by Dennis Markatos-Soriano
Transportation for America's Lilly Shoup presents the letter of support
DOT policy gets an enthusiastic "Thumbs Up"
DOT Secretary LaHood endorses investing in the East Coast Greenway in his blog today!
Please spread this excellent news far & wide - I paste part of his blog and the url below:
East Coast Greenway support and link to my Op-Ed (which has been published in 10 newspapers so far) in paragraph 4...
http://fastlane.dot.gov/2010/06/dot-bicyclepedestrian-policy-gets-thumbs-up.html
"DOT bicycle-pedestrian policy gets "thumbs up"
What a way to kick-off a weekend. Last Friday dozens of bicyclists rode down to DOT headquarters to present a letter of thanks and support for our recent policy giving bicycles and pedestrians a seat at the transportation table.
The letter was circulated by America Bikes, Safe Routes to School National Partnership, and Transportation for America. And it was signed by over 275 organizations nationwide.
Now, as gratifying as that was, my response was simple: If we're going to be a Department of Transportation with a comprehensive approach, we need to promote biking and walking along with other modes of moving people and goods around.
But--and it's time we were all clear on this point--that does not take away from any other form of transportation.
Look, everyone has his or her own transportation priority. And for some, that transportation priority is tightly connected to earning a living, so the idea that investing in one form of transportation comes at the expense of another is not unimportant. I get that.
But, making walking and biking safer and more accessible is relatively inexpensive. For example, we could upgrade the entire 2,250 mile East Coast Greenway, a network of bike routes stretching all the way from Key West to Maine, for only one-fifth the cost of a single recent I-95 bridge over the Potomac.
We're really talking about a very small sliver of the transportation budget.
When I look around DOT, I see devoted federal workers doing their very best every single day to make all forms transportation in America more effective, more sustainable--and most importantly--safer..."
A big thank-you to Secretary LaHood! Let's keep up this great momentum to achieve a healthy and sustainable America!
-Dennis