November 5th, Ride to Defeat ALS

November 6th, Bicycle Bash Festival  (and check out the YouTube video)

November 19th,  Horrible Hundred Expo

On behalf of FBA and all our partners – thanks again!

Regards,
Tim Bustos

Letter from America Bikes:

Thank you for all your help over the last week beating back the Coburn Amendment.  Together the bicycling community generated over 50,000 emails into the Senate – as well as hundreds, maybe even thousands, of calls. We reached every single Senator and created a buzz in the halls of Congress. I heard from several Senate offices stating their support for the clean extension and for Transportation Enhancements. It was clear that, had Senator Coburn offered his amendment on the floor, it would have lost overwhelmingly.

You may read in the news today that Senator Coburn dropped his amendment because he got a promise from Senator Boxer to make Transportation Enhancements optional in the two year bill.  I’ve gotten several emails today asking if we won the battle but lost the war.  No we haven’t.  We have not lost any policy ground- although we may be losing the messaging battle.

Please remember Senator Coburn is the same person who says TE is 10% of Surface Transportation Funds, and suggests that TE funds go mainly to the ‘beautification’ and ‘museum’ uses of Transportation Enhancements. Just because he says there will be an ‘opt-out’ provision for TE in the long term bill doesn’t make it so.

Senator Boxer, Chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee charged with drafting the Transportation bill, has stated that “there is no opt out option” and that there will be dedicated funding.  She has stated there will be reforms to the bill, including to the programs that provide dedicated funding for biking and walking.  There may not even be a program called ‘Transportation Enhancements’ in the new bill- but she has promised there will be dedicated funding.

She also said that if its controversial there should be a vote.  We should consider ourselves on notice that we will need to defend dedicated funding for biking and walking in six months when this extension expires.  And we will need to be able to get 60 votes in order to overcome a filibuster.  The push we did this week helps in building that support but we will need to continue building relationships in order to bring swing Senators to our side.  The Bike Summit will be critical in this fight.

Over the next week or so we will be thanking our Senate Champions- Senators Boxer, Reid, Durbin, Schumer  for their leadership in the transportation deal with the House, and many many more who were lined up ready to speak on our behalf had the Senate debated the issue- and we’ll send an update to the partners in DC.

We also want to thank you and promoting the alerts and in the media- and thank all the individuals who called and emailed.  This outreach helped keep Senate leadership strong in defending TE, and helped us educate all Senators. This will help in the next fight.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at 202-215-3908<tel:202-215-3908>  or via email caron@americabikes.org<http://caron@americabikes.org>

Sincerely,
Caron

Caron Whitaker
Campaign Director
America Bikes
1612 K Street, NW Suite 802
Washington, DC 20036
(ph)202-215-3908
(f) 202-223-3181
(e) caron@americabikes.org

When America Bikes, America Benefits

Tim will talk about what is right and wrong with bicycling in Florida and how we can help to make it better.  Sponsored by Green Network Mobility and South Florida Bike Coalition.

Dedicated funding for biking and walking has been cut in the transportation proposal from the U.S. House of Representatives.

John Mica, chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, would eliminate critical Transportation Enhancements, Safe Routes to School and Recreational Trails programs — programs that Mica referred to as “not in the national interest.” Chairman Mica’s statement that these uses remain “eligible” for funding is worthless. Without dedicated funding for these three programs they are effectively eliminated.

Things on the Senate side are not much better. Senator James Inhofe, a lead negotiator in the Senate debate, declared that one of his TOP THREE priorities for the transportation bill is to eliminate ‘frivolous spending for bike trails.’  This is in direct conflict with Senator Barbara Boxer’s commitment to maintain dedicated funding for biking and walking. However, the Senate is working towards a bi-partisan solution – and Senator Inhofe’s comments mean funding for bicycling and pedestrian programs is at risk of total elimination.

We need every single person who simply wants safe options to walk or bicycle to contact their Senators and Representative TODAY!

Thanks to our partners at the League of American Bicyclists, you can direct your members to use the LAB Action Center to send message to their members of Congress.

Not in the National Interest?
Biking and walking make up 12 percent of all trips in the US – even as funding for biking and walking projects only account for 1.5% of the federal transportation budget. That’s more than 4 billion bicycle trips and 40 billion walking trips per year, including trips to work, school, shopping and for recreation and tourism.

Frivolous?
Bicyclists and pedestrians are the victims of reckless highway design, accounting for 14% of all traffic-related deaths. Two-thirds of all pedestrian deaths are on federally funded highways. Bicycling and walking programs build sidewalks, crosswalks and bikeways, improving accessibility and saving lives.

The Facts
Biking and walking are important forms of transportation, and dedicated funding for bicycle and pedestrian improvements is a very efficient use of federal transportation dollars.  Portland, Oregon built a 300-mile network of bike lanes, multi-use trails, and bike boulevards for the cost of one mile of highway.

