President Obama has nominated Charlotte
Mayor Anthony Foxx for Secretary of Transportation replacing Ray LaHood who
is great on cycling issues. It appears that Foxx is pretty
good on alternative transportation, Charlotte does have a bike
share program, but we’ll certainly
find out more in the days ahead.
After the fight over Map-21 the issues facing the
transportation infrastructure in this country were kicked down the road (pun intended) rather than leading to any realistic plan. The issues with
transportation funding are just as critical because the road use taxes, i.e.
the gas tax, does not and will
not fund future needs. Congressman Mica’s plan to cut transportation
funding to the level of use tax revenues wasn’t accepted by anyone and it
probably won’t have much traction in the future. The political climate in
Washington isn’t good for any kind of long term planning and I’ll bet Map-21
will just be extended for years as was the previous transportation legislation.
Advocates for walking and biking will continue to work for increased
alternatives whatever the climate for change.