Bicycling is an important factor in less carbon-intensive commuting

Obama’s Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood (right), addressed the National Bike Summit in March ’09

Obama’s Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, wrote a great piece on cycling and transportation today in his unfortunately named blog, Welcome to the Fast Lane.  The article is full of gems, and it seems he “gets it,” so to speak.  I’ll post some of the highlights, but you should really read the full post.  If this is the future of transportation, it looks like it’s going to be a great future for cycling.   It’s our collective job to hold their feet to the fire and make sure they stick to their words, and more importantly, that our local leaders also are speaking this same language and putting livable streets initiatives into practice.

Bike-friendly development also has the potential to contribute significantly to the revitalization of downtown districts and offer an alternative to sprawl and automobile-focused commuting. -Sec. of Transportation, Ray LaHood

Bike Pittsburgh sends out frequent Action Alerts to rally the masses to contact people about issues.  But there is no reason to wait for us to tell you to do so!   Is there a place that you go that doesn’t have a bike rack?  Contact the building manager and ask them to put one in! A stretch of road that seems especially dangerous?  Call your Council person! Sometimes this does feel a bit tedious, but it really helps.  Many times the building manager simply never thought about it.  There’s lots of good advice in our “Become an Advocate” section to get you started.

According to LaHood, “a number of funding opportunities exist, but cycling advocates must get their cities and states to request funds for these purposes.”  This is a great opportunity to write your congressperson and Senator about these issues.  We just went to Washington DC to lobby Congress about many of these funding opportunities, so make sure to read that article and write your elected officials about the Complete Streets Act and CLEAN-TEA.

It’s more important than ever for us to contact planners, elected officials, and departments of transportation about cycling.  Let’s not lose this opportunity.