Join us TODAY for a national call-in day for walking and biking
March 11, 2010By Stephen Lee Davis
| Tell your Rep to support this bill: Make a call |
Monday, we told you about a new bill in Congress from Rep. Earl Blumenauer that would help cities large and small begin to build complete active transportation networks, making it easier and more attractive to get around on foot or on bike, and most importantly, helping stem the tide of the 76,000 preventable pedestrian deaths over the last 15 years. We asked you to send a message to your Representative, and you didn’t disappoint, with thousands of messages going to offices representing districts from coast to coast.
Today, along with numerous other partners like Rails to Trails, League of American Bikers, America Bikes, and America Walks, we’re asking all of our supporters to make a phone call to your Representative to support this new bill — the Active Community Transportation Act.
With the National Bike Summit in town this week, more than 700 advocates for safe walking and biking are visiting the offices of their congressional delegations today, asking them to sponsor this bill and letting them know about all the benefits of making it easier to safely get around on foot or on bike. We want to back them up and have all of our voices heard loud and clear in the halls of Congress today.
Increasing the number of people who can safely walk or bike will reduce congestion, help cut emissions, keep Americans healthier and keep those people out there already walking and biking safe. Let your representative know that you think this bill is a great idea for your community, and for America.
Tell Congress: Get America back on its feet with investment in healthy transportation!
March 8, 2010By Stephen Lee Davis
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| s_walk Originally uploaded by Transportation for America |
In the last 15 years, 76,000 Americans have been killed while walking or simply crossing the street.
But help could be on the way. Rep. Earl Blumenauer introduced a bill last week to create a $2 billion competitive grant program to fund safe networks for biking and walking — giving states and cities the resources they need to start building projects they have waiting in the wings. This week, more than 700 bike advocates are descending on Capitol Hill to drum up strong support for the program while in D.C. for the National Bike Summit.
We need to back them up: Send a letter to your representative urging them to co-sponsor the Active Community Transportation Act (H.R. 4722).
This bill is a no-brainer. It will make America’s roadways safer, create jobs, reduce traffic congestion, cut emissions, and promote healthy living. It even pays for itself — as we make biking and walking safer and more accessible, we save billions of dollars on reduced healthcare, gasoline, and environmental costs.
And if we build it, they will come! Half of all trips taken in the United States could be accomplished with just a 20-minute bike ride, and a quarter are within a 20-minute walk. We need to make it safer and easier to make those trips on bike or foot. Polls have shown that Americans think their cities and communities should be more walkable.
Let’s get America back on its feet! Send a message to your representatives asking them to co-sponsor the Active Community Transportation Act.
Thanks to everyone who has already taken action today, retweeted the email alert, or posted it to Facebook to help us spread the word.
Already asked your rep to support complete streets? Tell some friends to join you
December 3, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
Maybe some people just need a little visual aid to help grasp the devastating toll that our roads have on those who walk them everyday.
400 people are killed in America every single month, just crossing the street, walking from A to B, or riding their bike through town. That’s like two busloads of Americans being killed… every single week.
The worst part is that many of these deaths are preventable. We need to start building roads in a way that works for everyone who uses them – motorists, pedestrians, cyclists, and those with limited mobility. A lot of you have already sent messages to Congress telling them that the time is now to support safer streets for all Americans.
Help us send a message to Secretary LaHood and the USDOT
November 10, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
As our new Dangerous by Design report illustrates, pedestrian safety is a matter of life or death for thousands of Americans each year. With a loss of life equivalent to a jumbo jet going down roughly each month, it is a tragedy that simply does not get enough attention at any level of government. Tragic, because these are preventable deaths, largely on roads that are not safe for walking or biking.
As a follow-up on the release of the report, Transportation for America is working to arrange a meeting with U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, perhaps as soon as next week. At this meeting, we plan to deliver the message from our hundreds of partner organizations and thousands of supporters across the country that safer streets must be a priority!
Sign our petition today and help us send a strong message to the USDOT!
Secretary LaHood has already demonstrated a strong interest in safety with a distracted driving initiative and the creation of a new Safety Council, and we have praised his vocal commitment to livability in our towns and communities. Because the Department of Transportation holds the purse strings, if Secretary LaHood adds Complete Streets to his list of safety priorities, we can ensure that every road project facilitates safe travel for everyone — including vulnerable pedestrians.
So if you have not yet signed the petition, go and sign it now so we can take an enormous stack with names from across the country to Secretary LaHood soon. This is our chance to make a big impression and to let him and the DOT know how many of you care about making our streets safer for everyone.
If you have signed the petition already, be sure to post it to Twitter or Facebook with the links below, or tell a friend about it.
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Post a link to your Facebook profile |
Senate committee boosts funding for clean transportation in the climate bill
October 26, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
| Please thank your senators for moving forward on this landmark bill and ask them to continue to support strong transportation measures in the climate bill. |
The long-awaited allocations in the Senate climate bill were released over the weekend, and the news is good for increasing access to cleaner transportation options. Late Friday evening, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee released the final numbers on where the revenues raised under a cap-and-trade climate bill would be directed.
