Action Alert: Ask Congress to support the Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Act

A bill has been introduced in Congress to improve bike/ped safety.  Please ask our congressional delegation to support the Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Act!

This year has been a particularly deadly one for pedestrians and cyclists in Lee County, with pedestrian deaths increasing daily at an alarming rate.  So far in 2013, there have been 20 men and women killed while walking on our streets, along with 3 cyclists killed--the deadliest year since 2007.  (See BWL's recent blog story on rising pedestrian and cyclist fatalities.)

Clearly, more needs to be done at all levels of government to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists.

Last week, a coalition of bi­partisan House lawmakers introduced the Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Act, which will require the U.S. Department of Transportation to set specific safety targets for all
roadway users ­­ not just motorists, but pedestrians and bicyclists, too.

The legislation gives US DOT the flexibility to determine the best method to meet these safety
measures, and calls on our leaders to reduce the number of people biking and walking who are killed
or injured on our streets every year.

A simple safety measure, this bill says clearly that the lives of all roadway users are important and creates accountability toward ending needless deaths.

​Without a specific performance measure to focus on nonmotorized safety, bicyclists and pedestrians will remain firmly in the blindspot of traffic safety.

The United States should have a national goal to reduce the number of bicyclists and pedestrians killed on our roadways.

Please ask Senators Nelson and Rubio and Representative Radel to co-sponsor HR 3494/S 1708 to institute a nonmotorized safety performance measure.

The League of American Bicyclists (one of BikeWalkLee's national partners), has made it easy to take action. Click here to take action today--it only takes 30 seconds. Thanks! 

BikeWalkLee sends questionnaire to candidates for U.S. Congress

 BikeWalkLee has invited candidates for U.S. Congress to respond to our questionnaire, with questions focused on reforming our transportation system, support for dedicated bike/ped funding, complete streets, and transit.

Excerpts from 6/15/12 BikeWalkLee Letter to US Congress candidates representing Lee County:

Over the past three years, our local officials have adopted complete streets policies and demonstrated their commitment to a balanced multi-modal transportation system.  However, leadership from the U.S. Congress has been sorely lacking.  Congress has been unable to pass legislation that would create a 21st century transportation system that meets the needs of all users, fits the needs of today, and ensures the economic competitiveness of this country.  The current authorization for our national transpiration programs expired in 2009. 

It is important to BikeWalkLee to elect representatives to Congress who are committed to making this a 21st Century transportation system a priority and who support our values and vision; therefore, we are asking all candidates for U.S. Senate in Florida and House District 19 to respond to the attached questionnaire.  We plan to post your responses on our website and blog and share with our network of 1,000 advocates and supporters. 

Click here to read the questionnaire.

Senator Nelson responds to BikeWalkLee letter in support of bike/ped programs

June 12, 2012     Senator Nelson responds to our message yesterday in support of the bike/ped provisions in the Senate transportation bill.  It's great to see our Senate conferee fighting to keep complete streets and bike/ped funding in the final transportation bill. Dear Ms. Letourneau:      Thank you for contacting me regarding funding of transportation enhancements, like bike trails and walking paths, in the highway bill. The Senate's version of the highway bill gives local governments better access to funding for projects that they identify as important to their communities. The Senate and House have appointed members to the conference committee for the highway bill, and work has begun to find a compromise between the House and Senate versions of the legislation. I am a cosponsor of  Safe and Complete Streets (S. 1056) and have continually voted to prevent efforts to strip funding for transportation enhancements. Many of Florida's roads are not designed to accommodate pedestrian and bicycle traffic.  This has become more evident as the price of gas continues to rise and more people begin to use alternate forms of transportation.  I believe we need to make our streets more accessible to all kinds of traffic so that folks have safe options to get around without using a car.  Not only does this help people save money on gas, it's also better for the environment, and it encourages daily physical activity, such as walking and biking. I am serving on the conference committee for the highway bill, and I will keep your views in mind as we work toward a compromise. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future.                                    Sincerely,                                    Bill Nelson

Action Alert: Deja Vu: House Aims to Eliminate Local Funds for Biking and Walking

Take Action! Ask Senators Nelson and Rubio, and Rep. Mack to Protect local funding for biking and walking in the Transportation Bill The U.S. House and Senate are negotiating right now to produce a final federal transportation bill and 20 years of gains on biking, walking and Safe Routes to School could be eliminated. Only a strong show of support from people like you can make sure this doesn’t happen. Please act TODAY to protect federal funding for local biking and walking. In March, the Senate passed a bill with bipartisan support that included the Cardin-Cochran agreement, which allows local governments and school systems to access much-needed funds to for biking and walking projects and programs. But 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 the House gets its way, your local governments won’t have access to funds to build the sidewalks, bike lanes and bikeways that make streets safer for all of us. We can’t let Congress eliminate local control. We need the Senate conferees to stand strong behind their bi-partisan, bike-friendly agreement, and the House to stand down from their attempt to eliminate local access to these federal funds. Please act now, even if you have taken action on this issue already.  Fill in your zip code, below, or, if you're seeing this in an email, click here to go to our action center. It only takes 30 seconds!  Thanks for your help.

