December 1, 2002 Volume 12 No. 3 Issue #47

Next CPABC General Membership Meeting is Monday Dec. 3, 2001 at REI

Our next quarterly General Membership Meeting is Monday Dec. 3, 7:30 PM at REI- 9801 Rhode Island Ave. Come add your input to make Maryland more Bike/Ped friendly. Learn 1st-hand what your busy coalition has been up to and get ready to submit legislation for the Annapolis General Assembly in January - April 2002. See you there!

Purple Line Development Moving Ahead

    The Purple line is a proposed light rail line to connect the Metro spokes in a ring around D.C. Basically, it would run outside the Beltway to reduce gridlock on the Beltway. The section in College Park would be built inside the Beltway and connect New Carrollton, College Park, Langley Park, Silver Spring and Bethesda. The Governor just came out in favor of the Inner Line, versus an outside the Beltway alignment. Most people in Prince George's and Montgomery Cos. live inside the Beltway, or close to it, and would have a better chance to use the light rail system. Hopefully the Purple Line would travel right through the U of M and allow some of its 50,000 students and faculty another chance to leave their cars at home while reducing the 18,000 cars on campus. Langley Park people need to be able to get to Silver Spring and Bethesda for work. The Purple Line is a transportation option to allow our neighbors to travel without their autos. In our 14 years at CPABC we have learned that it will take many forms of transportation to get folks to think about doing their traveling differently. CPABC is working with Byrne Kelly (chair of the Purple Line Group & no relation to your chairman) on this.

Joint DC and Maryland Transportation Meeting at the Bladensburg Marina

    MD Secretary of Transportation John Porcari, DC Mayor Williams’ Transportation Reps and MD Senator Arthur Dornan met at the historic Bladensburg Marina on October 25. An agreement was signed that starts Washington ,DC and Prince George's Co. working together on trails on both sides of the Anacostia River, from Maryland into the Nation's Capital. These will be off-road river trails and allow residents from both jurisdictions to travel and see the much improved Anacostia River and its watershed. Bob Boone from the Anacostia Watershed Society has been working on these improvements for years, along with Jim Connally and Bob Patten.

Maryland's MDOT Bike/Ped Access Master Plan Moving Ahead

    Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) is in the process of further implementing the recommendations outlined in House Bill 1147 passed in the General Assembly. The Bill identified specific actions to improve Bike/Ped Facilities. This measure was strongly supported by the Bike/Ped Community and is being closely followed to see that the 20 year plan is well thought-out and put together. The first 2 years are the formation phase and should be ready by the Fall of ‘02 and will outline the improvements needed to 2020. One thing we have learned in all the years of Bike/Ped Promotion is that you have to have a "A Plan" to follow to move ahead. We feel this Md. Master Plan is the tool that is needed to have us all work together to make Maryland truly Bike/Ped Friendly. Mike Flood and the consultant team has held meetings (Phase II) all across the State in October and will hold follow-up meetings in December to review results of those meetings. The December dates have not been scheduled as of yet. Michael Flood can be reached at 301/585-2885 or eMail: mflood@fhiplan.com

D.C.-Baltimore Makes the Cut for Olympics Locale!

    Washington-Baltimore has made the 1st cut for the 20012 World Olympics! New York, San Francisco and Wash/Baltimore are considered leaders in the final field. The final site will not be selected for a few years, but our chances look good. A vast transportation package would be needed to handle all the visitors and our region would be the benefactor!

ANNAPOLIS Symposium - - Wednesday February 6, 2002

    Work is beginning on our 5th Annual Bike/Ped Symposium! Mark your new calendar and plan to attend. It will be an all-day affair in Annapolis at the Lowe Office Building with displays, discussions and great friendship with Bike/Ped Folks from all around MD. We will be in St. John's Hallway, the main corridor where all the action takes place. Anybody who’s anybody in the State passes through this walkway to the hearing rooms. Tables will display Bike/Ped accomplishments over the years, trails completed around the region, planned and in place on-road facilities, and the progress of the Maryland Bike/Ped Master Plan. We normally have over 40 displays from all across the State.

    Meeting with Betty Hager-Francis/DPW&T Nov. 29, 2001 in Lanham

A group of Bike/Ped Folks are meeting with Betty Hager Francis, Director of PG County Public Works and Transportation (DPW&T) to discuss continuing the Bike/Ped Infrastructure on county roads. DPW&T has planned 16' wide curb lanes for Ammendale and Cherry Hill roads in north county (which we appreciate), but are building a section of Oxon Hill Rd (3 miles) with no on-road facilities and only an 8' side-path. CPABC, along with Jim Hudnall of the Oxon Hill cycle club, finds this unacceptable. All new and improved roads need to have On-Road Bike Facilities built from the start to give citizens the smart choice to travel by Bicycle and not be relegated to an unsafe side-path. We also need a Bike/Ped Contact Person at DPW&T.

