Saturday, September 17, 2011

U.S. Bike/Pedestrian Funding is preserved in last minute Senate deal

Hopefully everyone has been riding their bikes and enjoying the great weather lately!

Some of you may or may not of been aware of Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn's amendment to eliminate bike and pedestrian funding from the Transportation Enhancements Program.

The funds are used to create more bike lanes, widen rural roads, recreational trails, safer routes to schools, and overall add accessibility and safety to bicyclists. These are all good investments that pay off in the long run and it is hard for me to understand why people choose to oppose it. As a fellow Oklahoman and bike rider I am upset to say the least that my own Senator spent time and effort to eliminate essential bike funding. Glad I didn't vote for him and maybe he should spend a few hours on a bike so he can see for himself how the funding is used and/or should be used.

But after a few thousand phone calls and emails from citizens the U.S. Senate forced Senator Coburn to withdraw his proposal yesterday and as a result, funding has been extended for all federal transportation programs to March 31, 2012. A big win for bikes!

However, Senator Coburn has been at this since 2009 and will not stop, so you can be sure I will be sending him a detailed letter soon about the importance of bicycle infrastructure in Oklahoma and in the United States.

Remember bike riding is fun and always should be! But there are people out there who don't like bikes and actively work against them.

Don't let them get in your way.

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