As Hopkins begins safe streets campaign, a pedestrian is struck

“C’mon folks stop blaming pedestrians – it’s Baltimore drivers. Drivers here do not understand what it means to live in a society of rules, they constantly run red lights.”
– A Samuel

“On my first bike ride through Baltimore since my return from a year-long stint in DC, I was intentionally struck by a car. . . What angered me the most, however, wasn’t the uninterested police officers, but the pedestrian who walked up to me after the hit-and-run. She first asked me if I was alright, and then proceeded to tell me why it was my fault – that bikers shouldn’t be in the street, that they should be in the sidewalk (Of course, this is illegal). This made it very clear to me that Baltimore City has a cultural problem when it comes to biking.”
– Christopher

“If there was ever a confirmation of the dumbing down of the U.S. education system, this is it. It’s more than a little ironic that a top notch university, like JHU, has to launch a marketing campaign to convince its students not to walk in the path of moving vehicles. Much like the bicyclist protection laws of Baltimore, I believe that this is an ill advised attempt to postpone certain evolutionary inevitabilities.”
– HS

“HS, your lack of empathy is stunning. There are people who cannot afford cars. There are people who are not old enough to drive, but old enough to walk on their own. There are people who are too old to drive. And there are a few who have chosen not to drive, many for idealistic reasons. Oh, and there are people who drive somewhere, park, and walk to their destination. All of these people deserve streets that are safe to cross, and surely they would benefit from “traffic calming” measures meant to help bicyclists.”
– JS

“Being honked and threatened as I cross with the walk signal because a right turning driver doesn’t want to slow down was a new experience when I moved to Baltimore and pretty much sums up Baltimore drivers.”
– snarkycomments

“In most areas, where common sense is not at such a premium, it is recognized that attempting to allow bicycles share the same space as motor vehicles is sheer idiocy. These places wisely recognize that the real goal of most bicyclists, which is to be seen modeling their $200 costume, is not worth the hassle and expense of periodically scraping up their entrails.”
– HS

“Some cities overseas program their traffic lights so that all of the signals at an intersection turn red once every cycle. That gives pedestrians on all four corners a chance to cross safely at the same time. And it signals to drivers that pedestrians have the right to cross the street without having to second guess the walk signal.”
– Josh

“The road design in the area is terrible with ‘on ramp’ style access on and off of Art Museum drive that encourage reckless speeding. The access roads on Charles are too distracting for most drivers so they don’t pay attention to pedestrians and bicyclists. And, the redesign looks like a tremendous step backward as it tries to turn Charles into a limited access superhighway through the neighborhood.”
– snarkycomments

“Baltimore doesn’t seem to believe in good traffic engineering. The city is much more interested in psychological manipulation. Instead of good signal timing, they’d rather erect 3,000 yellow shoes.”
– Gerald Neily

“The problem is hurried and harried America. Also texting while walking and talking on the phone while jogging. Multi-tasking is America’s bane. Walking and biking require as much concentration as driving.”
– Unellu
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Amid dampened expectations, Grand Prix kicks off today

“I just got back from the Grand Prix (Friday afternoon). They had trouble with the track and suspended racing for several hours. The crowd is light, and outside of the race area it is much lighter than any given day in the Harbor. On our walk over the town felt empty. The event appears to be hurting business more than helping. The event it self does appear to be well organized. For a $9 Living Social GA ticket it was something different and I enjoyed what I saw.”
– Baltimoreplaces

“With the Grand Prix, Baltimore has now gone full circle back to the 1960s expressway vision of speeding cars soaring over the harbor, except with teetering grandstands, fences and Jersey barriers superimposed on top of what was supposed to have been Baltimore’s urban dream.”
– Gerald Neily

“Definitely a smaller crowd than last year, but that’s to be expected. The casual interest was enough for some people to come once but not again. Knowing the interest now the ticket prices can be adjusted to fill stands and maximize profit.”
– Bakkster

“There were more Race employees and their families – all coming from out of the area – than the total paying customers for the event. A few thousand out-of-town workers with the only local workers being the 230 police, the hotel security people both working overtime, and the local venders (with $400 annual permits) who will tell you they were moved from prime locations to side streets where they made no money. All the small business owners were at a loss.”
– Cwals99

“I endorse the Pratt and Light Street plans and the Charles Street streetcar system, and NOT the Grand Prix. “
– Gerald Neily

“The Sailabration was just as much a world-class event and as the author points out, was inclusive not exclusive – unlike the Grand Prix. . . .”
– Skittles
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Lively scene across the street from Baltimore Grand Prix

