Bicycle funds under attack (Again)

[bikinchris]

Another effort to end bicycle related funding
If you have an interest in advocacy, you might want to know that our legislators are again trying to cut out transportation enhancement funding. This time, they want to cut ALL of it out. Please take a few moments to send them a note telling them how you feel about it.



This is the wording of the note I just got:

Transportation Enhancements under Attack Again
Take Action by clicking this link!
http://capwiz.com/lab/utr/1/HQAAQRQH...MMI/7506335666

Contact your Senators Again Today to Save Bicycle and Pedestrian Funding



It’s happening again. Just one month ago, Sen. Coburn (R-OK) failed in his efforts to strip funding for Transportation Enhancements from the six-month transportation extension.

Senator Rand Paul’s 80-year Bridge Repair Plan

Now, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is taking the lead in trying to destroy Transportation Enhancements. On November 1, the Senate will finalize the transportation appropriations bill, which sets funding levels for FY2012. Sen. Paul has offered an amendment to redirect all funding for Transportation Enhancements to bridge repair.

We agree on the need to keep our bridges safe, but the lives of pedestrians and cyclists are important too. Thirteen people died when the Minneapolis bridge collapsed in 2007: since then, close to 20,000 pedestrians and 2,800 cyclists have died on our nation’s highways, largely as a result of poor highway design and a lack of safe non-motorized infrastructure – exactly what the enhancement program was created to fix.

If Sen. Paul’s amendment is successful, it would eliminate approximately $700 million in federal funding for FY2012 that is used to construct sidewalks, bike lanes, bike paths, trails and other infrastructure that makes it safe for bicyclists and pedestrians to get around. Even if every penny of these funds is diverted to bridge repairs, Senator Paul’s plan will still take 80 years to fix the backlog of bridge repairs we have today.

Remember that the TE program represents less than two percent of the Federal transportation program and these projects help alleviate traffic congestion, improve safety, get people active, and create more jobs per dollar than highway-only projects.

Remember also that last year, states sent back to Washington $530 million of unspent bridge funds in rescissions – the states are leaving bridge repair funds on the table, unspent, year after year; they should at least spend these funds first.

If the Paul amendment succeeds, it will make it much more challenging to sustain funding for Transportation Enhancements, Safe Routes to School, and Recreational Trails in the long-term transportation bill that the Environment and Public Works Committee starts debating just 8 days later on November 9.

We must turn back any amendment to strip Transportation Enhancements.

Last month, more than 75,000 messages were sent to Senators to ask them to stand strong for Transportation Enhancements. That was an amazing turnout, but we must do better this time. Every time someone in Congress attacks bicycling and walking, we must push back even stronger than we did the time before. And, we will keep doing it until bicycle and pedestrian funding is protected.

This is the third time in a month that a small group of Senators have targeted Transportation Enhancements, using a different angle each time. It is a waste of the Senate's time and taxpayers dollars to focus on this small and valuable program when we are in dire need of real and viable solutions to fix our failing transportation system.

Please contact your Senators today to ask them to vote against the Paul amendment (SA-821) to eliminate Transportation Enhancements.

[Ahneida Ride]

People are already dying from a 16 Trillion debt, an attack on the
American middle class.

[oldpotatoe]

People are already dying from a 16 Trillion debt, an attack on the
American middle class.

Glad somebody said it.

[93legendti]

Actually, the middle class is doing quite well:

http://www.nd.edu/~jsulliv4/well_being_middle_class_poor4.3.pdf

when you account for taxes and measure inflation correctly, there has actually been considerable improvement in the material well-being of the middle class over the past three decades. Median income and consumption have both risen by more than 50 percent in real terms.

In addition, for families with income in the middle 20 percent, there have been noticeable improvements in the homes they live in and the cars they drive. Living units are bigger and are much more likely to have air conditioning and other features. The quality of the cars that these families own has also improved considerably. The data are clear: middle-class Americans are better off today than they were three decades ago.

This improvement is due, in part, to policy changes including lower tax rates and a more-generous child tax credit that leave middle-class families with more disposable income. But the most important factor is economic growth.

When the economy grows, the middle class is better off. To be sure, some groups (most notably very rich households) have benefited from economic growth more so than the middle class, but this does not cancel out the substantial progress that the middle class has made.

[nm87710]

:(

[Ahneida Ride]

Actually the OP has a point I believe..

But we have to restore sanity and it will not be pleasant.

Or we can just continue on the current track of the last 50 years
and see what happens.

Pick your poison.

[jblande]

Actually, the middle class is doing quite well[/I]


Didn't you read the congressional report from yesterday on the middle class?

Doing OK, but not nearly as well as the top 1%.

And let us not talk about the 1 in 6 Americans living in poverty.

[SamIAm]

Doing OK, but not nearly as well as the top 1%.



What is the wrong that needs to be righted here? Must all groups rise at the same rate? Is it possible that the same skills that led to individuals being in the top 1% also allowed them to do comparatively better in a sketchy economy without victimizing the middle class?

[soulspinner]

Lets just stick to bike funding.................. :beer:

[LesMiner]

Unfortunately Rep Oberstar of Minnesota lost the last election. He was the biggest bicycle advocate in Congress. He was also a bicycle enthusiast. He rode frequently and had organized rides in Minnesota. Without his voice in Congress I doubt provisions for bicycles or pedestrians will survive.

