House GOP leaders are poised to introduce the Transportation Bill today, Tuesday, Jan 31, and the House Transportation Committee is poised to approve the measure on Thursday.  From the League of American Bicyclists:

"Last week, we knew the bill would be bad news for biking and walking. But we didn’t think it would go so far as to completely cut every reference to bicycling and walking out of the federal transportation policy.

House leadership is pressing to eliminate bicycling and walking in the Transportation bill:

• Destroys Transportation Enhancements by making the program optional
• Repeals the Safe Routes to School program, reversing years of progress in creating safe ways for kids to walk and ride bicycles to school
• Allows states to build bridges without safe access for pedestrians and bicycles
• Eliminates bicycle and pedestrian coordinators in state DOTs
• Eliminates language that insures that rumble strips “do not adversely affect the safety or mobility of bicyclists, pedestrians or the disabled” 

But we can still save biking and walking in this bill. This week in the Transportation Committee, Representative Petri (R-WI) will stand up for bicycling and walking by offering an amendment that restores dedicated funding for Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to School.  Mr. Petri can only be successful if everyone with a stake in safe sidewalks, crosswalks, and bikeways contacts their Representative on the Transportation Committee again today to urge them to vote YES on the Petri amendment! If your Representative is not on the committee, please ask them to urge their collegues to vote for the amendment.

This is as urgent as it gets.  Even if we do win this amendment, there will be a long road ahead.  But if we lose here, we risk losing decades of progress."

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