“Worth noting that the race was only certain to happen 3 months ago, so there were no early ticket sales which probably hurt out of town sales particularly hard. When someone planned at the beginning of the year for a few races to spectate, the Baltimore GP was immediately off their list because there wasn’t even a promoter at that time.”
– Bakkster

“It’s not fair to judge the size of the crowd at a road or street race by the number of people in the seats. IndyCar fans like to visit different parts of the courses in order to get different vantage points throughout a race.”
– andrew

“Access to the athletes at IndyCar races is unparalleled. I saw Tony Kanaan, one of the most popular IndyCar drivers, zipping around on his moped throughout the day Sunday, stopping to talk to fans and sign autographs. I spotted JR Hildebrand, Marco Andretti and James Hinchcliffe doing the same thing. All of them moved around unattended by handlers. Can you imagine Ray Lewis or Ed Reed just casually walking off the field to talk with fans before a game?”
– andrew

“Thanks for the tip Brew. This race was a financial failure for the city.”
– Fire and Metal
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With incinerator plan, Curtis Bay feels dumped-on again

“Wheelabrator agreed to burn the trash we the people send them. In exchange, we get energy and a longer lifespan for the Quarantine Road landfill, which takes the ash instead of the trash. If we the people are tossing mercury-laden car batteries, CFLs, etc. etc. in into our garbage then, yes, it will show up in the incinerator’s emissions. I walk through Roland Park a lot and have noticed there are a lot of cars (which have car batteries, natch) there as well as environmentally-conscious sorts of people who use CFLs instead of good ol’ used-to-be-made-in-America incandescents. Let’s face it: Roland Park is the problem here.”
– Jamie Hunt

“Go @KelleyRay!”
@CarolSOtt, via Twitter

“I lived in that part of town for the 1st 6 years of my life, both my mother and brother have asthma and I was diagnosed an epileptic after suffering frequent black-outs. This is flat-out WRONG.”
– Kim Trueheart

“Of course. Gotta keep Hunt Valley pristine!”
– John Bosley, via Facebook
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Battle over South Baltimore trash incinerator re-igniting

“The Curtis Bay area has been depressed for years and that’s why this incinerator is going to be built there – because the communities there are poor, politically disenfranchised, and can not possibly mount any real resistance. If anyone doubts that, let them ask themselves what would happen if this project was planned for federal hill or fells point. The author is also right to highlight the money being spent by Energy Answers to get this project passed. The entire affair can be seen as a case study in how politics works for poor communities.”
– Llee

“Dr. Alonso seems to have forgetten his job is to create safe and healthy learning environments for our children. Cell phone towers, broken fire alarm systems and trash incinerators DO NOT meet my test for safe and healthy learning environments.”
– Kim Trueheart

“Has Dr. Lemkin heard of RESCO that’s closer to Roland Park than Curtis Bay? They have been turning waste to energy ever since I can remember so why doesn’t he complain about that.”
– Roland Park is clueless

“We did complain about the Wheelabrator (RESCO) incinerator. At capacity it burns 800,000 tons of trash a year. It violates air standards and the only penalty it faced was a tiny $77,400 fine or 0.07% of the value of their upcoming 10 year renewal contract. None of these companies have any incentive to abide by clean air standards or act as responsible stewards of the environment and community.”
– Lemkin

“The fine to the Wheelabrator (Resco) was in 2011 … The nation’s largest medical waste incinerator, located in Hawkins Point, also just got a slap on the wrist from MDE for pumping brain-damaging mercury into the air: Curtis Bay Energy, L.P. – Baltimore City: On March 13, 2012, MDE entered into a Settlement Agreement with Curtis Bay Energy to address violations of air quality requirements. Curtis Bay Energy allegedly violated air quality requirements by exceeding mercury emission standards from its exhaust stack as demonstrated by a stack test. A subsequent stack test showed a return to compliance. The Settlement Agreement requires Curtis Bay Energy to pay a $40,000 penalty.”
– rkolberg
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Steelworkers hire law firm that represented RG Steel in contract termination

“Collusion is what everyone who worked at the point knows whats going on. Members asked their union to protest for months only to be told sit and wait. Instead 9477 sends their members to an Obama rally in Philadelphia days before the sale to Hilco. The local 9477 is just as much to blame as McCall and the international. They would not stand up for their members after McCall signed their benefits away in a back room deal.”
– Jason

“I for one am not so sure that old Walter and his boys are spreading false hope because the railroad employee I talk with is still down at the Point and said he is seeing helicopters going in and out of the Point on a regular basis.  Are these the VIP buyers that Joe R. is always promising that he was given the OK to find?”
– BOF Boy

“The only thing any of us can do is to BELIEVE that they are working day and night to find a big steel company with captive raw materials eager to set up shop in 21219.”
– Walter