University of Maryland Connector Meetings

    CPABC has held 5 meetings since Spring with BARC, U of M, City of College Park, North College Park Citizen Association, and citizens from surrounding communities to see if there was interest in getting a travel-way from the Beltway to the U of M without having to drive on congested US#1. There appears to be interest but it will be quite complicated because there is a strong resistance to any auto travel south off the Beltway. We are hoping that they develop a bus or train travelway. Next meeting is Thursday Nov. 29, 4:00 PM at the U of M.

Still Working On Color Coded Maps for All Areas Maps

We are still pursuing "Kelly's Color Coded Route Maps. In all our years of looking at Bicycle maps the trails are delineated in many different colors/terms with no standard color/term scheme. We suggest that routes be called On-Road (colored green) and Off-Road (colored brown). If we start a standard color scheme now, maps will be easier to read and understand. Tom Robertson / Mont Co and Fred Shaffer / PG-BTAG support this concept. We’re open to suggestion to standardize terms, names and maps for better understanding. Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Baltimore Ave/US#1 Sidewalks Installed in Beltsville at BARC & Burger King

            We would like to thank SHA for the new addition of the sidewalks and the Multi-Use Trail on the west side of US#1 in front of the Beltsville Agriculture Research Center-BARC. The sidewalks were installed on the northeast corner of US#1 and Rhode Island Ave in front of the Burger King, Gas Station and District Photo. Now we have safe sidewalks all the way north to PowderMill Rd.(on the eastside). We are still working on ways to get Bike/Ped Travel across this busy intersection. The Multi-Use Trail, 10' wide, was installed on the west side of US#1 between Brown's Tavern all the way up to Jerry's Sub. This trail was setback about 30' for possible expansion of US#1. A UPS driver asked us if this new addition was being installed for the 2012 Olympics and we said "YES"! We want to thank Charlie Watkins, Kevin Novak, Sue Palmer and John Christman at SHA -District #3 for a great job. Well Done! We at CPABC have been asking for this construction for many years and it gives us great pleasure to see these much needed additions to our community.

Maryland Bicycle Advisory Committee Still on Hold!

    The most asked question these days is "What’s happening to the State Bicycle / Pedestrian Advisory Committee (MBPAC)”? Our last MBPAC Meeting was on Sept. 21 and the committee was put on hold October 1. No future meetings scheduled. MBPAC is changing from 13 to 21 members, adding more pedestrians and physically challenged people. Legislation passed last Spring enlarged the existing MBPAC, originally started by Governor Schaffer in 1991. The thinking was that pedestrian and handicapped citizens needed an advisory committee to advise the Governor on their needs. The powers-that-be decided to add them to the very successful Bicycle Advisory Committee. Those interested were asked to submit their names by July 1 so that the new committee could start work by October 1, 2001. There were 25 resumes submitted for the 21 positions. Requests to MDOT for updates are answered that all things at the Governor's Office have been slowed down by the Sept. 11 disruptions...

Update on University Blvd. Tr #193 Comcast Improvements

    The U of M's New Basketball Arena-COMCAST is under-roof and will be ready for play in the Spring of 2002. This new arena will draw more auto traffic to campus. The Stadium Authority and SHA are going to spend $18 million of our Highway Funds to improve traffic flow on the North side of campus into/out to University Blvd.#193 by adding an overflow traffic lane for use during events. Initially the existing 8' shoulders were going to used for auto traffic at the exclusion to Bicyclists and Pedestrians. We prevailed upon the powers-to-be to keep the shoulders for Bike/Ped use, as the law requires. We will have shoulders at all times from Adelphi Rd. to Mezzerott Rd. and, because of a narrow bridge on #193 over Paint Branch Creek, SHA claims there is not enough room to continue the shoulders to US#1. SHA suggests Bike/Ped users go off University Blvd. on Mezzerott Rd, cross US#1 at Greenbelt Rd, go over the Berwyn Boondoggle and rejoin Rt. #193 at 57 St in Greenbelt This is a poor solution to a difficult problem. We are still working with SHA to have shoulders the full length of University Blvd. Route #193 is a major East/West Bike/Ped Connector. Bike/Ped Users have had full 8' shoulders on 193 for over 40 years and takiing them away for traffic use is not right!

Baltimore Blvd. / US#1 in College Park - Nothing to update!

