Will deliver the message: We bike. We vote.

Every March since our inception ten years ago, representatives from Bike Pittsburgh have attended the National Bike Summit in Washington DC to attend bicycle advocacy workshops, network with fellow advocates and agency staff, and educate our elected leaders on why it’s in the national interest and their district’s interest to invest in better bicycling.

This year is different, though. Never before has biking & walking been under such unrelenting attack from congress. For some reason (despite biking being universally loved), the House majority (with a few notable exceptions) has been especially tenacious in their attempts to defund biking & walking programs by putting forth bills and amendments that eliminate necessary funding programs like Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to School. The popular Recreational Trails Program as even been a target. This could set our movement back 20 years. Doubtless, this is the reason behind an anticipated record-setting crowd of nearly 1000 attendees at the Summit this year.

Thus far, with advocacy from BikePGH, our national partners, and you, the voters, we’ve been able to save cycling. But the battle is not yet won. Even though the Senate passed a transportation bill that includes money for biking & walking projects by an overwhelming 77-23 bipartisan majority, the leadership in the House is still looking to put forth their own bill eliminating funding for biking & walking. That’s right, the two-year bill from the Senate side doesn’t sit well with the majority leaders in the House so as of today they’re not taking it up. Hopefully we can convince them otherwise this week. We’re hoping to 1. get the majority of congressmen and women to back a clean extension of the current transportation bill at current funding levels, and 2. support the Petri/Johnson Amendment to HR 7, the House Transportation Bill, that devolves transportation funding decisions even further to the local level.

During our week in Washington, we’ll be tweeting it up from the workshops and our meetings with elected officials. Our goal is for you to understand what’s going on, but not to bore you to death with minutia and jargon. We know that transportation bill stuff gets complicated and difficult-to-follow fast. Just please understand that this week in Washington is incredibly important for the future of the bicycling advocacy movement in the US. And we’re there giving bicycling and walking in Greater Pittsburgh a voice.

If you’re not already a member, please become one. If you’re already one, please donate something extra to support this work.

Not a member of BikePGH? Become one today! We need you! Bike Pittsburgh works to protect bicyclists’ rights and promote the vision of making Pittsburgh a truly safe, inviting place ride. For more info, visit: www.bike-pgh.org/membership or to donate over and above membership click here.