It's Time to Silence the Professional Mowers

Whether it is mowers or leaf blowers, none of them should be deafening from over 350ft away.   

Professional mowers and leaf blowers need to be equipped with mufflers or other devices to quiet their operation.   My honda lawn mower is not even close to producing this much sound even when I'm 10 ft away from it.  Residential mowers with smaller engines are obviously much quieter by design.   The companies that make the professional lawn mowers must think that they are only used in an industrial park.  

The manufactures know that mowers are using these in residential areas and it should be both the manufactures' and the owner's responsibility to ensure they are silenced appropriately.   

Pedestrian Master Plan for Montgomery County

I just received notification about the new initiative for a Pedestrian Master Plan (much like the previously adopted Bicycle Master Plan) and the first community meeting will be in September 2019.  Sign up on this website to stay informed. 

https://montgomeryplanning.org/planning/transportation/pedestrian-planning/pedestrian-master-plan/

Ride On (MCDOT) Allows Children to Stay in Strollers While Riding the Bus

It's a start, Ride On is now allowing strollers to board using the boarding ramp (https://www2.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgportalapps/Press_Detail.aspx?Item_ID=23381).  Though with the limitations of the policy it still doesn't meet the standards I found in Stockholm many years ago which allow parents to travel with many children under 7 and for parents with buggies (strollers) they can board through the exit door and there isn't any fees for parent or child (https://sl.se/en/eng-info/fares/children/).

When I traveled with my young children in Stockholm, not only did the culture there permit me to board the bus with stroller, all current passengers were required to make room for me and the stroller, similar to our priority seating policy.   Everyone was very accomodating and even helped ensure I boarded and alighted the bus, with child still in stroller, without any problems.

I'd like to see this type of accomodation made on all of our region's buses in support of families. Traveling with children can be chaotic, and having to deal with payments for yourself, or your children, while keeping them safe and accounted for can be too much for most parents.  The choice of using public transportation would be much easier to make if using it was as easy as it was in Stockholm.