Chip Cravaack now represents the 8th District in Minnesota. He relocated to Rhode Island a short time after the election.

[sg8357]

Lets just stick to bike funding.................. :beer:

Rand Paul is a secret minion of John Forrester.
Death To Bike Lanes (and bike funding)

[staggerwing]

Like every other special interest group, we as cyclists can't even remotely agree on how to spend the alternative funds. There is a vocal group wanting a separate ecosystem, entirely distinct from that provided for motorized transport, and a less vocal group that would prefer just making the current motorways a bit more cycling friendly.

It is increasingly clear, that we have spent well beyond our means, and the note is coming due. Even as a dedicated rider, I'm having a tough time jumping up and down for my slice of the pie, if the funds are primarily earmarked for separate ecosystem projects. Of course, in the vacuum of my non-commitment, there will still be plenty grandstanding for their slice of the pie.

[oldpotatoe]

Like every other special interest group, we as cyclists can't even remotely agree on how to spend the alternative funds. There is a vocal group wanting a separate ecosystem, entirely distinct from that provided for motorized transport, and a less vocal group that would prefer just making the current motorways a bit more cycling friendly.

It is increasingly clear, that we have spent well beyond our means, and the note is coming due. Even as a dedicated rider, I'm having a tough time jumping up and down for my slice of the pie, if the funds are primarily earmarked for separate ecosystem projects. Of course, in the vacuum of my non-commitment, there will still be plenty grandstanding for their slice of the pie.

Agree. Make roadways safer thru education of car drivers that there are bikes everywhere, gonna be for a long time, no need to be pissed about it.

Multiuse paths(separate ecosystems) are expensive and cater to very small groups and enhance leisure times, not transportation times.

Just decent shoulders on roadways would go a long way to safer cycling.

[AngryScientist]

Agree. Make roadways safer thru education of car drivers that there are bikes everywhere, gonna be for a long time, no need to be pissed about it.

Multiuse paths(separate ecosystems) are expensive and cater to very small groups and enhance leisure times, not transportation times.

Just decent shoulders on roadways would go a long way to safer cycling.

i also agree. wider, well maintained shoulders are a cyclists best friend.

maybe also some more road signs that advise motorists that we have a right to the road as well. how about not just "share the road" signs, but "share the road - it's the law". just like the "buckle-up" campaign. those would be dollars well spent i think.

i would say that >75% of drivers i talk to don't really know that it's perfectly legal for a road bike to be on the road, as opposed to the sidewalk, where they think we belong. seriously.

[Kontact]

I think we have bigger fish to fry.


The middle class might be better off than 30 years ago, but are the number of people who now qualify as "middle class" actually growing? It isn't hard for the quality of life to improve in an elimination game.

[skijoring]

Like every other special interest group, we as cyclists can't even remotely agree on how to spend the alternative funds. There is a vocal group wanting a separate ecosystem, entirely distinct from that provided for motorized transport, and a less vocal group that would prefer just making the current motorways a bit more cycling friendly.

It is increasingly clear, that we have spent well beyond our means, and the note is coming due. Even as a dedicated rider, I'm having a tough time jumping up and down for my slice of the pie, if the funds are primarily earmarked for separate ecosystem projects. Of course, in the vacuum of my non-commitment, there will still be plenty grandstanding for their slice of the pie.

We need to remember who spent on our behalf 'well beyond our means'.
Banks get a jubilee and we get bupkis.

[fiamme red]

I agree with P.M. Summer about this.

http://cycledallas.blogspot.com/2011/09/vox-populi.html

[jblande]

What is the wrong that needs to be righted here? Must all groups rise at the same rate? Is it possible that the same skills that led to individuals being in the top 1% also allowed them to do comparatively better in a sketchy economy without victimizing the middle class?

thank you, thrasymachus, i now concede that justice is the advantage of the stronger.

[zap]

snip

Agree. Make roadways safer thru education of car drivers that there are bikes everywhere, gonna be for a long time, no need to be pissed about it.



This.

Educated motorists will not only make walking and cycling safer, but we should also see a dramtic increase in the use of turn signals and the right lane.

[staggerwing]

We need to remember who spent on our behalf 'well beyond our means'.
Banks get a jubilee and we get bupkis.

While I hear you. at some point we must move beyond the "they got theirs so where is mine" mentality.

Producing a better trained and educated motorist could be relatively inexpensive, although likely unpopular. Payoffs could be huge, both for fellow motorists and cyclists alike.

A reasonably debris free margin, and drivers that understand cyclists are legitimate traffic are a good start.

[bikinchris]

Thanks for all of your replies.

[bikinchris]

I agree with P.M. Summer about this.

http://cycledallas.blogspot.com/2011/09/vox-populi.html


He has a point. I am a dedicated vehicular cyclist and don't like th edesign of most bike lanes. However, as a person who is sensible, we have to understand that some people will NEVER take their kids out to ride if there are no bike facilities. Where are the next generations of cyclists going to come from?

[michael white]

I agree with P.M. Summer about this.

http://cycledallas.blogspot.com/2011/09/vox-populi.html

I'm of two minds about it. I think bike paths are unfortunate, a symptom more of failure than anything else. Still . . . many countries have made it work one way or another; there really are no excuses for the lack of effort in some of our cities.

[bikinchris]

Thanks for helping, everyone. Your letters got the response needed by LAB. The amendment failed and TEF funds are okay.