    The last hearing on the Baltimore Blvd. US#1 improvements was held June 27. Over 172 attended to voice their concerns and speak up for a better US#1. SHA has been working on options and was supposed to have recommendations by Nov 1. Yet nothing happened and no-one knows anything. It seems Sept. 11 has put everyone and everything behind schedule!

Janet Owens, AA County Exec, Derails WB&A

    Mrs. Janet Owens has finally admits that “family ties” are behind her efforts to hand the WB&A right of way at the Patuxent River crossing over to the Meyer family, who claim ownership. This in spite of the fact that her own legal department thinks that the WB&A right-of-way, a gift from Constellation Realty, clearly belongs to AA County. Now we know why she is willing to squander $60,000 of county money for a “feasibility study” on an alternate route suggested by Buzz Meyers even though her own people admit the county will have to buy at least another mile of right of way, cross extended wetlands and bridge over the Patuxent River by Bowie State University. At a meeting held last month arranged with her (she didn’t show up) by Michael Klasmeir of The League of American Bicyclists, her appointees admitted that the Corps of Engineers probably won’t allow the wetlands crossing and that owners of the proposed right-of-way have not been contacted regarding acquisition costs. My Prince George’s MNCPPC contacts say they will allow no deviation from the present WB&A right of way. At the same meeting, her appointees said that trail enthusiasts were a month too late in rallying support.

            The fact that WB&A supporters were unaware of a problem, since Owens had previously signed off on an agreement to pay ¼ of the WB&A Patuxent bridge costs at this location, had little impact. Even the massive number of letters, emails and letters of support from county, state, and national hiker/biker organizations along with State and County Officials was discounted. The county’s ownership of the WB&A r-o-w next to the Meyers farm was challenged by a vicious Email campaign containing false inflammatory statements such as the trail will split the Meyer’s property (it won’t) and that the Meyers had a court judgment that said they owned the WB&A because of “reversionary clauses in the deeds” (there was no court judgment or reversionary clause). Now we know why Mrs. Owens won’t contest these before a court of law.

Morris Warren, 11-16-01

WHY?

Sam Bronstein on University Blvd.

             Why was the intersection of Rt. 1 and 193 in College Park so poorly designed? The two Western loops of the classic cloverleaf interchange are missing, which requires the Rt. 430 spur and the corresponding traffic light on Rt. 1. Judging from the houses along it, 430 may have been the old Metzerott Rd. (which I think was there before 193 was built) and somebody decided to use it instead of building a complete cloverleaf. The South-East loop is around a small commercial section, but does function as a loop, and Rt. 430 serves as the corresponding ramp. Does anyone know the history of this design screw up? I have heard that the Wood’s Florist building was moved back from Rt. 1 to make room for the ramp from southbound Rt. 1 to westbound 193, so maybe the designers didn’t think there was room for the NW loop. A tight loop could possibly be added now, ditto for the SW loop. There would then be no need for the light at 430 and Rt. 1.

             But there are no mixing lanes for any new loops on the Rt. 1 bridge, rebuilt not too long ago. It would have been nice to have added another lane to each side on Rt. 1 for future expansion and expand the distance between the bridge support pillars so there would be room for bike lanes on 193. But neither happened, so we have to live with a hazardous, poorly designed intersection. This bridge was not addressed in the Rt. 1 Focus Group or the new Greenbelt Neighborhood Conservation study. Bureaucratic edict decreed that the Greenbelt study will not include the bridge, even though it is the major obstacle to add bike lanes on 193. It will probably be at least another 20 years before this bridge needs work, so unless we can get someone to see how unsafe these intersection designs are, we are stuck. The 430 spur as it is now complicates getting bikes and pedestrians from the new bike trail to Rhode Island Ave. and contributes to the dangerous intersection at Rhode Island and 193. I thought I had read that Rt. 1 and 430 is the most dangerous intersection in the state, but then I heard that Cherryhill Road and Rt. 1 won those honors. Andrew Skinner suggested converting the curb lanes on 193 over the railroad bridge to bike lanes. The impact of this would be minor, in that 193 is 2 lanes west of the bridge and the 2 lane mode would be extended only a short distance. I usually ride the sidewalk when crossing this bridge, but the sidewalk is narrow and the curb is high, so if anyone runs off the sidewalk, the high curb almost insures a crash. I believe this caused a fatality in the recent past. There is a kink with this proposal with east bound traffic coming from Rt. 1, but I think all of the above mentioned intersections and proposed ramps need to be studied together to design the best combined road and intersection performance. SHA crafted a nightmare alternate route for eastbound bikes on 193 to bypass the Rt. 1/193 intersection, since they chose to end the new 193 bike lanes at the Paintbranch creek bridge. MSA and SHA tried to pull a fast one and make the shoulders of 193 “game lanes” after UM events, forcing bikes off the road, but we caught them, so separate bike lanes will be added where "game lanes" will take over the shoulders of 193. SHA will post advisory signs for bikes to use old Metzerott road, 430, etc... to avoid this intersection, but that route is not mandatory. However, use extreme caution when crossing any of the ramps of this intersection, since traffic speed is high and the ramps are constructed to allow high speeds.

