Bike/Ped

The first shocking thing about Raquel Nelson's conviction for vehicular homicide was simply that it happened at all. After all, the mother of three wasn't even driving a car -- she was crossing a wide street with poor pedestrian infrastructure when her four-year-old son was killed by a hit-and-run driver.

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.)

UPDATE 7/27: Raquel Nelson has, in fact, chosen the option of a new trial.

We've written quite a bit about Raquel Nelson over the past week or so, but now, we'll let her speak for herself. The Today Show devoted an eight-minute segment to her case this morning, including an interview with Raquel.

Last week, we reported on the horrific story of Raquel Nelson, whose four-year-old son was killed as she attempted to cross the street with him to reach their home. Nelson was convicted of reckless conduct, improperly crossing a roadway and second-degree homicide by vehicle -- all for the crime of being a pedestrian in the car-centric Atlanta suburbs. The conviction carried a sentence of up to 36 months. Meanwhile, the driver who killed Nelson's son -- who'd been drinking and using painkillers before getting behind the wheel -- got off with six months on a hit-and-run charge.

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:

We reported yesterday that the outline of the Senate bill appeared not to preserve dedicated funding for bicycle and pedestrian programs. It has come to our attention that the complete draft of the bill will include a hard commitment to bike-ped programs. Senate staff tells us that Sen. Barbara Boxer worked hard and was able to maintain her priorities in the bill, including dedicated federal support for bike infrastructure. More details will come out at tomorrow's hearing on transportation in Boxer's Environment and Public Works Committee, and we look forward to seeing a complete legislative draft soon.

Update 7/20: It has come to our attention that the complete draft of the Senate bill will include a hard commitment to bike-ped programs. Senate staff tells us that Sen. Barbara Boxer worked hard and was able to maintain her priorities in the bill, including dedicated federal support for bike infrastructure. More details will come out at tomorrow’s hearing on transportation in Boxer’s Environment and Public Works Committee, and we look forward to seeing a complete legislative draft soon. The rest of this article was written yesterday, before we received these assurances from staff.