From the League of American Bicyclists: Please send a letter to your congress(wo)men

[Tri Girl]

It's up on the chopping block again: funding for bikes and pedestrians.

From their website:
"The U.S. House and Senate are negotiating right now to produce a final federal transportation bill and 20 years of progress on biking, walking and Safe Routes to School could be eliminated...the House would prefer to get rid of biking and walking funding by giving states the chance to ‘opt out’ of this funding pot completely — and take away local governments’ ability to access federal funds for small transportation projects."

If you click on the link below and enter your zip code, it will automatically generate an e-mail to your congressional representatives. All you have to do is enter your name, address, and e-mail and it will send a letter asking your state reps to consider keeping the funding alive.
When the link is open, scroll down to the end of the article where it says in blue CLICK HERE to access the form to send to your representatives.

Take Action: House aims to eliminate local funds for biking and walking

I think anything we can do to let them know that this funding is important to their constituents is a good thing.

[lovelygamer]

I sent letters to all three of my senators and attached SEE ME information as well, to make it even more real.

[chatnoire]

Done! Also included SEE ME info, and a comment about how biking encourages economic activity.

[Koronin]

Sent with see me info as well. I know my rep actually very much supports bike trails. (Most likely due to being in a coastal/beach area.) When I wrote him a letter when this was in the house, I got a letter back that specifically address this concern and explained that he very much supports any funding that can be had for bike paths and bike safety.

[breeze]

Done! I hope it makes a difference. I've been involved with some recent campaigns to save public transit funding that have not gone well.

[ZenBiker]

Done, with See Me info added as well. Not very hopeful that it will matter to my particular rep and senators, but worth a try. Thanks for posting this link.

[Koronin]

Just thought you would all like to read the email response I got from one of my Senators on this. This is from Kay Hagan (our Democratic Senator)
Dear Friend,

Thank you for contacting me regarding the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) and certain program set-asides. I greatly appreciate hearing your thoughts on this important issue.

As you may know, this legislation initially eliminated set-asides for several programs I support, including Safe Routes to School and the Recreational Trails Program. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) both introduced amendments to MAP-21 that would designate additional funding for these programs. Ultimately, these amendments were not brought up for a vote, but Senator Cardin's amendment was incorporated into the final bill that passed the Senate.

Overall, MAP-21 largely maintains funding for bicycle and pedestrian safety with a bit of reorganization. I was happy to support this bill because these programs are important to our transportation system, and I support efforts to ensure they receive adequate funding.