CPABC profiled

The the College Park Area Bicyclists Coalition (CPABC) was profiled in the Gazette this week due to their involvement in the Mid-Maryland Bike Map.

The Mid-Maryland Bike Map, compiled and distributed by the College Park Area Bicyclists Coalition (CPABC), highlights bike trails and other routes from south Hyattsville to the northern edge of Laurel, covering about 240-square miles. The map includes part of the District and an eastern portion of Montgomery County, including Silver Spring.

The article has some interesting stats,

Prince George’s lead the Washington, D.C., suburbs in biker and pedestrian deaths from 1994-2003, averaging 28 fatalities per year. The District averaged 18 deaths, with Montgomery County close behind at 16. Fairfax County averaged 13.

And this quote which may be controversial

‘‘One of the things [the map] prevents people from doing is competing against traffic,” said Brandt, a university police officer for 27 years. ‘‘It takes a very experienced cyclist to navigate a road like Route 1, especially during rush hour.”

Comments

[Nancy]

Ha! During rush hour, it's much faster to ride on the sidewalk than to ride in the travel lanes of Route 1. I'm not saying Route 1 is a good place to bike, but traffic moves very slowly, if at all, during rush hour.

I find Rt. 1 a very unpleasant place to drive: narrow lanes, suicide turn lane, driveways everywhere, and it's ugly! There are some useful businesses there [yea, Proteus Bikes!], but the ambience is even nastier than Rockville Pike.

[washcycle]

Yeah, Route 1 is a classic car culture road. I was surprised the first time I saw it because my experience has been that neighborhoods near colleges are pedestrian friendly (they pre-date the car, old building stock since the areas are recession-proof and lots of carless students). But I think I read here http://www.rethinkcollegepark.net/blog/ that change is afoot.