It's so much worse than we thought.

This week, the US House released its transportation bill, the American Energy and Infrastructure Act.   We didn’t think it would go so far as to cut every reference to bicycling and walking out of the federal transportation policy.  See details here.

Please click here to contact Rep. Welch and ask for his help putting walking, biking and other transportation options back in the bill.

House leadership is pressing to eliminate bicycling and walking in the Transportation bill.  The bill would:

• Destroy Transportation Enhancements by making the program optional
• Repeal the Safe Routes to School program, reversing years of progress in creating safe ways for kids to walk and ride bicycles to school
• Allow states to build bridges without safe access for pedestrians and bicycles
• Eliminate support for bicycle and pedestrian coordinators in state DOTs
• Eliminate language that insures that rumble strips “do not adversely affect the safety or mobility of bicyclists, pedestrians or the disabled”

But you can still save biking and walking in this bill by clicking here. This week in the Transportation Committee, Representative Petri (R-WI) will stand up for bicycling and walking by offering an amendment that restores dedicated funding for Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to School.  Mr. Petri can only be successful if everyone with a stake in safe sidewalks, crosswalks, and bikeways contacts their Representative on the Transportation Committee again today to urge them to vote YES on the Petri amendment!

This is as urgent as it gets. Even if we do win this amendment, there will be a long road ahead.  But if we lose here, we risk losing decades of progress.