The Senate nearly triples the funding for clean, sustainable transportation over the House climate bill, which only set aside an optional one percent of funding. (Streetsblog Capitol Hill has some details on the allocations.)
After hearing from advocates and their colleagues in the Senate, the authors of the Senate climate bill agreed to include a higher, guaranteed level of funding (roughly 2.4% over the life of the bill) for clean transportation options, such as public transportation, affordable neighborhoods around transit stops, vanpooling and streets safe for walking and biking.
We want to let the Senate know, especially those committee members, that we appreciate their leadership on this issue and we want them to defend that funding as the bill moves through other Senate committees. There is still a long road ahead for the climate bill and the Senate needs to know you will support their efforts to continue fighting for more money for clean transportation.
Take a moment to thank senators for making clean transportation part of the climate bill — and tell them to defend that money over the coming weeks.
Transportation for America is happy for the strong transportation provisions, but we are not stopping at 2.4%. We’re going to continue asking the Senate to increase that amount as the bill moves forward. It only makes sense — transportation pollution is responsible for nearly one-third of our national greenhouse gas emissions.
We applaud Sen. Barbara Boxer and the rest of the Senate EPW Committee for this strong statement that funding clean transportation options is a vital part of reducing our emissions.
Tell your Senators: Boost funding for clean transportation in the climate bill
October 8, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
Last week, Senators Barbara Boxer and John Kerry unveiled a landmark climate bill that could set us on the path toward cleaner, safer and smarter transportation. But one piece still doesn’t quite add up: the funding.
To truly address climate change, the Senate has to fix the serious funding gap in the House climate bill: The House bill directs only an optional one percent of the money it will raise toward clean transportation options, even though nearly one-third of our CO² emissions come from transportation.
Tell your Senators: You can’t solve 30% of the problem with only 1% of the funding.
Now is the time to make ourselves heard: The Senate climate bill doesn’t contain any funding levels yet, so there is still an opportunity to make sure that it includes enough funding to create cleaner, more affordable transportation options for everyday Americans.
Senators Boxer and Kerry deserve our thanks and support — the bill already makes significant strides toward cleaner transportation. It would direct states and metro areas to make plans to reduce transportation emissions and set targets over the coming decades. These goals are a tremendous — and essential — component of the legislation.
But these targets will be nearly impossible to meet if the bill only provides a miniscule share of its funding for cleaner and more fuel-efficient transportation.
Help make sure we both set meaningful goals AND provide communities with the means to reach them. Tell your Senators to adequately fund clean transportation in the climate bill.
Share this action on Facebook and Twitter with the button below.
Help prevent cuts to high-speed rail funding
September 16, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
UPDATE: Victory! For whatever reason, Sen. Bond decided not to offer his amendment and it will not come to the floor for a vote. Thanks to all of you who took action by writing or calling your Senators.
In the last 24 hours we beat back a dangerous anti-bike/ped amendment from Senator Coburn. Now we hear that Senator Kit Bond of Missouri will make a desperate attempt to cut high-speed rail funding with yet another amendment to the HUD/DOT budget. We need to act fast — the vote is expected today.
We’re watching C-SPAN closely in the T4 America office as the Senate continues deliberating the Transportation and Housing budgets, considering amendments one at a time. The Senate can be a pretty wild place, with amendments popping up unexpectedly and without little notice.
Senate leadership wants to have this budget bill done by the end of the day, so if this amendment reaches the floor, they’ll vote on it today. Take action and tell your Senators to ensure that this vital funding for high speed rail stays intact.
Take Action: Senators want to slash transit funding
September 15, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
As you may have read on Streetsblog yesterday, Senator John McCain has just proposed 20 amendments to a transportation funding bill that have one common theme: Breaking a federal promise to fund long-planned public transportation projects.
As one news report said, “McCain’s targets range from a light rail project in Sacramento, California to a bus-rapid-transit system in Washington state to a rail extension linking Washington, D.C. to Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia.” Other projects, both urban and rural, would be cut in Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Michigan, North Carolina, and Utah.
Aside from one small, token bridge project, McCain’s hit list would leave billions in highway earmarks alone.
Senators are expected to vote TODAY on these amendments: Please write your senators now and tell them to vote NO on this assault on clean, oil-saving transportation projects – and to encourage their colleagues to do the same.
And that’s not the only threat.
Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma has proposed seven additional amendments to block the Department of Transportation from spending any money on clean transportation. Sen. Coburn would completely bar communities from using their federal funding to support bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.
We have to stop this today: Tell your senators to vote against the McCain and Coburn amendments and stop this assault on communities that are building a transportation network for this century, rather than the last one.
Take action now, and share and post this action to your Facebook profile or your Twitter stream with the share button below.
Help transportation pull its weight with climate: Tell the Senate to support CLEAN-TEA
July 21, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
The U.S. transportation sector produces one-third of our carbon emissions, yet the House-passed climate bill would direct just one percent of revenues to cleaner transportation options that can help us cut transportation emissions. The Senate has a chance to make a serious investment in greener transportation – up to 10% of funding in the climate bill.
