Thanks anyway, but this is exactly the kind of thing bicycling organizations and advocates ought NOT be doing! All you're doing by advocating for this kind of "help" is caving into rich and greedy highway building special interests! By just tossing a few dollars your way, they get you to add grease to the skids of the big spending highway bill, so they can add to the continuing damage they've already done to the American environment, public health and the Earth's climate, by enabling more and more motor vehicle miles driven in the country, and more and more lane miles of concrete and acres of black top pavement, at public taxpayer's expense, all in the name of improving safety. Safety for whom, one might ask?
Most of the $255 billion in this 6-yr reauthorization bill goes to states for highway construction. Nine miles of sidewalks would be funded in Wisconsin with the small change provided in the bill's safe bike to school program, and even that tiny amount is apparently threatened before this bill get funded. I hear there are also some senators, like the senators from Alaska, who are demanding the subsidies for highway building increase by 50% before they will be satisfied with the funding package. I don't suppose American Bikes has much to say about that though. Why can't bicycling and pedestrian organizations be stronger advocates for saving the environment, too? Without a safe and liveable environment to bicycle and walk through, what good are sidewalks and bicycle paths? (No good!) Why don't you folks who take the hard earned money of Wisconsin bicyclists every year support something that wil do them more good, such as the proposal I offered in 1999 and still advocate be done now (in fact, more now than ever)? .. You are on a path to self-destruction -- for all of us -- otherwise. Mike Neuman http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/nov99/hiway30112999a.asp http://www.madison.com/archives/read.php?ref=wsj:1999:12:01:301029:Local/ Wisconsin http://www.beloitdailynews.com/1199/2wis30.htm http://www.jsonline.com/traffic/news/nov99/hiway01113099.asp http://www.madison.com/archives/read.php?ref=tct:1999:12:01:301006:Local/ State http://www.madison.com/archives/read.php?ref=tct:1999:12:07:301728:Editor ial http://www.madison.com/archives/read.php?ref=tct:1999:12:20:303107:Public %20Worker http://www.madison.com/archives/read.php?ref=tct:1999:12:20:303103:Public %20Works http://www.madison.com/archives/read.php?ref=tct:2000:03:20:146097:Public %20Worker Original DNR Proposal for on page 10 of DNR Analysis of State Highway Plan 2020, May 1999: http://danenet.danenet.org/bcp/dnrshp.pdf http://danenet.danenet.org/bcp/shp2020.html http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ClimateArchive/message/229 ------------ In Reply to ----------- > From: "Marjorie Ward, Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin" > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: Wed, 21 Jan 2004 09:04:56 -0600 > > Here is the latest update from Washington on the Federal > Transportation > Bill. America Bikes is the lead organization trying to make sure the > > bill includes funding for bike/ped issues. Please call your > senator's > office and let him/her know that the Safe Routes to School program > is > important. Milwaukee and Dane counties are just beginning their own > safe routes to school programs. > > > 1-20-04 > CALL YOUR SENATORS NOW TO SUPPORT SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL > In early February 2004, the US Senate is scheduled to vote on the > new > transportation bill. The bill currently contains language creating a > > national Safe Routes to School program, providing money to > communities > for > infrastructure and education projects. But there's a move afoot in > the > Senate to strip the program from the bill entirely. > Please call both your US Senators today. Say this: > "Please support Safe Routes to School in SAFETEA, S 1072, and fully > fund > the program at $250 million a year." > The Senate bill calls for only $70 million a year for Safe Routes, > while > the House bill calls for $250 million a year. Under the Senate > funding > level, some states would not receive enough funding to make more > than a > few infrastructure improvements, let alone develop a comprehensive > program. $70 million would build an average of 9 miles of sidewalk > in > each > state. And consider there are 90,000 schools in the US. (You can see > how > little your state would get at > www.americabikes.org/saferoutestoschool.asp, click on "Senate > spending > chart." > S1072, SAFETEA, is the Senate's version of the six year > reauthorization > of > TEA-21. Most of the $255 billion in the bill goes to states for > highway > construction, a bit goes to programs like Transportation > Enhancements. > The > inclusion of a new Safe Routes to School program is an exciting > development, but some who would build only highways are trying to > eliminate it. > The full Senate is currently scheduled to vote on the bill in the > first > week of February. Senators need to hear that their constituents want > > Safe > Routes to School. Call before January 30th, 2004. > America Bikes has a lot of additional information at > http://www.americabikes.org/saferoutestoschool.asp. Click on > "contact > your > legislators" at the top for contact info for your Senators. > Thanks! > > Marjorie S. Ward > Executive Director > Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin > 106 E. Doty Street, Suite 400 > P.O. Box 1224 > Madison, WI 53701-1224 > Phone: 608-251-4456 > Fax: 608-251-4594 > Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Web: www.bfw.org > _________________________________________________________________________ __ ________________________________________________________________ The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
