Protect federal funding for pedestrian and bike projects
A special note from the Biycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia:
After three years of delays, debates, listening sessions and trial balloons, Congress is poised to move a federal Transportation bill during the next few months. Tomorrow, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will release its bill and vote on it next Thursday.
Leaked copies of the bill reveal that it does NOT include dedicated funding for biking and walking. The bill strips out the federal Transportation Enhancements program – the primary funding source for the past 20 years for bike lanes, trails, bike racks on buses, bike education and the Safe Routes to School program. 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.
I Bike and I Vote
As proposed, the House bill would force us backwards to a 1950s highway-only mindset: as if oil embargoes, congestion, smog, the obesity epidemic and climate change never happened. We can't let this happen.
Now is the time to Save Bicycling projects. There will be an amendment introduced to restore Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to School. Please contact your Congressional Representative immediately to ask that they vote in favor of that amendment.
Our Congressmen Are Key
Four Congressmen in our region sit on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. We are asking that those of you who live in those districts to please follow up by calling their District offices and ask them to vote for the amendment when it is introduced Thursday. These four Congressmen are: Pat Meehan (PA-7), Bill Schuster (PA-9 ), Lou Barletta (PA-11) and Frank LoBiondo (NJ-2).
