Sen. Rand Paul (KY) has introduced legislation to ELIMINATE funding for biking and walking to redirect to bridge repair. It is vital that we all let our Senators know that elimination of the already insufficient amount of funding for biking and walking is not the answer to solving our nation's bridge issues. See below call to action from Safe Routes to School National Partnership that summarizes Sen. Paul's amendment and please click on the "contact your Senators today" links to submit a letter to our Senators.
From Safe Routes to School National Partnership:
We need your help! Please contact your Senators today so we can maintain the Transportation Alternatives program and the local control provisions that help build bikeable and walkable cities and towns.
Just last year Congress passed a new transportation bill, MAP-21, that dismantled dedicated funding for biking and walking by combining Transportation Enhancements, Safe Routes to School and Recreational Trails into one program and cutting the funding by 30%. The saving grace was that the bill included a local control provision to ensure that Mayors and communities could access to these dollars to support local transportation priorities.
Now Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky wants to wipe out what’s left.
Senator Paul has introduced an amendment to the Transportation Appropriations bill to prohibit ANY MONEY from being used for Transportation Alternatives, and to redirect that money towards bridge repair.
While we agree that repairing our bridges are important, both for safety and economic development reasons, so are our local economies and the safety of our children. Dedicating the small amount of Transportation Alternatives funding to bridge repair couldn't fix our country's bridges in 50 years. And, taking that small amount of funding away would dangerously undermine efforts in our cities, towns and counties to provide safe and efficient transportation options for everyone, including our children. With rates of bicycling and walking fatalities on the rise, that is a trade we can’t afford to make.
Please contact your Senators and ask them to save Transportation Alternatives by voting NO on amendment 1742.
Thank you so much for your help!
Deb Hubsmith
Safe Routes to School National Partnership
