Act Now! Congress Proposes Cuts to Pedestrian and Biking Funding
Safe crossings for children could be comprised with these proposed cuts.
Key Congressional leaders are attacking Safe Routes to School, Transportation Enhancements for dedicated funding for walking and biking. Please act NOW!
Key Congressional leaders are attacking Safe Routes to School,
Transportation Enhancements and Recreational Trails and are taking steps
to cut off dedicated federal funding for walking and biking. Please act NOW!
We need every single person who wants safe options to walk or bicycle to contact their Senators and Representative today at this link sponsored by Safe Routes to School National Partnership!
Just click here,
and put in your zip code and the names of your congressional delegates
will appear with a message you can send to them. It's that easy to act
to protect dedicated funding for walking and biking.
Read on for more information:
House
Transportation Chairman John Mica (R-FL) announced today that his
transportation bill will eliminate dedicated funding for bicycling and
walking, including Transportation Enhancements, Safe Routes to School
and the Recreational Trails Program, and discourage states from choosing
to spend their dollars on these activities that are "not in the federal
interest." Chairman Mica's statement that these programs remain
"eligible" for funding is worthless; without dedicated funding for these
three programs, they are effectively eliminated.
Things on the
Senate side are not much better. Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), the lead
Republican negotiator on the transportation bill, declared that one of
his TOP THREE priorities for the transportation bill is to eliminate
'frivolous spending for bike trails.' This is in direct conflict with
Senator Barbara Boxer's (D-CA) commitment to maintain dedicated funding
for biking and walking. However, the Senate is working towards a
bi-partisan solution, and Senator Inhofe's comments mean funding for
bicycle and pedestrian programs is at risk of total elimination.
Help
protect Transportation Enhancements, Safe Routes to School and
Recreational Trails. Contact your Members of Congress and tell them to
reach out to Senators Inhofe, Boxer, and Congressman Mica to urge them
to continue dedicated funding for these important bicycling and walking
programs.
Do you need some good facts to further bolster your argument?
Not
in the federal interest? Biking and walking make up 12 percent of all
trips in the US, even as funding for biking and walking projects only
accounts for 1.5% of the federal transportation budget. That is more
traffic deaths happen when children are walking or bicycling and are
struck by cars. Walking programs build sidewalks, crosswalks and
improve accessibility and save lives.
The Facts
Walking
and biking are important forms of transportation, and funding for
bicycle and pedestrian improvements is a very efficient use of federal
transportation dollars.
These projects create jobs and build
local economies. Building bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure creates
46% more jobs than building road-only projects per million dollars
spent. Cities that invest in pedestrian and bicycle projects turn their
communities into destinations, and capitalize on increased local
business activity.
Eliminating the 1.5% of transportation funding
spent on pedestrian and bicycle improvements would have no meaningful
impact on the federal budget, but would decrease transportation options
for American families in a time of rising gas prices and an uncertain
economy.
Why Act Now?
Both
the House and Senate long-term transportation bills are being written
as we speak. We still have a chance of influencing the outcomes. Let's
make sure that funding for biking and walking programs don't disappear
for many years.
We need every Senator to tell Senators Boxer and
Inhofe that bicycling and walking are vital parts of our transportation
system, and that there must be dedicated funding for sidewalks, bike
lanes and trails to ensure that people who go by foot or bike are safe.
And we need every Representative in the House to tell Chairman Mica the
same.
Please contact your Senators and Representatives TODAY to tell them that bicycling and walking are a critical part of a safe and equitable transportation system. Ask them to tell Representative Mica and Senators Boxer and Inhofe that a federal transportation bill must continue dedicated funding for bicycling and walking.
