I will try not to bother you too often with things like this,
but I think this is pretty important. On Thursday the House Transportation
Committee is voting on the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act. At
stake are funds dedicated to alternative transportation: bicycling and walking.
Below is a message from Jim Burke, President of TREK Bicycles that sums it up
pretty well. This afternoon I biked out of Ford’s Colony onto the bike lane on
Centerville Rd.. From there I traveled on bike lanes all the way to the Capital
Trail. A short ride on the Trail and I was at the new Powhatan Spur which took
me all the way to
Farm Fresh at Five Forks where I did some shopping. The
entire 16.4 mile trip was made on bike lanes or multi-use paths. This wouldn’t
be possible without the type of funding that is being threatened and which
comprises a miniscule portion of the entire transportation budget. Please make
your voice heard. Contact your congressman.
America
a bicycle friendly country. We’ve made a lot of progress, but we have a long way
to go. Unfortunately, as a movement, we are facing some real challenges in
Washington. Next Thursday, the House Transportation Committee is voting on the
American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act, a bill that eliminates
crucial funding for biking and walking. We stand to lose $1.2 billion
and over 3000 potential bike and pedestrian projects, including Safe Routes to
School programs.
I
need your help to preserve these dedicated biking and walking infrastructure
funds.
What
should you do?
1.
Pick up the phone and contact your elected official. Find their number
here.
2.
Send an email to your elected official. Find
their email here.
3.
Send your customers an email asking them to also contact their
representative.
4.
Ask your fans and followers on Facebook and Twitter to take action.
Your
message can be as simple as this…
My
name is Jim Smith and. I’m contacting you today to asking you to protect the
dedicated pedestrian and bicycle funding in the new American Energy and
Infrastructure Jobs Act.
This
bill is expected to eliminate the two largest programs that fund bicycling and
walking infrastructure—Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to School.
Without these programs, communities in our district and all over the country
will lose access to resources to build the facilities that keep people safe.
Bicycling
and walking are critical to keeping our communities moving with healthy, safe,
and accessible transportation options.
As
a small business owner in your district the success of my business is directly
affected by the quality and the amount of safe bicycle infrastructure.
Biking
and walking make up 12 percent of all trips, but only 1.5 percent of federal
funding.
And
bicycling is good for health and the environment.
Thank
you for your support.
Jim
from Jims Bike Shop
Madison,
WI
A
call will only take five minutes out of your day, but it could be the difference
between no funding and a billion dollars in funding.
When
you call your representative’s office, you will most likely get voicemail or
talk to the representative’s staff member. That is okay. Still leave the
message. Every call counts. It is vital that every Trek Retailer step up and
make a call.
Your
phone call matters. Last year, when the Transportation extension was at risk,
Bikes Belong called upon 20,000 California residents through the
peopleforbikes.org campaign. They were each asked to contact Senator Pelosi and
ask for her support of dedicated bicycle infrastructure funding. Within 48 hours
they had over 2,000 calls to her office. 48 hours later Senator Pelosi called
press conference and publicly announced her support of the bicycle funding. This
new multi-year bill is critical. We need every representative to hear from their
constituents.
After
you call, please send
me a note. I am a firm believer in what gets measured gets done. We
have 1500 Trek retailers across the country. My goal is to get 500 business
owners to make the call by next Tuesday.
Thank
you,
John
Burke
Click
here for more information regarding the American Energy and
Infrastructure Jobs Act.