A proposal in the Senate called CLEAN-TEA would direct funding to clean transportation investments — like public transportation and passenger rail, affordable neighborhoods around transit stops, and neighborhood improvements that increase safety for cyclists and pedestrians.
The Environment and Public Works Committee, under the leadership of Sen. Boxer, will ultimately decide whether or not to include CLEAN-TEA (S.575) in the Senate climate bill they’re drafting right now. There are currently six co-sponsors out of 19 committee members. If we can get a majority (10) of the committee to sponsor this legislation, we’ll be sending a powerful signal to the Chairman that it should be included. Help us send a strong message to Chairman Boxer that more funding for clean transportation options have to be part of the Senate climate bill by getting more co-sponsors for CLEAN-TEA.
We need as many Senate sponsors as possible for this important bill, but sponsors from the EPW committee in particular. So especially if you live in an EPW member’s state (below), please call the Congressional Switchboard at 202-224-3121, ask to be connected to your Senator’s office and leave a message with a staffer.
Tell them that “the U.S. transportation sector accounts for one third of our greenhouse gas emissions, yet current climate legislation directs only one percent of funding to cleaner transportation options. Senator ____ can help change that by co-sponsoring S. 575, or CLEAN-TEA, as its called. By including CLEAN-TEA in climate legislation you will not only ensure greater investment in low carbon transportation options, but will also help put us on the path to energy independence, reduce transportation costs for Americans, and create jobs to build out clean, green transportation infrastructure. ”
| EPW Senators not yet sponsoring Clean-TEA |
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| California: | Chairman Barbara Boxer | ||
| Idaho: | Sen. Mike Crapo | Ohio: | Sen. George V. Voinovich |
| Louisiana: | Sen. David Vitter | Oklahoma: | Sen. James M. Inhofe |
| Minnesota: | Sen. Amy Klobuchar | Rhode Island: | Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse |
| Missouri: | Sen. Christopher S. Bond | Tennessee: | Sen. Lamar Alexander |
| Montana: | Sen. Max Baucus | Vermont: | Sen. Bernie Sanders |
| New Mexico: | Sen. Tom Udall | Wyoming: | Sen. John Barrasso |
The 6 CLEAN-TEA sponsors would love to hear your support. If you live in any of these states below, call the Congressional Switchboard at 202-224-3121, ask to be connected to your Senator’s office below, and tell the staffer that answers that you support their choice to sponsor CLEAN-TEA. Tell them that you agree it’s imperative that we direct climate revenues to help us clean up transportation — the sector responsible for 30% of our emissions, and that this bill is a step in the right direction. Tell them you appreciate your leadership on the issue and you’re done.
Call and thank these sponsors:
- Delaware: Sen. Thomas Carper
- Pennsylvania: Sen. Arlen Specter
- Maryland: Sen. Ben Cardin
- New Jersey: Sen. Frank Lautenberg
- New York: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand
- Oregon: Sen. Jeff Merkley
Did you make a phone call? Spread the word on Twitter. If you’ve got any questions, ask away in the comments.
UPDATED: Some good quotes from sponsoring Sens. Cardin and Carper in Streetsblog Capitol Hill: “She fully understands the fact that we can’t get from here to there [on emissions] without addressing transportation,” Carper told Streetsblog Capitol Hill. …”I think 10 percent’s right,” Cardin told Streetsblog Capitol Hill.
Transportation bill being considered: Join us for a national call-in day today
June 24, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
| We need you to make one call to Congress and ensure that transportation spending delivers. Click here for details on making a call. |
| Or just call the Congressional Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and tell your Representative to support the National Transportation Objectives Act of 2009. (HR 2724) |
As we post this, Chairman James Oberstar’s transportation bill draft is being “marked up” in a House subcommittee. As that committee works on the bill and news about the bill is fresh in the minds of House members, we are organizing a national call-in day today to make sure that Congress gets our message loud and clear:
No new money without reforming the system.
Can you help out by calling your Representative today? It will make a real difference, and it only takes about one minute. Information on how to call at right or bottom, or click here
The draft bill has a lot of what Transportation for America, our coalition, and our many supporters have been pushing for, but today, it still falls short. As it stands today, it leaves out something crucial: Clear national priorities for what $450 billion in transportation spending will achieve.
Without over-arching goals and targets — like lower energy consumption, reduced emissions, greater affordability, or expanded access to transportation choices for all Americans — there’s no way to be sure billions of dollars in transportation spending will truly deliver clean, safe and smart transportation. We can definitely do better. We can’t keep pouring our precious tax dollars into the same old flawed transportation system that leaves us stuck without options.
Help us get a real plan that delivers. Call your member of Congress today:
- Call the Congressional Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to speak to your representative’s office.
- Tell the staff member answering the phone where you’re calling from, and that you’d like to urge the representative to support the National Transportation Objectives Act of 2009 (H.R. 2724). You can add:
- You are a constituent and a supporter of the Transportation for America coalition.
- You want to make sure the billions spent on transportation help us cut down on emissions, give us real energy security, and provide us with more affordable options for getting from A to B.
- No new money for transportation without reforming the system and making it accountable and measurable.
- Then let us know you made the call
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Transportation: In your eyes
Send us your transportation-related photos.
