Bicycling
Fact Check: Sen. Sessions Gets It Wrong On Bike Paths in His Hometown
Last week, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) told Streetsblog freelancer Alice Ollstein that he had good reason to oppose Transportation Enhancements, the program that funds bicycle and pedestrian facilities.
September 12, 2011
Inhofe Supports Clean Extension, Won’t Vote Against Bike/Ped (This Time)
The Environment and Public Works Committee unanimously agreed this morning to send a four-month extension of the transportation bill to the full Senate. Chair Barbara Boxer (D-CA) emphasized that it wasn’t easy to get consensus on the extension, especially with many members wanting to move forward with the full two-year bill.
September 8, 2011
The Senate’s “Dr. No” Says He’ll Block An Extension Unless Bike/Ped Is Cut
Oklahoma Republican Tom Coburn is known around the Senate as "Dr. No" for his propensity to hold up key legislation, single-handedly, because it contains something not to his liking (or sometimes because he's upset about something else entirely.) On Veterans Day in 2009, he shocked even his GOP colleagues by blocking veterans' benefits because he wanted their cost to be offset. Because of a Senate rule requiring unanimity for certain votes, he alone has been able to block votes on wilderness protections, health care provisions, and disarmament in Uganda.
September 6, 2011
GOP Leader’s Infra “Compromise” Is Just Another Ploy to Kill Bike/Ped
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has put forth an idea that major news outlets are calling an "olive branch" to President Obama on infrastructure funding.
September 6, 2011
Tennessee Mom Threatened With Arrest For Letting Daughter Bike to School
It’s back-to-school time, and along with it, the requisite crackdown over kids getting to school by bike. A few years ago, we highlighted cases from Mississippi to British Columbia where authorities stopped kids from walking alone.
September 1, 2011
SRTS Conference 2011: NYC Student Activist Inspires National Audience
Only two speakers at this week's Safe Routes to School National Conference in Minneapolis earned a standing ovation. For former Minnesota Congressman Jim Oberstar the crowd stood out of honor and gratitude. For Kimberly White, the audience shot out of their seats with sheer awe and inspiration.
August 19, 2011
The Environmental Impact of Your Two-Wheeled Commute
Slate's Brian Palmer wrote in an article this week that he's thinking of switching his commute "from four wheels to two" but he's concerned about the environmental impact of bicycling: specifically, "about all the energy it takes to manufacture and ship a new bicycle." He wants to know how many miles he would "bike the drive" before he's gone "carbon neutral."
August 12, 2011
Michigan Puts Road Engineers on Bikes
Do you ever feel like traffic engineers just don't get it? That there is a hopeless disconnect between the world of sustainable transportation and the world of "level of service" and "vehicle throughput?"
August 12, 2011
Bike League: “Eligibility” for Bike-Ped Isn’t the Same As “Dedicated Funding”
At this point, we’re not expecting any movement on a transportation bill, in either house, before the August recess. (After that, get ready for a panicked frenzy of activity ahead of the September 30 deadline.)
July 27, 2011
Boxer Confirms Bike-Ped Funding, Gang of Six Loves infrastructure Spending
At today’s hearing, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee celebrated the bipartisan consensus it has reached on a new transportation reauthorization – but details of that consensus are still not public. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) did confirm that dedicated federal funding for bicycle and pedestrian programs remains in the bill. Addressing LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa:
July 21, 2011