DOT Secy Wants “Sustained Engagement” from Bike Advocates

OK, so we still really don’t like the name of the DOT Secretary’s blog, The Fast Lane. (Not to mention the design — could someone do something about those graphics, please?) But more and more, we like what we’re reading there. Like yesterday’s post, titled “Bicycling Is an Important Factor in Less Carbon-Intensive Commuting,” in which Secretary LaHood discusses funding opportunities for bicycling infrastructure in the stimulus bill and beyond:

In Silicon Valley, the future is now: this new bike and pedestrian bridge is now open. Photo courtesy of LERA.

When I told the League of American Bicyclists National Bike Summit that “Cyclists are important users of America’s transportation systems,” I meant it. And, when I wrote that “With DOT, bicyclists have a full partner in working toward livable communities,” I meant that as well. President Obama has challenged us to transform the way transportation serves the American people by creating more choices and encouraging less carbon-intensive transportation, and we are working hard on that challenge.

The upcoming reauthorization of DOT’s surface transportation programs provides an opportunity for us to feature bicycling as part of a new American mobility within livable communities. As I said today in testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, this includes fostering communities where bicyclists feel both safe and welcome on the roadways. Bike-friendly development also has the potential to contribute significantly to the revitalization of downtown districts and offer an alternative to sprawl and automobile-focused commuting.

Earth Day is today, but we’ll need the sustained engagement of bicycle commuters and their advocates in the weeks and months to come to help keep the wheels of bicycle-friendly legislation on the road.

Hear that, folks?

The member blogs of the Streetsblog Network know all about sustained engagement. Today, we’re featuring a post from Transbay Blog on some new bike infrastructure in Silicon Valley, the result of years of advocacy and commitment:

Two new bridges at Borregas Avenue in Sunnyvale, crossing over both Highway 237 and Highway 101, have finally opened,
and they will allow an anticipated 2,000 daily bicyclists and pedestrians to cross over the freeway instead of traveling a couple miles out of their way to the nearest through street. …The Borregas corridor and Mary Avenue bridges are just two components of VTA’s rather extensive
25-year Bicycle Expenditure Plan, which represents a considerable investment in livable streets improvements scattered throughout Santa Clara County. Yours truly may prefer walking and transit over bicycling, but we nonetheless look forward to the day when San Francisco’s Bicycle Plan will have completed its wandering journey through environmental review — so that new bicycle infrastructure in San Francisco can catch up to these improvements in the South Bay.

Plus: Pedestrianist passes along word of a road-striping experiment to slow traffic in Virginia, and Orphan Road pleads for some common-sense transit-oriented development in Seattle.