DOT Secy Wants “Sustained Engagement” from Bike Advocates
OK, so we still really don't like the name of the DOT Secretary's blog, The Fast Lane.
(Not to mention the design -- could someone do something about those
graphics, please?) But more and more, we like what we're reading there.
Like yesterday's post, titled "Bicycling Is an Important Factor in Less
Carbon-Intensive Commuting," in which Secretary LaHood discusses
funding opportunities for bicycling infrastructure in the stimulus bill
and beyond:
In Silicon Valley, the future is now: this new bike and pedestrian bridge is now open. Photo courtesy of LERA.
When
I told the League of American Bicyclists National Bike Summit that
"Cyclists are important users of America's transportation systems," I
meant it. And, when I wrote that "With DOT, bicyclists have a full
partner in working toward livable communities," I meant that as well.
President Obama has challenged us to transform the way transportation
serves the American people by creating more choices and encouraging
less carbon-intensive transportation, and we are working hard on that
challenge.The upcoming reauthorization of DOT’s surface transportation
programs provides an opportunity for us to feature bicycling as part of
a new American mobility within livable communities. As I said today in
testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, this includes
fostering communities where bicyclists feel both safe and welcome on
the roadways. Bike-friendly development also has the potential to
contribute significantly to the revitalization of downtown districts
and offer an alternative to sprawl and automobile-focused commuting.Earth
Day is today, but we'll need the sustained engagement of bicycle
commuters and their advocates in the weeks and months to come to help
keep the wheels of bicycle-friendly legislation on the road.
Hear that, folks?
The member blogs of the Streetsblog Network know all about sustained engagement. Today, we're featuring a post from Transbay Blog on some new bike infrastructure in Silicon Valley, the result of years of advocacy and commitment:
Two new bridges at Borregas Avenue in Sunnyvale, crossing over both Highway 237 and Highway 101, have finally opened,andthey will allow an anticipated 2,000 daily bicyclists and pedestriansto cross over the freeway instead of traveling a couple miles out oftheir way to the nearest through street. …The Borregas corridor andMary Avenue bridges are just two components of VTA’s rather extensive25-year Bicycle Expenditure Plan, which represents a considerable investment in livable streets improvements scattered throughout Santa Clara County. Yours truly may prefer walking and transit over bicycling, but we nonetheless look forward to the day when San Francisco’s Bicycle Planwill have completed its wandering journey through environmental review-- so that new bicycle infrastructure in San Francisco can catch up tothese improvements in the South Bay.
Plus: Pedestrianist passes along word of a road-striping experiment to slow traffic in Virginia, and Orphan Road pleads for some common-sense transit-oriented development in Seattle.
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