Bob, I'll do that asap, trying to get caught up on work as I have been consumed by this. It was a good day, the bill passed, it had not actually passed on Saturday, had but was ammended by the senate and the house had to approve those amendment. Apparently three other bike initiatives were passed. See carol Silldorf's message from bbc forum. It's always a good day when you get escorted into Annapolis by the police. Props to the MD Capitol Police, those guys are alright.

Everyone was amazing today! Thank you to the approximately 85 bicyclists who rode to Annapolis to honor Lawrence Bensky. This meant allot to Tammy, her mom and Larry’s parents. It is an incredible showing of strength that his family was able to attend today. Let’s continue, as the weeks and months pass, to reach out to them with compassion and support. I heard that Joel Wymen, who was riding with Larry last week, had a fourth leg surgery. I’d like to send him recovery wishes. Does anyone have his email address?

Also - thank you to the organizers of this successful event (I’d love your assistance with the Tour du Port as you did a fabulous last minute job!).

On a different note - it is time to celebrate! I returned from Annapolis a few hours ago where FOUR significant Bike/Ped/Transportation bills passed! The bicyclist’s show of support in regard to the bicycle safety legislation was meaningful. The following bills passed and are on the way to the Governor's Office for his signature:

SB624 - Shoulder Rule bill
SB51 - 3 Foot bill
HB 1155 - Transportation Transparency bill
HB 282 - Funding for Bike/Ped Access bill

I will produce a list of those Delegates and Senators (Cardin, Carr, Lafferty, Raskin, McIntosh, Malone, Pena-Melnyk and more) we will want to thank for their support of these important bike safety and bike/ped funding bills. A call or email from a constituent is a big deal to them – a few minutes of your time can make a BIG difference.

We must remember Larry and work together during the 2011 General Assembly session to make Maryland a safer place to live, work and play.

The One Less Car Legislative Agenda for the 2011 General Assembly session will be developed during the summer. A few of the items on my mind are:
• Strengthening the new 3 foot rule
• Strong focus on the manslaughter by vehicle bill
• Introducing a bill to increase tax credits for bicyclists
• Reintroduce the accident vs. crash bill
• There will be more to add to this list and your legislative assistance is appreciatively accepted.

To learn about One Less Car's events, volunteer opportunities and legislative agenda - go to www.onelesscar.org and click on the contact header.

Thank you all and please spread the word!

Carol Silldorff
Executive Director
One Less Car
1209 North Calvert Street
Baltimore, MD 21202
410-960-6493 direct
Carol@onelesscar.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
CarolSilldorff@verizon.net This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it