Blog Post
In January, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of Safety placed Road Diets on the official list of Proven Safety Countermeasures. States are actively encouraged to use the listed safety countermeasures…
Tuesday evening, I rode home from work in shorts. It was the last day of January, well after dark, and the temperature was still over 60 degrees. To be honest,…
Representative Tom Petri (R-WI) and his colleagues Timothy Johnson (R-IL), and Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) showed themselves today to be strong and brave defenders of biking and walking, a balanced transportation system, and livable communities. Thanks also to Daniel Lipinski (D-IL) for co-sponsoring the pro-biking amendment and all of the democrats who votes for it.
The amendment lost by just two votes. This was a strong showing in a very difficult political environment. The House leadership strongly opposed the amendment, so our thanks goes to Reps. Petri, Johnson, and LoBiondo for standing with their constituents and people everywhere who value walking and biking. If these Congressmen represent you, please let them know you recognize their efforts.
Watch this inspired performance from Representative Peter DeFazio (D-OR) in which he says we’re going back to the pre-1980s in this country:
Let’s keep the fight going at the National Bike Summit.
Here’s the breakdown of the vote. Remember, votes for the Petri amendment are good for biking and walking programs and votes against are bad.
UPDATE II: Petri-Johnson-Lipinsky Amendment failed by two votes, 27 yea, 29 no. Thank you to everyone who contacted their members to support this amendment. We came very close. This is a major set-back for bicycling and walking and a balance transportation system, but we will keep up the fight.
UPDATE: You can watch the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee mark up the bill live right now (starting at 9:00am EST).
Here’s League President Andy Clarke on an important vote taking place Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012, that may well determine the fate of cycling in the proposed House transportation bill:
Tomorrow, on the day of the House vote on the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act, Representatives Tom Petri (R-WI), Timothy Johnson (R-IL), and Daniel Lipinsky (R-IL) will submit an amendment to preserve bicycling and walking. The outcome is likely to come down to one or two key votes.
No matter who your Congressperson is, you can TAKE ACTION here. However, if your Representative is on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, it is essential that they hear your voice right now (this links to a different alert for T&I committee member).
By popular demand, you can now read the top ten list of reasons the proposed House transportation bill, the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act, is terrible for bicycling and livable communities.…
The 50 happiest people in America this morning are waking up from a 20-year nightmare. You probably don’t know their names and you certainly wouldn’t recognize them in the street…
Moments ago, Congressman John Mica (R-FL) announced the introduction of the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act. The proposed bill eliminates dedicated funding for bicycling and walking as we feared,…
If you want to support the League and love to ride your bike, do we have a deal for you! We are a beneficiary of Climate Ride for the second…
Knowing that the Miami Marathon would cause a lot of traffic congestion, Miami Heat Forward LeBron James beat the traffic by getting on his bike and getting in a little…
If you think bicycling and walking are only for big cities, you are only getting part of the story. A report released today by the Rails to Trails Conservancy, “Active…