Secretary LaHood meets with bicycling advocates; blogs about it

Today the Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, wrote on his blog: “I don’t think anyone who reads this blog doubts my enthusiasm for increasing Americans’ transportation options.”

Absolutely true.

Secretary LaHood meets with America Bikes; photos by Todd Solomon

Today he has once again demonstrated his commitment and enthusiasm for bicycling and walking. In his post, the Secretary described the meeting he held this week with AmericaBikes, the coalition of national bicycling advocacy group, including the League of American Bicyclists.  He also cited two recent studies that we highlighted on our blog: 1. bike lanes create more jobs per $1 million than other road construction, and 2: Americans support active transportation infrastructure. It is great to have friends like this in Washington.

However, the Secretary also points out the limits of what he can do — “there’s a budget process, and there’s a surface transportation reauthorization process–and DOT does not control either.” His message is a good one for advocates all over the country: “participate in the process.” That is exactly what we are trying to do at the national level and what we are helping state and local advocates do. There is a lot of enthusiasm in the capitol to improve bicycling and walking in this country — and we’re committed to helping it spread. We hope that you will join us for the National Bike Summit, to do just that.

The caption on the Secretary's blog reads: "Listening to Andy Clarke"