Congressmen Attack Walkers, Bicyclists and People Without Cars
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Sat March 27 2010
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Posted Mar 28, 2010
- 12,099
On March 12, the US Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said
in a speech:
Where I've been in America I've been very proud to talk about the fact that
people do want alternatives. They want out of their cars; they want out of
congestion; they want to live in livable neighborhoods. This is the end of
favoring motorized transportation at the expense of non-motorized. We are
integrating the needs of bicyclists in federally-funded road projects. We
are discouraging transportation investments that negatively affect cyclists
and pedestrians. And we are encouraging investments that provide facilities
for bicyclists and pedestrians of all ages and abilities.
On March 17, at a meeting of the Appropriations Subcommittee on
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development:
Ohio congressman Steve LaTourette suggested LaHood was on drugs, dismissed
the very idea of bike lanes and derided any change from a car-dependent
society. He suggested that environmental sustainability projects have
"stolen" $300 million from other programs and attacked LaHood's
encouragement of bicycling.
Iowa congressman Tom Latham said that one biker is one less person paying
into the transportation trust fund and said real transportation needs are
being "swept aside."
These two elected officials are extremely important because they are on the
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development committee and they decide
where billions of tax dollars are spent. Tell the congressmen what you think
of their comments.
Their staff keeps a tally of phone calls, so each call is important and will
only take a minute out of your day.
LaTourette DC office: 202-225-5731
LaTourette Painesville office: 440-352-3939
LaTourette Twinsburg office: 330-425-9291
Latham DC office: 866-428-5642
Full report of LaTourette and Latham's comments here.
courthousenews.com
Full report of Secretary LaHood's comments here
fastlane.dot.gov
In addition to the above two attacks:
- Missouri Senator Bond asked Secretary LaHood, "When did it become the
responsibility of the federal DOT to build sidewalks?"
- Oklahoma Senator Inhofe criticized a draft bill as having "focused very
heavily on transit, bike paths, and sidewalks."
- Alaska Senator Begich and South Dakota Senator Thune questioned whether
livability is applicable in rural areas.
- Arizona Senator McCain introduced an amendment to a FAA bill that would
strip funding for bicycle parking facilities
posted Paul Deninger via bikeiowa.org yahoo group