Fwd: URGENT: Save Bike/Ped - Contact your Representative Today
Erica
From: <in...@apbp.org>
Date: Tue, Jan 31, 2012 at 12:18 PM
Subject: URGENT: Save Bike/Ped - Contact your Representative Today
Dear Erica,
It's so much worse than we thought. Today, the House releases its transportation bill, the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act. We expected the bill to be bad news for bicycling and walking, but we didn't think it would go so far as to reverse all progress we have made in the past twenty years.
The House Transportation Committee will vote Thursday, February 2, on whether to approve this bill or amend it to include bicycling and walking programs. Take action now—tell your representative to restore bicycling and walking in the Transportation Committee.
Why the urgency? House leaders are pushing hard to completely cut bicycling and walking out of transportation. Lawmakers seem to have gone through federal law line-by-line to gut programs that make streets safer for cyclists and pedestrians. Some of the more devastating provisions in the bill include:
- Destroys the major bike/walk funding program (Transportation Enhancements);
- Repeals the Safe Routes to School program, which helps create safe ways for kids to walk and ride bicycles to school;
- Allows states to build bridges without safe access for pedestrians and bicycles;
- Eliminates bicycle and pedestrian coordinators in state DOTs; and
- Strips language which ensures that rumble strips "do not adversely affect the safety or mobility of bicyclists, pedestrians or the disabled.”
But there's still a chance to save federal bike/walk programs. This week in the House Transportation Committee, Representative Tom Petri (R-WI) plans to offer an amendment to restore dedicated funding for key programs. Please click on the action alert to see if your Representative is on the committee -- and if they are, contact them asap and ask them to support Mr. Petri's amendment.
This is as urgent as it gets. Even if Mr. Petri's amendment succeeds, there will be a long road ahead. But if we lose here, we risk losing decades of progress for a more bike-friendly America.
Please pass this along to all your local friends and contacts–particularly high-level contacts like mayors, school board members, and business leaders—and ask them to weigh in, too.
Thanks so much for your quick action. We'll keep you posted.
Sincerely,
Kit Keller, Executive Director
Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals
262-375-6180
PO Box 93 • Cedarburg, WI • 53012
Vivienne Armentrout
transportation bill
http://www.transportationissuesdaily.com/federal-transportation-bill-moving-in-house/
Vivienne
On 1/31/2012 12:54 PM, Erica wrote:
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: <in...@apbp.org <mailto:in...@apbp.org>>
> Date: Tue, Jan 31, 2012 at 12:18 PM
> Subject: URGENT: Save Bike/Ped - Contact your Representative Today
>
> Dear Erica,
>
> *It's so much worse than we thought*. Today, the House releases its
> transportation bill, the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act.
> We expected the bill to be bad news for bicycling and walking, but we
> didn't think it would go so far as to *reverse /all/ progress we have
> made in the past twenty years*.
>
> The House Transportation Committee will vote Thursday, February 2, on
> whether to approve this bill or amend it to include bicycling and
> walking programs. Take action now�tell your representative to restore
> bicycling and walking
> <http://www.apbp.org/link.asp?e=briggsw...@gmail.com&job=544782&ymlink=793057&finalurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcts%2Evresp%2Ecom%2Fc%2F%3FSafeRoutestoSchoolNa%2F56efa95c33%2F30bc4c7cfb%2F6326786b60%2Faction%5FKEY%3D9331> in
> the Transportation Committee.
>
> <http://www.apbp.org/link.asp?e=briggsw...@gmail.com&job=544782&ymlink=793057&finalurl=http%3A%2F%2Forg2%2Edemocracyinaction%2Eorg%2Fo%2F7093%2Fp%2Fdia%2Faction%2Fpublic%2F%3Faction%5FKEY%3D9331>
>
>
> *Why the urgency? House leaders are pushing hard to completely cut
> bicycling and walking out of transportation*. Lawmakers seem to have
> gone through federal law line-by-line to gut programs that make
> streets safer for cyclists and pedestrians. Some of the more
> devastating provisions in the bill include:
>
> * Destroys the major bike/walk funding program (Transportation
> Enhancements);
> * Repeals the Safe Routes to School program, which helps create safe
> ways for kids to walk and ride bicycles to school;
> * Allows states to build bridges without safe access for pedestrians
> and bicycles;
> * Eliminates bicycle and pedestrian coordinators in state DOTs; and
> * Strips language which ensures that rumble strips "do not adversely
> affect the safety or mobility of bicyclists, pedestrians or the
> disabled.�
>
> *But there's still a chance to save federal bike/walk programs.* This
> week in the House Transportation Committee, Representative Tom Petri
> (R-WI) plans to offer an amendment to restore dedicated funding for
> key programs. Please click on the action alert
> to see if your Representative is on the committee -- and if they are,
> contact them asap and ask them to support Mr. Petri's amendment.
>
> *This is as urgent as it gets.* Even if Mr. Petri's amendment
> succeeds, there will be a long road ahead. But if we lose here, we
> risk losing decades of progress for a more bike-friendly America.
>
> Please pass this along to all your local friends and
> contacts�particularly high-level contacts like mayors, school board
> members, and business leaders�and ask them to weigh in, too.
>
> <http://www.apbp.org/link.asp?e=briggsw...@gmail.com&job=544782&ymlink=793057&finalurl=http%3A%2F%2Forg2%2Edemocracyinaction%2Eorg%2Fo%2F7093%2Fp%2Fdia%2Faction%2Fpublic%2F%3Faction%5FKEY%3D9331>
>
>
> Thanks so much for your quick action. We'll keep you posted.
>
> Sincerely,
> Kit Keller, Executive Director
> Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals
> 262-375-6180 <tel:262-375-6180>
>
>
>
> Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals
> PO Box 93 � Cedarburg, WI � 53012
> 262.228.7025 <tel:262.228.7025> � in...@apbp.org <mailto:in...@apbp.org>
> www.apbp.org
> <http://www.apbp.org/link.asp?e=briggsw...@gmail.com&job=544782&ymlink=793057&finalurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eapbp%2Eorg%2F>
>
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