Blog Post
This morning, League President Andy Clarke is addressing the Bike Safety Summit in Minneapolis, convened by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and the U.S. Department of Transportation. In his remarks, he lauds a new course for transportation in the U.S. — and outlines clear steps to making biking safer nationwide.
(From left) League president, Andy Clarke, prepares to introduce Secretary Ray LaHood at the 2013 National Bike Summit (Photo by Brian Palmer)On behalf of the entire bicycling movement, let me say a heartfelt thank you to [US Transportation] Secretary [Ray] LaHood for his remarkable and inspiring leadership of the US DOT these past four years — not the least of which has been his hosting of these two regional bike safety summits. The Secretary has set us on a new course for transportation policy in this country: a course that is built on a foundation of smart local decision-making and investment that results in solutions that serve everyone in our communities; a foundation of safety that demands responsibility from all those who use our roads; and a fundamental belief that transportation isn’t an end in itself – it is a tool to improve the lives of people across our nation.
I also want to thank administrators Strickland, Rogoff and Mendez for their leadership of NHTSA, FTA and FHWA respectively – and, as we are in Minnesota, it would also be remiss of me not to acknowledge the huge debt of gratitude we have to three Minnesotan members of Congress who have had a profound and beneficial role in improving conditions for cyclists over the last 25 years – Representatives Vento, Sabo and Oberstar.
Mr. Oberstar complained a few years back that I had lost some credibility and authority by virtue of having lost my native English accent. To redress that, I want to draw this audience’s attention to a document released last week in the UK Parliament called “Get Britain Cycling.” The result of a lengthy parliamentary enquiry into cycling, the document has some critical lessons that are extremely relevant in the US context.
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