We Did It!, Bike Funding Safe, For Now

Seems your phone calls/emails worked again. Constant Vigilance!

From MassBike
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Senators Kerry (far left) and Brown (far right)

For the second time in as many months, an outpouring of emails and calls to our senators has saved Transportation Enhancements from being eliminated. Thousands of concerned citizens across the country contacted their senators, resulting in 60 votes against Senator Paul’s (R-KY) amendment. Our own two senators, John Kerry and Scott Brown, voted against the amendment, a very promising show of bipartisanship in support of biking.

Unfortunately, this does not guarantee that bike funding is secure. In March, Congress will dive into the issue of a new transportation authorization, meaning that ALL surface transportation funding is back on the table. House Republicans have already indicated dramatically scaling back the federal role in transportation funding, probably meaning that little more than interstate highways would receive money.

Bipartisan support is key to our continued success in defending bike funding. We depend on our members and friends of biking to continue contacting members of Congress as these threats emerge. We will keep you posted as things develop in Washington.

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Protect Federal Funding For Biking

from MassBike We are going to have to fight for this, so please email/call today!

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This year, around $700 million of Federal transportation funds, which is less than 2 percent of total transportation dollars, will be spent on bicycling and walking nationwide. In 2012 that figure might be zero. Please contact Senators Kerry and Brown TODAY and let them know you support continued funding for biking and walking.

Congressional leaders have made little progress on a new transportation funding bill to replace the SAFETEA-LU Act that expired in 2009. Transportation funding has continued through a series of extensions – and the current extension ends September 30th. Last Friday, they announced a tentative deal for a “clean” extension of SAFETEA-LU that will continue funding at current levels into early 2012. The deal would keep funding for biking and walking programs in place, avert a shutdown of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and save the jobs of hundreds of thousands of people working on transportation infrastructure projects.

But we’re not safe yet: In the next few days, Senator Coburn (R-Oklahoma) may ask Congress to eliminate the Transportation Enhancements program – the primary funding source for the past 20 years for bike lanes, trails, bike racks on buses, bike education, and more. This isn’t safe or smart; it’s not good for the economy or the environment; this is bad health policy and bad transportation policy.

Massachusetts spent almost $100 million on Transportation Enhancements from 1992-2009, and millions more on Safe Routes to School making it possible for thousands of children to bike or walk to school. We cannot allow Transportation Enhancements to fall victim to partisan political grandstanding. If we cannot save Transportation Enhancements, Safe Routes to School, the Recreational Trails Program, and other vital sources of funding for biking and walking will not be far behind.

Even though bicycling projects create more jobs per dollar than highway-only projects and cutting enhancements won’t impact the deficit – the money just won’t be spent on bicycling – some Members of Congress want to force us backwards to a 1950s highway-only mindset: as if oil embargoes, congestion, smog, the obesity epidemic and climate change never happened.

To protect against cuts to biking and walking programs, we are asking you to contact Senators Kerry and Brown and urge them to support continued funding. Don’t let short-sighted people in Congress take away this vital investment program for smart, sustainable, safe transportation choices.

Please take action today:

1. Call and/or email Senator Kerry and Senator Brown TODAY, tell them why bicycling is important to you, and ask them to do two things:

• OPPOSE any move to eliminate the Transportation Enhancements (TE) program
• SUPPORT a clean extension of the SAFETEA-LU programs (pronounced “Safety Lou”)

Senator John Kerry: (202) 224-2742, Email (select “Transportation” as Topic)

Senator Scott Brown: (202) 224-4543, Email (select “Transportation” as Topic)

Don’t have time to write your own email? Click here to send a pre-written email message to both Senators.
2. Email [email protected] and let us know you contacted them!

Every single call or email matters, so please act today!

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Federal Funding For Bicycles In Danger!

Via MassBike Act now to keep these idiots from removing the tiny amount of federal money currently spent on bicycles.

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Last week, the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee released its proposed six-year transportation bill, which would cut funding to critical bicycle and pedestrian programs such as Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to School.  These programs have been essential in improving bike safety around the state. The Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program has provided $2.4 million for bike and pedestrian infrastructure at schools since 2007, and over 1,200 students participated in SRTS bike safety courses in Spring 2011 alone. The second important funding source, Transportation Enhancements, has been used for multi-use paths, rail trails, and other improvements around the state – over $15 million in bike and pedestrian investments since 2005.

The current proposal would not only eliminate dedicated bike and pedestrian funding, but also cut overall federal transportation spending levels by 33% and reduce federal transit funding by 34%.  At a time when our roads are crumbling, trains and buses are breaking down, and communities struggling to build bike and pedestrian facilities, this proposal will erase decades of progress.  We need you to call your representative and senators and urge them to preserve dedicated bicycle funding.

When you call, you can use these talking points:

• Funding For Bicycling And Walking Is At Risk We are concerned that this proposal will lead to the elimination of funding for programs such as Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to School.
• We Already Underinvest In Biking And Walking Just 1.5 percent of federal transportation dollars currently support bicycling and walking, although these two modes represent 12 percent of all trips in the United States. Bicycling and walking are growing in significance to our transportation system and yet only a tiny fraction of transportation funding is allocated to these essential and affordable modes.
• Bicyclists And Pedestrians Make Up A Disproportionate Number Of Roadway Fatalities 14 percent of roadway fatalities are bicyclists or pedestrians. Small investments in improving roadway safety not only make our roads safer for bicyclists and pedestrians but also make drivers feel more comfortable and reduce conflicts among all road users.
• Biking And Walking Are Great Investments Bicycling and walking improvements are relatively inexpensive, highly cost-effective investments that produce more jobs per dollar than road repair and upgrades; they also boost local small businesses and increase real estate values.
• Biking And Walking Help Solve Many Problems In these tough economic times, we must invest in solutions that solve multiple problems: biking and walking are low-cost transportation options that improve safety, health and air quality; they reduce dependence on foreign oil.

All of our representatives and senators expressed support for bicycling when we visited them in Washington, DC, in March for the National Bike Summit. Now more than ever it is important to remind the Congressional delegation to step up and defend these programs and current funding levels. Please contact your Congressional Representative asking that they maintain dedicated bicycle and pedestrian funding in the transportation bill. Here are the phone numbers for all the U.S. Representatives for Massachusetts:

Don’t know who your U.S. Representative is? Click here and enter your address to find out.

And our two U.S. Senators:

Take action and stand up for bike/ped programs and restoration of funding to transportation!

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