Bicycle and Pedestrian Funding (still) at Risk

I looked at the homepage of this site and could hardly believe what I saw. The most recent stories, stacked three high, featured black and white photos of Hollywood entertainers.

Commute by Bike Celebrity-Mongering Homepage 1/26/12Well, the celebrity mongering is over.

For now.

Let us return now to the lofty topics for which this blog is known. No, not liquor stores. Not pareidolia either. I’m talking about advocacy.

Stop! Don’t leave! This will be interesting.

Did you know…

  • Biking and walking make up 12 percent of all trips, but only 1.5 percent of federal funding.
  • Two out of three pedestrian deaths take place on roads built with federal funding.   Ensuring funds for sidewalks, crosswalks, and bikeways help end preventable deaths and make roads safer for everyone.
  • When town centers are biking and walking friendly, business and economic development improves.

Those handy bullets come from The League of American Bicyclists latest alert on the state the Transportation Bill, “House Bill Threatens to Eliminate Bicycle and Pedestrian Funding.”

Transportation Bill Heats Up Again in Congress | Streetsblog Capitol Hill
Transportation Bill Heats Up Again in Congress | Streetsblog Capitol Hill

Reportedly, the new and “improved” version of the bill will be unveiled on Friday, or maybe Monday.

What is in it? We’ll find out.

But, brace yourself. The House and Representatives and Senate have been entertaining versions of the bill that would “completely wipe out dedicated funding for biking and walking.”

When the bill is released, it will get worked over in the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for about two weeks before being sent to the floor for debate.

If you care about funding for biking and walking in the Federal Transportation Bill, contact your Representative and tell them so. If you like, use those interesting bullet points from up top.

Contact Your Rep with this AmericaBikes.org form

If we can make the case to Congress that bikes are transportation, and deserved to be funded in the Transportation Budget, then maybe we can find time to talk about movie stars again.

Post navigation