             I am working with SHA to try to get some more sidewalks built along Rt. 1. Room is limited, so I suggested extending the sidewalk into the ramp by Wood’s Florist to create a bump-out into the 20 foot wide ramp. This would force ramp traffic to slow down to less than light speed and shorten the crosswalk for pedestrians, which I think is 20’ long. This bump-out would be a good starting point for the bike lane stripe planned for this ramp. It should also improve the sight distance for bikes and pedestrians crossing the ramp.

             There is no magic to good road design, but somehow common sense too often takes a back seat to cookbook design or penny-pinching. All road users can and must be accommodated, but designers need to be open-minded and not just concentrate on cars, trucks and buses. Much of the time, these vehicles are sitting in traffic while some of us pedal past using the crude cow paths and old sidewalks that exist today, while the braver bikers are using the crumbling road edge. Imagine how nice it will be when we actually get real bike lanes!

NEW BUS SERVICE BETWEEN COLLEGE PARK AND GREENBELT METROS

As a sideline to Bicycle Advocacy, we at CPABC also support Mass Transit to get folks out of their autos and lessen some of the growing auto congestion on our crowded roadways. We focus on Bicycle Issues, but realize it is going to take many different avenues for our neighbors to realize that yes they can sometimes get around without theirs cars, especially in their neighbor-hoods. Along those lines, MTA has founded the Prince George's Co. “THE BUS” system, starting a 6 month trial neighborhood van/bus service between the College Park Metro Station to the Greenbelt/North College Park Metro Station. The bus will travel along neighborhood streets not currently served by transit to allow citizens to get to the two METRO Stations and leave their cars at home. The Bus Route, #17, is 75 cents, Seniors (55 yrs) & Disabled $.35. It runs from 6 AM to 8 PM week-days. We have already asked them to install a Bicycle Rack on the bus to allow Bicycle Transport. Try it out! Support our local bus and move us into a Full-Service Transportation Community. For further info call 301 / 324-BUSS.

Open House of MD Transportation Plan in Greenbelt

    MDOT had a showing of the Md. Transportation Plan, on display at Roosevelt HS, on the evening of Nov. 20. It was well attended by local Bike/Ped Folks, Alternate Means of Trans People and Handicap Groups. All wanted better non-automotive transportation options. Bikes and buses were mentioned as possibilities (a change!), but many bike elements were still missing. It was great to see Bikers asking "Where is the Bicycle in this project?" of the MDOT Reps. We counted 12-15 Bicyclists and greatly out-numbered any of the other groups. MDOT’s intentions were unclear, other than they want to do more to give residents smart options to occasionally travel without cars. Attendees filled in questionnaires outlining needs for more on-road bike lanes, bike racks on buses, better understanding of non-motorists’ needs for safer streets and roads. The message was; “Build it and it will be used by many Bike\Ped folks.”

Bicycle Summit Meeting in Annapolis of Nov. 9, 2001

Mike Klasmeier from LAB pulled together a Bicycle Summit Meeting in Annapolis on Friday November 9, 2001 with 16 Bicycle Advocacy Folks attending the all-day session. John Whetmore represented the views and concerns of the pedestrian. Mike K. was able to get Anne Arundel Co. County Chambers for our discussion group. Andy Clarke from the Bicycle Federation along with Ellen Jones from WABA, Mike Klasmeier from LAB, Barry Bergman from the Baltimore Planning Council and Mike Farrell from COG were the paid professionals attending. The others were the long time serving advocacy groups from College Park, Greenbelt, Anne Arundel Co. and the Southern Maryland Counties, Bob Moore , Randy Mardres and Bill Kelly were there sharing their experience from the MBPAC.

This Summit was set-up to discuss the present Bike/Ped Conditions existing across Maryland today and what the larger groups hope to attain in the coming years. Communications was the first topic as Mike K. pointed out that we need better connections/communication between the groups such as E-Mail and the Bike/Ped Directory that the CPABC has put together for the past four Annapolis’s Bike/Ped Symposiums. It was agreed that a clearing house of names/organizations was needed where a network could be established to get information out quickly and accurately to the people, so all would be aware of what was happening Bike/Ped Wise across Maryland. Bill Kelly gave an overview of One Less Car-OLC as a State-Wide Organization and the hopes that OLC could be the vehicle to connect all the groups around the State.

