Delaware is the 10th most bicycle friendly state in the country, according to the League of American Bicyclists. Cited for the state’s strong programs in education and bicycle-friendly legislation, Delaware rose from its 2011 ranking of 18th.

Delaware’s ranking was based on a number of key indicators, including infrastructure and funding that provide on-the-ground bicycle facilities; education and encourage programs that promote cycling; and passage and enforcement of bicycle-friendly laws that make it safe and comfortable for people of all ages to ride.

In a press release issued by the cycling organization, the Bike League wrote that Delaware is leading the way for other states. “With dedicated state funding for bicycling projects, Governor Jack Markell,  DelDOT Secretary Shailen Bhatt and DNREC Secretary Collin O’Mara are leading the way to create a multi-modal transportation system,” the release states. “In addition, the partnership between DelDOT and Bike Delaware, the statewide advocacy group, is a model for other states seeking to become more bike-friendly.”

Governor Markell said the national ranking affirms the efforts over the past year by state officials, bicycle advocates and residents. “We welcome our rise in the ranking as recognition of what we are doing to make walkable, bikeable communities a priority in Delaware,” said Governor Jack Markell, who is himself an avid cyclist.

First, it serves as a memorial for fallen cyclists. Every bicyclist matters and we want to honor the memory of those who have lost their lives bicycling, while also providing a place for grieving friends and family to pay tribute in the comments, if they wish.

Second, we recognize that we all have a lot to learn about the circumstances of fatal crashes. To improve safety on our roads, we need to better understand what leads to fatal crashes and other bicyclist deaths (they’re not all crashes).

Third, we want to try to improve the response to, coverage of, and follow-up to every one of these fatal crashes. We believe that if we can hold a spotlight to the police, justice system, and media response to these incidents, we may be able to improve the quality of such responses over time.

This month, we sent out an appeal to League members describing Every Bicyclist Counts and asking for support for this important memorial, data-gathering, and awareness-raising tool. We immediately heard from members who were appreciative of the project – and eager to find out more about what we’ve learned so far.

From conversations with insiders, I have learned that these bollards are being installed without consensus among staff and against the recommendations of some staff with cycling expertise.  In any case, they are being installed without community input and without any input from the Arlington Bicycle Advisory Committee, of which I am a member.  I have previously posted about how bollards are mostly unnecessary and often create more problems than they solve. (I also provided public comment to the County Board on the morning of May 19.  Text of my comments is here.)

The new East Falls Church bridge went into service last month,
and about a week later four bollards were installed: three at one end and one at the other.  These three went in first:

Then the other one was installed on the other end:

Alas, Sunday is quite possibly the only day you will ever get to go inside them. Tours, children’s activities, and refreshments will be available at the Talgo assembly facility from noon until 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 20th. The facility is located in the Century City redevelopment area at 3533 North 27th Street. Off-site parking is available, with MCTS Routes 27 and 80 getting you there as well.

If you can’t make it Sunday, the trainsets are also currently visible from south side of the facility on W. Townsend Avenue between 27th and the railroad bridge.

Strategically ordered before federal high speed rail grants were announced, the purchase contract pushed Wisconsin to the top of the list and netted Wisconsin $810 million to extend the Hiawatha to Madison and buy more trainsets. Governor Walker’s campaign against the poorly marketed train resulted in the federal government re-appropriating the funds to other states.

The trainsets face an uncertain future following the State Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee decision to cancel funding for a permanent maintenance base for the equipment. It remains unclear if the state will put the trainsets into service utilizing the temporary maintenance base (the assembly facility), or mothball the trainsets once they’re complete (potentially violating their contract with Talgo).

The Problem

Since the beginning of the current school year, Moritz and Gorzynski, along with the rest of the SBHS Student Council, have been working tirelessly to complete a .2 mile stretch of sidewalk on a dangerous section of Stouts Lane by their school. SBHS is located down the road from a busy Route 1 strip mall, where students work and socialize after school, says Moritz. But a winding stretch connecting the school and the mall on Stouts Lane is perilous for pedestrians. “Because of blind curves, this .2 mile distance is one of the most dangerous routes to walk in our entire town,” Moritz explained. “Walking from the school to the mall is an exercise that puts every student who makes the journey in serious jeopardy,” he continued. While no one has been seriously injured yet, Moritz thinks that it’s only a matter of time.

Fixing It

According to Moritz and his colleagues, the solution is simple. Fill in the gap in the sidewalk. Getting it done, however, has been a challenge.

Last month he triggered a false alarm over high-speed rail operating costs. Now he has made new allegations over the “aggressive” construction schedule:

If California starts building a 130-mile segment of high-speed rail late this year as planned, it will enter into a risky race against a deadline set up under federal law. The bullet train track through the Central Valley would cost $6 billion and have to be completed by September 2017, or else potentially lose some of its federal funding. It would mean spending as much as $3.5 million every calendar day, holidays and weekends included — the fastest rate of transportation construction known in U.S. history, according to industry and academic experts.

This is nonsense. Compare to the recently completed TGV-Est line in France. It took the French 5 years to complete a 190-mile project. And that was the whole enchilada, including electrification and signalling. Here we are talking about 4 years to do the track-only portion of a 130-mile project.

The City of Portland put the total crowd at an estimated 28,250, which makes it just a few thousand shy of the record (31,600, in North Portland last summer).

The route stretched from Woodlawn Park to the new cycletrack on Cully Blvd, and south to the neighborhood greenway on NE Going. Along the way, the parks were filled to the brim with people and bikes. One popular attraction was a bike polo demonstration going on at Fernhill Park. Portland United Bike Polo had matches going on throughout the day and lots of kids and families staked out a spot in the shade to watch. After the matches, they let kids come onto the court to ask questions and give the mallet and ball a try.

UK reader John Smith responds:

Bus operators in North East England have formed the North East Bus Operators’ Association to vigorously oppose the imposition of a contract scheme in Tyne and Wear. They are working together with Nexus on a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA), which will provide much of the benefits of a contract scheme without the ‘unintended consequence’ of transferring the financial responsibility to the public sector, particularly at a time when local authority finances are under increasing pressure. You can read about it here.

Commeter Peter Laws also responded enthusiastically to the fact that 90% of bus miles outside of London run without subsidy.

Not so fast.  While it’s obviously desirable to reduce subsidy/bus, is the purpose of this savings to be able to afford more buses?  Or is it just to avoid spending money on bus service?

As the House and Senate struggle to come to agreement over renewing the federal program, local governments and voters are feeling urgency about the state of our infrastructure. And voters across the political spectrum are supportive of spending their money on improving it – despite an ongoing a fiscal crisis and the anti-government rhetoric that permeates political discourse.

With maintenance needs growing along with population and travel demand, local governments increasingly are asking voters to approve ballot measures to fund transportation – and usually succeeding.

What is Transportation Vote 2012?

For the next six or seven months, we’ll be offering a series of online presentations, including interviews with experts and lessons we’ve learned, that will help individuals and non-profit groups talk about transportation effectively; engage in educating candidates around transportation reform and infrastructure investment; understand why and how local transportation ballot measures are winning at the polls. We’ll be sharing inspiring success stories from other communities; profiling local leaders and communities who are showing Congress how it’s done.