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Action Alert: Vulnerable Road Users Bill May Die In Committee!

Written by Boston Biker on May 31

From Massbike.

————-

 

 

This is it. On June 1st, our Vulnerable Road Users bill will die in the Joint Committee on Transportation unless we can convince the committee to report it out. We’re not the only ones who think this bill is needed to protect bicyclists and pedestrians – many of you have voiced your support and so have WalkBoston,Massachusetts Public Health AssociationConservation Law FoundationBoston Cyclists Union, and Transportation for Massachusetts.

 

Please call or email your State Senator and State Representative right now and tell them you need their support TODAY to protect vulnerable road users. We need each and every one of you to take action now, or this bill will die and we will have to start all over again next January:

  1. Call or email your State Senator and ask him or her to ask Senator McGee, Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Transportation to report favorably on H3079.
    Click here to find out who your State Senator is and how to contact him or her.
  2. Call or email your State Representative and ask him or her to ask Representative Straus, House Chair of the Joint Committee on Transportation to report favorably on H3079.
    Click here to find out who your State Representative is and how to contact him or her.
  3. Email [email protected] to let us know who you contacted.

If your Senator or Representative is actually a member of the Joint Committee on Transportation, it is especially important to contact them today!

 

Joint Committee on Transportation:

 

Senate Members:
Thomas McGee (Senate Chair)
Gale Candaras
Robert Hedlund
Brian Joyce
Marc Pacheco
Michael Rush

 

House Members:
William Straus (House Chair)
Mark Cusack
Marcos Devers
Peter Durant
Michael Finn
Steven Howitt
Timothy Madden
John Mahoney
James Miceli
Denise Provost
Carl Sciortino
Chris Walsh

 

Please don’t sit this one out – contact your state legislators right now! Thank you for standing with MassBike to protect bikers and walkers.


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Action Alert: Call Today To Support Vulnerable Road Users Bill

Written by Boston Biker on May 17

from Massbike.  This law is more important than ever, please do call today.

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Today, advocates from across the Commonwealth are going to be descending on the State House for the Bike/Walk Summit, MassBike’s central event for Bay State Bike Week and co-hosted by WalkBoston. But for those of you who live too far from Boston, or whose schedules don’t allow attending the event, we still want your voices heard. We are asking that you call your Representative and Senator today to ask them to support safer biking and walking in your community and across the state.

 

TODAY, we need you to call in to ask your Representative and Senator to do two things:

  • Ask them to support three bills (click here for bill summaries):
    • Vulnerable Road Users Bill (H. 3079): This bill provides law enforcement with more flexible tools to encourage motorists to exercise caution when operating around vulnerable road users, including increased fines, traffic safety classes, and community service.
    • Senior Safety Zones (H. 1968): This bill gives municipalities the ability to create zones similar to school zones in areas they deem appropriate, with the intention of protecting a population which disproportionately relies on walking for transportation.
    • Speed Limits Bill (H. 1808): This bill would lower the default speed limit on roads classified as “Local”, from 30 mph to 25 mph. Major arterials, highways, and other main roads would be unaffected, and many states have already adopted similar laws.
  • Ask them to sign on to our shared vision for Massachusetts Walking and Bicycling Principles.

After you contact your legislator, let us know! Email [email protected] to let us know how the conversation went. If you don’t know who your legislator is, you can find out here.


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Action Alert: Call For Vulnerable Road User Bill Today

Written by Boston Biker on Apr 27

From MassBike

——————-

Action Alert: Call TODAY For Vulnerable Road Users Bill

 

 

We filed the Vulnerable Road Users bill in January 2011 as the next step in our ongoing legislative efforts to protect bicyclists and other vulnerable users of our roadways. The bill would increase fines for motorists who kill or injure vulnerable users, and would require road safety education and community service teaching others about interacting safely with vulnerable users.

 

We have been working diligently behind the scenes on Beacon Hill since the bill had its first hearing last June in the Joint Committee on Transportation. The bill remains stuck in the Transportation Committee.

 

In early March, we submitted a streamlined redraft of the bill, clarifying its purpose and making it easier to understand. Later in March, with the deadline to report bills out of committee looming, we lobbied for and got a 30-day extension for the bill. That extension expires May 1st.

Yesterday, we delivered a letter to the Transportation Committee asking them to report favorably on the bill before the May 1 deadline. Joining us in support of the bill are WalkBoston,Massachusetts Public Health AssociationConservation Law FoundationBoston Cyclists Union, and Transportation for Massachusetts.

 

TODAY, we need you to call or email your State Representative and your State Senator:

  1. Call or email your State Senator and ask him or her to ask Senator McGee, Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Transportation to report favorably on H3079 before May 1st.
    Click here to find out who your Senator is and how to contact him or her.  
  2. Call or email your State Representative and ask him or her to ask Representative Straus, House Chair of the Joint Committee on Transportation to report favorably on H3079 before May 1st.
    Click here to find out who your Representative is and how to contact him or her.  
  3. Email [email protected] to let us know who you contacted.

If your senator or representative is actually a member of the Joint Committee on Transportation, it is especially important to contact them today!

 

Joint Committee on Transportation:

 

Senate Members:
Thomas McGee (Senate Chair)
Gale Candaras
Robert Hedlund
Brian Joyce
Marc Pacheco
Michael Rush

 

House Members:
William Straus (House Chair)
Mark Cusack
Marcos Devers
Peter Durant
Michael Finn
Steven Howitt
Timothy Madden
John Mahoney
James Miceli
Denise Provost
Carl Sciortino
Chris Walsh

 

Thanks so much for your help – as always, we couldn’t do this without you.


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