Congressmen Attack Walkers, Bicyclists and People Without Cars

Repost from walkroll.com:

Congressmen Attack Walkers, Bicyclists and People Without Cars

On March 12, the US Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a speech:

Where I’ve been in America I’ve been very proud to talk about the fact that people do want alternatives. They want out of their cars; they want out of congestion; they want to live in livable neighborhoods. This is the end of favoring motorized transportation at the expense of non-motorized. We are integrating the needs of bicyclists in federally-funded road projects. We are discouraging transportation investments that negatively affect cyclists and pedestrians. And we are encouraging investments that provide facilities for bicyclists and pedestrians of all ages and abilities.


On March 17, at a meeting of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development:

Ohio congressman Steve LaTourette suggested LaHood was on drugs, dismissed the very idea of bike lanes and derided any change from a car-dependent society. He suggested that environmental sustainability projects have "stolen" $300 million from other programs and attacked LaHood's encouragement of bicycling.

Iowa congressman Tom Latham said that one biker is one less person paying into the transportation trust fund and said real transportation needs are being "swept aside."

These two elected officials are extremely important because they are on the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development committee and they decide where billions of tax dollars are spent. Tell the congressmen what you think of their comments. Their staff keep a tally of phone calls, so each call is important and will only take a minute out of your day.

LaTourette DC office: 202-225-5731
LaTourette Painesville office: 440-352-3939
LaTourette Twinsburg office: 330-425-9291

Latham DC office: 866-428-5642

Full report of LaTourette and Latham's comments here.

Full report of Secretary LaHood's comments here



In addition to the above two attacks:

- Missouri Senator Bond asked Secretary LaHood, "When did it become the responsibility of the federal DOT to build sidewalks?"

- Oklahoma Senator Inhofe criticized a draft bill as having "focused very heavily on transit, bike paths, and sidewalks."

- Alaska Senator Begich and South Dakota Senator Thune questioned whether livability is applicable in rural areas.

- Arizona Senator McCain introduced an amendment to a FAA bill that would strip funding for bicycle parking facilities

To find contact information for these and for your elected officials, go to VoteSmart. Make your opinions heard and help build a better America.