Action Alert: Tell our congressional delegation to preserve Senate provisions on bike/ped funding

 The ongoing saga of the federal transportation bill continues in Congress, with the House and Senate conference committee meeting to try to come up with a reauthorization bill before the current extension expires June 30th.  Once again, the provisions that provide funding for local bike/ped facilities are under attack and we need you to take 60 seconds to tell Senators Nelson, Rubio, and Rep. Mack that these provisions are important to us in Lee County.  Thanks!

As the House and Senate negotiations continue, we need you to help defend a crucial provision in the Senate bill that is under attack. 

Known as the Cardin-Cochran amendment, it would help our cities and towns revitalize Main streets, improve public health, and make streets safer for everyone who uses them. It does that by giving them the ability to make choices about how transportation dollars are spent in their communities. 

Can you take just a minute to tell your senators and representative to preserve and defend the Cardin-Cochran amendment?

Many of you wrote your senators about this amendment back in February, resulting in a huge victory when it won bipartisan support and was included in the Senate bill. But it’s under attack right now and could be scrapped as the House and Senate negotiate a final transportation bill if we don’t fight for it. Today.

If this important provision isn’t included in the final transportation bill, Congress would take transportation choices away from local governments and give the state sole power over them.

Senators already recognized that they should give control and choice back to local governments to invest in the smaller projects in their communities that revitalize their communities while building out a full transportation network that is safe for everyone. 

These issues are being decided this week in the conference negotiations. So please tell your Senator and representative to preserve the Cardin-Cochran provision.

Action Alert:Window closing fast on the final transportation bill — call your reps

A small group of House and Senate leaders are still negotiating the final transportation bill right now. The window is closing fast on our last real chance to impact the final bill.

It’s all in their hands whether or not the bill preserves local communities’ access to funds that can make walking and biking safer, prioritizes repair of our roads and bridges,and helps struggling transit agencies keep buses and trains rolling along, and we need your help.

Today, we’re joining with numerous other organizations from across the country to call congressional offices and make our priorities clear in these last few days to impact the transportation bill’s final outcome.

Can you take a moment to call Senator Nelson (202-224-5274), Senator Rubio (202-224-3041), and Rep. Connie Mack (202-225-2536) and let them know that the conference committee must preserve the strong, bipartisan provisions contained in the Senate’s transportation bill MAP-21?

For more background information, see T4-America's "Five things the final House/Senate transportation bill should do."

Thank you! 

BikeWalkLee sends letter to Florida conferees for federal transportation bill

BikeWalkLee sent a letter today to the Florida members of Congress who are on the conference committee for the transportation authorization bill, urging them to craft a final bill that follows the template of the Senate-passed bipartisan bill. Below are excerpts.

May 9, 2012

Dear Senator Nelson,

BikeWalkLee is a citizen-based community coalition in Lee County, Florida, that works to raise public awareness and advocate for complete streets and a balanced multi-modal transportation system.  We are writing to urge you, as a conferee on the transportation bill,  to fight for a final bill that follows the template of the Senate-passed bipartisan MAP-21 legislation.

Lee County elected officials, both at the Metropolitan Planning Organization and Board of County Commissioners, have shown strong support for a more balanced multi-modal transportation system and one that ensures that our roads are safe and accessible for all road users.  BikeWalkLee, as well as our elected officials, have written you several times in the past year about this bill, and have also written commentaries in the local papers about the importance to our community of congressional action on this legislation.  I have attached an excellent March 21st op ed by Lee County Commissioner, Ray Judah, outlining why the Senate transportation bill is supported in our community.

 ........

Specifically, we urge you to include provisions in the conference agreement that represent significant reforms and were the result of a carefully crafted bipartisan compromise in the Senate’s MAP-21 bill. These provisions have bipartisan and bicameral support:

(1) Provide local access to funding for community-based transportation initiatives.  Members in both chambers agree that local leaders – who know the transportation, safety, and economic development needs of their constituents – should have more direct control over funds and projects in their communities. MAP-21 contains provisions that will empower local governments to program funds for projects that help revitalize main streets and improve safety and access for everyone, whether traveling by car, transit, bicycle, or foot. MAP-21 helps local communities build out a full transportation network under the “Additional Activities” program by sub-allocating funds to larger regions and offering competitive grants for others. Empowering local communities to program their tax dollars can help renew economic vitality, make areas more attractive for businesses, residents, and private investment while improving health and safety for everyone.

Having safe places to walk and bike is particularly important for Florida because our state is the most dangerous state in the nation for pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities.  The citizens of Lee County as well as our elected officials strongly support investments in walking and biking facilities and providing local control over these funds needs to be protected in conference.  It is also important to protect the "Safe Streets" policy in the Senate bill, that will require federally funded road projects in Florida to meet federal standards for safely accommodating all road users.  We know the importance of Lee County's complete streets policy and welcome a federal policy that complements and enhances our local efforts.

Today's release by America Bikes of the findings of a recent Princeton survey are a clear message to Congress--more than 80 percent of Americans favor maintaining or increasing federal funding for sidewalks and bike lanes.  The results show that Republicans, Democrats, residents in every region of the country, and every age group strongly support these investments.  Americans want safe places to bike and walk and the bill coming out of this conference needs to respond to the desires of American citizens.

Click here to read the full letter.