Therein lies the folly of the tools.  They are offered based on projected gains and advantages to the city and when the gains don’t come it usually is too late to turn the clock back.  The Baltimore Grand Prix is a case in point.  Projected gains fell short, the city lost money, the city yet insisted that the financial fiasco is a redeemable situation with another Grand Prix organizer.  The lessons learned are zip from these debacles. 

Large corporations that are automating rapidly and moving off shore and mega developers–the makers of tall glass cages– cannot save our cities.  Our cities should become more affordable to teachers, firemen, policemen, blue collar workers and professionals like scientists, doctors, professors, journalists, writers and artists.  The middle class, small businesses and start up entrepreneurial ventures should bring new blood to our cities. 

Courting the callous mega rich with tantalizing tools is an exercise in futility for our cities.  Let the mega corporate sector peregrinate where it wants.  Eventually it might realize it has social obligations other than pure profit and give up some of its perks to invest in our cities and towns.  Until such a time cut no trees for it, cut no deals with it, cut no ribbons for it and cut no taxes from its already meager returns to the govt.  

The mayor is a rather imperious personality.  I actually think she is beautiful–even when she is angry.  The good looking ones litter American politics with their dangerous glitter and their edgy impatience with an informed citizenry.  They want us to roll over and play dead.  And we vote them in–the charlatans over the ethical ones, the playboys and playgirls over the plain speakers and plain lookers (read about JFK and his little Mimi–today we’ll call what happened harassment and assault) and the narcissists every single time over the self effacing folks–how could you win an American election if you are self effacing?  The politicians support corporations because they are similar in character–like politicians, corporations and like corporations, politicians.              

MICA says they “have made bike safety one of our top priorities.” However, unless they ask DOT to include a dedicated bike lane rather than a *second* lane of automobile traffic in each direction it is clear that bike safety is taking a back seat to their highest priority: not inconveniencing drivers.

”
Have you considered this option regarding proper bike lane usage? Rather than reflexively swinging wide outside the bike lane to 6 feet whenever there is a parked car ahead, why not look to see if ANYONE is in the car.  If the car is empty you can actually ride quite close to the car with little or no chance that the unoccupied car door will suddenly swing open.  To make this even easier, bikes come equipped with a mechanism called brakes which can be used to safely decrease speed with a surprising amount of modulation and control.  If a  rider sees an occupant in parked car the rider has the ability to SLOW DOWN from an average urban speed of 12 mph to perhaps 5 mph providing ample opportunity to monitor the potential danger of getting doored and to choose the appropriate course of action.

Wow.  I’m just speechless.  It seems everything you seem to consider canon is textbook “Don’t ever do that.”  All it takes to kill you is one door.   When you hit a door your body flies into the middle of lane of traffic.  You never presume that you are sure there is no driver in the seat just because you can’t happen to see one.  The driver could be shorter than the headrest.  The driver could be leaning over to pick something off the passenger side floor, or from the glove box, and kick the door open with their foot.  Dooring is one of the top four killer of cyclists, and one of the top three killers caused by “motorist error.”  At 12 miles per hour you cannot slow to 5 mph or stop in time to avoid crashing into a door that violently swings open 10 feet in front of you.

A cyclist should never allow his or herself to have to “reflexively” do anything or “swing wide” anywhere.  That is failing to maintain a consistent and predictable line.  If you are looking down a line of 20 parallel parked cars, you should naturally be able identify which of the 20 cars is parked farthest out from the curb and adjust your line accordingly, so that you maintain consistent and predictable line.  Deliberately at first, but soon enough it becomes second nature to anyone who practicing effective cycling techniques.