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Friday, September 23, 2011

U.S. Bike Programs Escape Federal Cuts, For Now


On Thursday, the U.S. Senate moved to protect funding for the Transportation Enhancement program, an initiative that helps expand transportation choices including pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure and safety programs.
The amendment to eliminate these programs was introduced by Oklahoma SenatorsTom Coburn and James Inhofe who called bike trails "frivolous," and made eliminating them one of his top three priorities.
But as Shareable's Jay Walljasper recently reported, "programs to make biking and walking safer for everyone are one of the smartest investments ever to come out of Washington. Any politician wanting to eliminate them ought to open the pages of the venerable conservative magazine The Economist, which last week made a strong case for continuing to build bike lanes and pedestrian-friendly street designs ."
Eager to stand up for their right to bike and walk, close to 50,000 people from around the country sent emails and made thousands of phone calls to their U.S. Senators to voice their disagreement with the amendement.


photo by Ken Wilcox.

similar articles:

Smart Transportation Planning in Freiburg, Germany

Walking, Bicycling, and Urban Landscapes: Evidence from the San Francisco Bay Area

Decision Support for Bicycle Route Planning In Urban Environments

Reality Proves a Setback for Parisian Bike Rentals

 

 

 

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