City aims to make bike travel easier, safer

Recommendations include bicycle policy coordinator, infrastructure improvements

By KEVIN ROBILLARD Staff Writer

Published 07/23/08

The philosophy behind an effort to make Annapolis more bicycle-friendly is best summed up by a favorite saying of Jim Urban, a city resident and planner.

"Annapolis has one of the best bicycle transportation systems in the world," Mr. Urban says. "There are just too many cars on it."

Mr. Urban is serving on a committee studying how to make Annapolis more bicycle-friendly. As residents switch from four wheels to two in reaction to traffic congestion and high gas prices, the use of bicycles is more important than ever, committee members said.

The committee is expected to recommend hiring or designating...

This story has expired!
You can purchase the full text in our news archives.

YOUR COMMENTS

RULES OF PARTICIPATION

If you encounter other problems, please email ewiffin@capitalgazette.com and include your name, username, and any errors or messages that are displayed. The more information you can provide, the better able we will be to assist you.

In order to post or vote on a comment, you must be signed in with a hometownannapolis account.

Take a look at a summary of Commenting Guidelines.

Report Abuse or Vote In order to allow the user community the ability to collectively rank the value of comments posted on the Capital Gazette websites we have implemented a thumbs-up/down system. All logged-in users may participate by voting up/down each comment. If others vote on your comment, your individual score will go up/down depending on the votes. Initially, everyone starts with a score of zero, and must earn credits to have significant voting weight. Individuals with higher scores will have more voting weight. -10

editorial 'alterations' - 2009-09-15 15:00:07

"If you're passing me ...
Which of the words, Speed or limit are you too
Stupid,
Shallow,
Self-centered,
or maybe?
...Sub-human
To understand?

We all know them roaring past on Rowe Blvd. at 55+ mph, weaving in and out of traffic, and if we're driving speed limit? We typically catch up to them -stuck- at the next light (snicker) ... speeding bought them a whole lot of advantage. You want to give them, (the leadfooted, SUV-endowed Soccer moms, businessmen, pathetic halfwits in jacked-up trucks with testosterone-poisoned tiny little brains), a bumper stickers that says:

Subsidize oil Sheiks with your paycheck! 'pedal to the metal!'

or a picture of a encephalitic-headed, greaseball, dirtbag captioned:

I may be stupid, hyuk, hyuk, hyuk but I'm gonna be ahead of you!

Too bad they haven't the wits to realize how moronic this driving looks? All they need is some drool out of the side of their mouths. Sad they couldn't examine their logic (or lack thereof) and figure out that if they drive like that, and don't use turn signals, or don't turn in their lane? (Nevermind driving in it.) they should drop their delusions.
Stop imagining themselves as a caring, compassionate persons; Talk's cheap, there's one person they care about, themselves, oh tiny little pathetically shallow cretins. It's amazing how they remember the rules apply to them, when a cop's around; the police couldn't be bothered to give them a ticket mind you, occupied with seatbelt enforcement.
This is because schools (and most religious bodies) teach Morality (who can marry whom, fish on Friday's, no pork, etc.) instead of Ethics the basic universal guideline:

Your right to your "pursuit of happiness"?
Stops where my nose begins
John C. Campbell III,
Annapolis, Md.

unhide Comment hidden due to low ranking. Why is this comment hidden?

John C. Campbell III - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Neutral

"Sharing the road" - 2008-07-24 16:37:34

if a car decided at the intersection to arbitrarily drive up on the sidewalk and go across the intersection posing as a pedestrian? The driver would be locked up. similarly if a car driver fails to put on turn signals , or runs a red light he risks a ticket. The incidence of joggers and bike riders (at any given moment) deciding to arbitrarily change 'roles' and enter the transportation right-of-way without abiding by the traffic codes is the rule, not the exception around here. I actually had a bike rider give me the 'finger' on Duke of Glochester. He was pedaling up the street the wrong way in the traffic lane and was clearly 'irritated' that he had to swerve around me. Same with Joggers running two abreast -DOWN- Main Street in the traffic lanes. I get in my car because I have to go somewhere not for amusement or exercise ... I have a Bowflex and a stationary bike for those purposes. Until the cyclists and joggers turn on the miscreants in their own communities and ridicule the behavior I've described above? The "enthusiasm" of the commuting public will be (shall we say) less than interested in or supportive of sharing the road with cycles or joggers in the traffic lanes.

unhide Comment hidden due to low ranking. Why is this comment hidden?

John C. Campbell III - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Neutral

Cycling VS city bus - 2008-07-23 23:38:42

As I bicycled yesterday on West st. down town, a city bus tailgated me. The bus kept a close distance of about 12 feet or less at a speed of 20 to 26 miles per hour. I think he was telling me in his aggressive manner to get on the sidewalk. I was on the right lane at the speed of the traffic flow. At such speed it is not safe for a bike to be too far to the right- a door of car door could suddenly open and there is little clearance for emergency maneuvers. If I needed to make a sudden stop, the driver could have hit me- or the passengers on the bus could have be injured from a sudden stop. The city should manage their drivers and teach them to show curtsey to pedestrians and cyclists.

unhide Comment hidden due to low ranking. Why is this comment hidden?

D. Fotos - annapolis, MD - Karma: Neutral