Home for the Holidays? Take a few minutes (we know you have it) and fill out some online polls, petitions and emails
Whether you think online activism works or not, remember, it can’t hurt and lets decision makers know that there are people paying attention. The movements to create better transportation, smart growth, and streets for people don’t have the high paid lobbyists that the automotive, highway, and sprawl industries have. But one thing that we do have is YOU – a grassroots network of people passionate about increasing transportation choices and designing cities for the movement and safety of people, and not just automobiles.
Below is a small list of polls, letters, and petitions that you can fill out to help push the people powered movement. A couple are from us, but most are campaigns that caught our eye from partner organizations pushing this agenda on the national level.
Best of Pittsburgh Cycling
Fill out our year end poll! We’d love to hear what matters to you, Pittsburgh Cyclists. Please have responses in by December 31, 2009. We’ll publish the results in early January.
Fill out the survey and win stuff! You’ll be entered into a drawing to win the BikePGH Gear Pack: A waterbottle, T-shirt, and full set of our brand new stickers – a $25 value.
Bike Parking Ordinance – City of Pittsburgh
A project that we’ve been working on for a long time is in the final stages – and we need City Council to vote YES. This is an amendment to the City’s Zoning code that would require all new and “change in use” buildings to install bicycle parking equal to or better than car parking. This “fix-it-first” type of policy will significantly increase the amount of secure bicycle parking in the City – a true green initiative.
Council is due to vote on it in the coming weeks.
Let them know how important it is!
Kill the Bill! State reps want to pass a nonsensical anti-bicycle bill
Our partners at PA Walks and Bikes, the statewide bicycling and walking advocates, are calling on people to contact Pennsylvania State Representatives to kill the bill that will kill cycling in Philly – and eventually even Pittsburgh!
In the course of a month, Philadelphia had two terrible crashes where, in separate incidents, a bicyclist hit a pedestrian who later died. This is a terrible tragedy, but some knee-jerk Philly representatives want to create new laws to make sure that bicyclists are “subject to safety and traffic regulations” – even though there are already laws on the books that regulate our behavior. Basically, it would require bicyclists to follow the same rules of the road as motorcycles, meaning that riding in bike lanes, without mirrors, or without a special license would be illegal. These lawmakers obviously aren’t familiar with the laws, and this kind of anti-bike legislation could set a terrible precedent.
Call for Big, Bold Change in the Federal Transportation Bill
Every six years, Congress sets the country’s transportation and infrastructure priorities—allocating hundreds of billions of dollars for projects that shape our communities for generations.
This year’s reauthorization of the federal transportation bill is our country’s best chance to create a system where cyclists and pedestrians are safe, trains are faster and run cleaner, public transportation is widely available and efficient, roads and bridges are in good repair, and Americans everywhere benefit from a smarter network of transportation alternatives.
The Complete Streets Coalition needs you to ask your member of Congress to Complete America’s Streets
Millions of Americans are walking and bicycling and catching the bus along roads that are not properly designed – most everyone has seen the pathways tramped in the grass alongside a major roadway. This is a problem on many levels, making our streets more dangerous and encouraging more people to drive everywhere—which means more congestion and more pollution and more hard earned money going to fill up the gas tank, among other problems.
We know how to design roads that are safe for everyone – but in most places this is only done for ‘special’ projects. This needs to change. A federal complete streets policy would result in better roads getting built around the country – and better use of the billions of dollars invested every year in building and maintaining roads.
Make them safe for people of all ages and abilities–whether walking, biking, taking transit or driving.
Contact your congressperson today!
High Speed Rail, Climate Action, transpo funding – Smart Growth America covers a bunch of topics
Smart Growth America is a coalition of national, state and local organizations working to improve the ways we plan and build the towns, cities and metro areas we call home. The coalition includes many of the best-known national organizations advocating on behalf of historic preservation, the environment, farmland and open space preservation, neighborhood revitalization and more.
Check out their various campaigns
The League of American Bicyclists want you to help Shape Healthy People 2020
Healthy People Objectives are issued every 10 years by the US Department of Health and Human Services. Since 1979, Healthy People has set and monitored national health objectives to meet a broad range of health needs, encourage collaborations across sectors, guide individuals toward making informed health decisions, and measure the impact of our prevention activity. Now they want your feedback on the proposed objectives for Healthy People 2020. Several objectives pertain to bike/ped. Comments are due on objectives by December 31, 2009. It’s extremely informal and easy. Browse topic areas or search by topic. Comment today!
Key Objectives
*Environmental Health section, objectives 9, 19, and 25
*Injury and Violence Prevention objectives 6, 7, 24 and 25
*Physical Activity and Fitness objectives 10 and 11
A call for Open Data in public transit to push innovative technology
Call on the Port Authority to make their public transit data public! Open data allows for technological innovation, often for free, so that it will be easier for you to access and figure out transit options.
Tell the Port Authority today!
Not a member of Bike Pittsburgh? Join today! We need you to add your voice! Bike Pittsburgh works to protect cyclist’s rights and promote the vision of making Pittsburgh a safer and more enjoyable place to live and to ride. For more info, check out: www.bike-pgh.org/membership
NEWSLETTER