Bloviations

On Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 10am the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation will be considering House Concurrent Resolution 305 (Recognizing the importance of bicycling in transportation and recreation).

Follow the jump for more information and what you, yes YOU, can do.

I’ll grant you that this legislation doesn’t necessarily do anything. It does, however, suggest a whole bunch of stuff for government to do:

(A) establish national target levels for increased bicycle use, reduce the number of motor vehicle miles traveled (VMT), improve bicycle safety to be achieved within a specific timeframe, and collect data needed to monitor progress;

(B) increase intermodal travel between public transportation and bicycles;

(C) provide incentives for State and local governments to adopt and implement complete street policies designed to accommodate all users, including motorists, pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders, and people of all ages and abilities;

(D) encourage bicycle use in communities where significant segments of the population do not drive and where short trips are most common;

(E) expand funding for core Federal transportation programs that support non-motorized infrastructure, education, and encouragement programs by–

(i) safeguarding existing funding sources for nonmotorized transportation from inequitable treatment in the Federal transportation funds rescission process;

(ii) supporting funding for core Federal transportation programs that support nonmotorized travel, including transportation enhancements, safe routes to school, and recreational trails; and

(iii) ensuring that highway safety improvement program funds are spent in proportion to the percentage of bicyclist and pedestrian fatalities in each State;

(F) facilitate the development of a coordinated system of United States bicycle routes across the country that cross state borders and connect metropolitan regions;

(G) create bicycle-friendly Federal land protection legislation, such as national recreation areas, to encourage regulations and management practices for mountain biking as an environmentally friendly nonmotorized use of natural surface trails;

(H) provide flexibility in Federal transportation law that would speed up the delivery of nonmotorized infrastructure without sacrificing necessary environmental protections;

(I) provide Federal tax or funding incentives to–

(i) States that adopt motor vehicle laws that protect the rights of bicyclists to share the road;

(ii) businesses that expand bicycle-friendly programs for their employees;

(iii) the health care industry to develop more member discount programs, that target increased physical activity such as bicycling and walking; and

(iv) provide bicycle commuters the transportation fringe benefits currently provided to people who commute by car or mass transit; and

(J) build upon the `Green the Capitol Initiative’ as a model, create and provide an environmentally sustainable and healthy working environment for employees that includes the promotion of bicycling as a transportation alternative;

(3) encourages the Department of Transportation to provide leadership and coordination by reestablishing the Federal bicycle task force to include representatives from all relevant Federal agencies.

The items in bold are pretty darned important, especially if the responsible agencies take them for action. Providing incentives and funding for state and local governments to provide better infrastructure will help governments which are already vastly over-burdened. Urging the Department of Transportation to expand programs related to bicycling and intermodal transportation will provide leadership that’s been sorely lacking in that department under the helm of Secretary Mary Peters.

So, by now you’re saying to yourself

Self, this is a really good idea and I want to show my support!

Well, here’s what you can do:

1. Contact your Senator to express your support and urge theirs.
2. Contact the members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation to express your support.
3. Write letters to the editors of your local newspapers to express your support.
4. If you blog or post on Internet message forums, spread the word.
5. Encourage your friends and family to do all that stuff too.

So, help us all out and call, write, email and fax your Senators. And Senators that aren’t yours, just for good measure. And get your friends to help. And spread the word!