Pedestrian Issues were discussed and all agreed that Pedestrian Issues were important and they would support all Bike/Ped Issues. Several attending wanted to discuss Bicycle Issues just as Bicycle Issues for clarity and take-up the related connections later. The two hour session covered all areas of Bicyclists Concerns and thoughts and needs were brought up on how to keep the Bicyclists as a true transportation vehicle. Most were disappointed that the Bicycle was still considered a recreation vehicle by the transportation departments and not really fully considered in transportation plans. The new Md. Bike/Ped Master Plan was discussed and most felt this document would bring awareness to the needs of better Bicycle Transportation in Maryland. The group broke for lunch.

The afternoon session started with a review of the morning session and Andy Clarke brought up a calendar of events for the coming year 2002. First was the Symposium in Annapolis on Feb. 6, May 3 Bike to Work Day/Month, July CAM, Sept. Bike Fed. Conference in St. Paul, Min., October Walk to School Month and the Fall getting Legislation together for the next session of the General Assembly. All felt working/planning toward these important events would help focus on the most important issues throughout the year. The Annapolis Symposium was very important to all and they felt we needed to get the word out and encouraged all the Bike/Ped Folks of Maryland to participate and be in Annapolis on Wednesday Feb. 6. to meet each other share ideas and meet our legislators from their home districts one-to-one. Bill Kelly and Jim Hudnall agreed to bring more info the next meeting about setting-up displays in Annapolis and Ellen Jones said she would work to get the people in touch with their legislators. The next Summit Meeting is scheduled for 12-11-01 7:00 PM in Laurel. Try to make it.

 WHERE IS THE US RT 29 COMMUTER BIKEWAY?

            Last August Randy Mardres convened a meeting of all parties interested in building a Commuter Bikeway along US RT 29. This bikeway, in the local master plan and worked on by the county planning board and SHA, is to provide a regional link serving 4 counties, DC and local communites along the highway. A 50 page, US RT 29 Commuter Bikeway resource document was created and distributed at the meeting. It contains reference material on early recommendations, national standards and guidelines, and on how the bikeway would connect into new state and county projects through Silver Spring. The consensus of the 2 dozen participants was that this was a worthwhile project and the county planning board was encouraged to continue working on it. In November the Montgomery County Park and Planning Board voted for the US RT 29 Commuter Bikeway, which was presented by staff, bicyclists and community leaders as a serious commuting facility. In spite of the planning board’s vote and 3 years of work by the bicycle advisory committee, SHA has said they will NOT be building this Commuter Bikeway with the recommended grade separated crossings for bicyclists at the busiest cross roads. Instead, they are proposing building a bikeway more suited for local travel and recreational use than a regional commuter facility. This is a federal highway, using federal monies ($160 million for three overpasses), and the state is the final word on what gets built.

State -regional route

            What is truly significant about US RT 29 is that it is a federal highway, (currently with equal access for bicyclists and motorists), but it is being turned into a state motor expressway. To date the state highway would not consider any bicycle access on an expressway under any circumstances. That condition has changed and that change is no small matter.

    The county Planning Board, planners and bicyclists are reaching a bit farther; we are asking the state to consider bicycling as "Transportation". If an alignment qualifies for expressway treatment for motorists then it should be considered for a regional, bicycle, transportation arterial, in this case a Commuter Bikeway... with grade seperated interchanges like for motorists! Not all motor expressways should include bicycle access but the state needs to be evaluating each of them and not just build “hit or miss” add-ons to state highway projects.

As one bicycle activist put it "Too many waits spoil the trip!"

BTAG Group Moving Ahead Nicely

Fred Shaffer, Chair of the Bicycle Trails Advisory Group (BTAG) in PG Co. is doing great work. Fred is working on at least 5 major projects at the same time, most notably the Potomac Heritage Trail. It was started by Congress back in 1983 to establish a river trail along the Potomac all the way to the Chesapeake Bay. Hopefully it will extend along the National Harbor project (at the Wilson Bridge) to allow for a view of nature and to experience "the Carrier Of Goods", the Potomac River. Fred is also is working on the PG County Technical Bulletin on the update of the county-wide Trails & Bike Plan. The next BTAG meeting will be on January 11, 2002 in College Park. Call Fred Shaffer at 301/952-3661 or email fshaffer@mncppc.state.md.us for further info.

Thanks, Fred, for many jobs well-done!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS & SAFE BIKING TO ALL!!