This is some awesome time to be in advocacy – with all the Health Reform and economic issues, there are so many lobbyists in Washington DC – its hard to get a word in edgewise! The fact that we are able to make bicyclists’ presence known, and have their attention is huge. Mike Doyle (Rep. 14th District- PA) is 100% behind the cycling issues, which is great for central Pittsburgh. There’s still time to show your support, by sending a letter to your congressman. Tim Murphy (18th district) really wants to hear your support on these issues, and could use a little convincing that **there are REAL people, that vote in his district, who want this**, in order to adopt these Acts. All in all, that is the general gist of this experience I got from my experience. Tim Murphy (Rep. 18th District -PA) is on the fence, and anything you can do to get the word out, will go towards helping us all with bicycle access. I’ve tailored some of my notes towards cyclists’ interests below:
HR 4722: Active Community Transportation Act (connections to parks, regional networks; pairing recreation and transportation to leverage support for all modes of transportation; walking, cycling -mtb and road- and transit)
HR 3734: Urban Revitalization and Livable Communities Act (develops and provides funding for new recreational facilities like pump tracks, jump parks in urban areas, providing outdoor experience to those within an urban area)
HR 4021: Safe Routes to Schools Act (expansion from previous SR2S Act to include Safe Routes to High Schools, who can say no to that?): http://www.saferoutespartnership.org/national
S. 2747 and in H.R. 3534: Land and Water Conservation Fund (basically releases funds already approved, and appropriates the FULL amount to environmental restoration efforts, which we have a lot of in Pittsburgh) http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h3534/blogs
Thanks to Dirt Rag and Bike Pittsburgh for cutting my teeth.

4/14/10: Ray LaHood, Transportation Secretary, thinks bikes are the answer to many of the National transportation issues, and the Obama administration follows suit.



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