There was a presentation by the State Highway Administration (SHA) Bicycle and Pedestrain Planning team. The group is creating a database of SHA’s bicycle and pedestrian facilities and a plan to keep the database up-to-date. They're reviewing the SHA’s 2007 Bicycle and Pedestrian Design Guidelines with the intent of changing the language from suggestive to proscriptive in order to better ensure the provision of non-motorized facilities. They're looking for opportunities to create new bicycle and pedestrian facilities in system preservation projects.
The BPAC voted to support the following bills introduced in the 2009 legislative session but not enacted into law in the event these bills are reintroduced in 2010. They were HB 97, Manslaughter by Vehicle, SB 428, Three Foot Bicycle Safety, HB 152, Arrest for Leaving Accident Scene Involving Injury, and HB 1197 Removing the requirement that cyclists use shoulders/bike lanes about which the LAB wrote:
The League wishes to express our support for Maryland House Bill 1197. It is our opinion that the bill would help clarify Maryland law in addition to being a step forward to fully recognizing cyclists as authorized, legal road users. Maryland is only one of four states whose laws require cyclist to use a shoulder when one is present. This fact only serves to reinforce the second class status of cyclists on Maryland's roads. Such discriminatory laws are part of the reason the League ranked Maryland 35 out of 50 through our Bicycle Friendly State program. Passage of HB 1197 will help improve its standing, and help Maryland fulfill the promise of its Department of Transportation to "encourage walking and bicycling, and will provide a seamless, balanced and barrier-free network for all." HB 1197 would remove any ambiguity to the law, and make for more clear concise language that is easier for cyclists to follow, officers and judges to enforce, and for all to understand.
There was also interest in overturning a statuory prohibition on biking on the grounds of the Maryland Stadium Authority and in enacting the Idaho stop.
The Commuting and Transportation Committee announced the publication by the Baltimore Metropolitan Council of an employers'/employes guide to bicycle commuting. The committe also worked to remove the restriction on biking across the Hatem Bridge in Perryville.
The Education and Awarness Committe continued work on its assesment of walk/bike policies in Maryland's 24 school districts.
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