These projects also create jobs, and build local economies. Building bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure creates 46% more jobs than building road-only projects per million dollars spent. Cities that invest in bicycle and pedestrian projects turn downtowns into destinations, and capitalize on increased business activity.

Finally, shifting 1.5% of transportation spending has no impact on the federal budget, but instead, decreases transportation options for American families in a time of rising gas prices and an uncertain economy.

Help Protect Transportation Enhancements, Safe Routes to School and Recreational Trails. Contact your Representative and Senators, and tell them to reach out to Senators Inhofe, Boxer, and Congressman Mica to urge them to continue dedicated funding for these important biking and walking programs.  We need every Senator and every Representative to speak out for walking and biking.

Why Now?
Both the House and Senate long-term transportation bills are being written as we speak. We still have a chance of influencing the outcomes. Let’s make sure that dedicated funding for biking and walking programs don’t disappear for many years.

Your Next Steps
Use the LAB Action Center  to send a message to your members of Congress.

We appreciate your efforts to help all of us maintain these important programs.

It’s simple, if you can’t attend the summit, we ask that you still register as a means of tracking where cycling constituents are and which legislators we will visit on your behalf.  That’s right, we will stop by your legislator’s office on your behalf, but you have to register.  Registration is easy and only takes a few minutes, but it will give FBA a better number count of who we are representing.  Of course, you are welcome to join us in Tallahassee on March 24th and meet with legislators and have them shake the hand of one who rides a bicycle and cares about the safety of our streets.  If safety in numbers works on a group ride, then it’s time for our numbers to come to Tallahassee as a group and tell law-makers how we feel about riding bicycles in Florida.  The time is March 24th, and all you have to do is register to show it’s worth our time and yours to sponsor the summit and lobby on behalf of Florida cyclists.

Thank you for your time, your continued support, and for registering for the 3rd Annual Florida Bike Summit!

We will give you the tools to use a bike for transportation, without stress or fear, anywhere you choose.

Truth & Techniques of Traffic Cycling (classroom session) will be offered at Metroplan Orlando from 6-9PM on Friday, March 11.

Train Your Bike (bike handling session) will be held at the old Orlando Arena from 8-11 AM on Saturday, March 12.

Tour of Orlando session will begin in Colonialtown (12:30-4PM) Saturday, March 12. (completion of other two sessions is required to take this one).

All day students will ride as a group from the Arena to lunch (Baja Burrito in Colonial Plaza). All group riding is done at a speed that is comfortable for the slowest rider (this is typically about 9-10mph). The Tour class begins at Colonial Plaza and ends back at the Arena. The all day course is a lot of fun for the camaraderie, but it is physically and mentally demanding.

For those wanting single sessions, or to take the course in 3-hour increments, you can sign up for Truth & Techniques or Train Your Bike. Individual sessions are $30 each. A package (all 3 sessions) can be purchased for $75. Package price is valid even if you take the courses on different dates.

To learn more about the course, click here.

Please use this form to register.

Fee: $75 for all three sessions or $30 per session a la carte.

Twenty-five Floridians are visiting Washington, DC, the week of March 7-11 as part of the National Bike Summit.

Members of the delegation will be visiting most if not all Florida congressional offices on Thursday, March 10, 2011, making the case for better, safer bicycling and walking in Florida.

You can help since your message of support to your own members of Congress really multiplies the impact of the delegation’s visit.  It only takes about three minutes.

Click here to look up your members and find their contact information.

Sample message:

Dear Congressman/woman X,

The National Bike Summit is taking place today in Washington and a delegation from Florida will be visiting your office. I hope you’ll take the time to meet with them because bicycling and walking is very important to Florida and to me.

Federal funding for bicycling and walking is a very, very small amount–just 0.03% of the federal budget–but it is very, very important:
- Federally funded roads and highways are among the biggest impediments to bicycling and walking
- Destinations that people want to bicycle and walk to cluster along federally funded roads and highways
- Federally funded roads and highways cut right through every city and town in Florida, and when they are not built to allow people to bicycle or walk along or across them, the result is that entire neighborhoods become unwalkable and unbicycleable.
[Add a sentence or two about why bicycling and/or walking is important to you.]

Sincerely yours,

THANK YOU! When you contact your elected representatives, it really does make a difference!

Thanks also to Kathryn Moore who is leading the Florida Delegation.  Follow her updates HERE.

The month of May is promoted nationally as National Bike Month by the League of American Bicyclists, however, many cities/areas throughout Florida choose to observe Bike Month earlier due to Florida’s warm weather.

For starts, check out the first ever Bike Month celebration in Hernando County. Not quite as big an event that Orlando or Tampa put on, but a start for us.

Steve Diez, FBA Board Treasurer
Hernando County MPO Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator