps on each train’s bathroom car.

Trail Use after Dark

A key topic for several advocates was allowing bike commuters to use trails after dark on more Maryland trails. Bike commuting is growing in popularity, and it is often far safer for bike commuters to ride on trails at night (with appropriate bike lights, of course) than to ride home in the dark on high-speed roads. 

Trail Upkeep

Multi-use trails in our area are increasingly used for primary transportation, not just recreation. But the rules and upkeep of the trails have not been updated for the new reality.

(Note to MNCPPC – Thanks for promptly clearing the debris and mud from the trails after the recent floods. Now please consider also plowing the trails when it snows?  Even if only a narrow snow-free strip were cleared, it would be a big improvement for everyday bike commuters!)

Leveraging State and Federal Funds for "Complete Streets"

Finally, the group discussed funding changes that would enable localities to leverage state and federal funds to redesign and rebuild suburban arterial roads as “complete streets” with better sidewalks, bike lanes or sidepaths. This is especially important for bike riders in the Greenbelt and College Park areas, since our major roads, like Route 193 and Route 1, can be very unsafe for pedestrians or bike riders.

In my opinion, re-building our suburban arterial roads as complete streets should be a key priority in the Greenbelt area. It’s about more than just improving safety — it should also be considered an economic redevelopment opportunity. 

Expanding some roads to allow better sidewalks and bike paths could require shrinking some parking lots, but the improved landscaping of the streets would help revitalize rundown shopping areas and strips into more attractive and inviting places for businesses and shops in the future.

Greenbelt is a great place to ride a bike, both for commuting and recreation, but access to shopping centers like Greenway Center and Beltway Plaza is difficult, and crossing major arterial roads is a challenge. We should make sure that the next generation of roadside shops and businesses in the area are safe and convenient not only for car traffic, but also for cyclists, pedestrians and bus riders.

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