News
Cascade Bicycle Club: "It Doesn't Have to Be this Way"
January 19, 2012
Sent to Bicycle Paper from Craig M. Benjamin of Cascade Bicycle Club
Seattle, Wash. - Last week, Governor Gregoire proposed a $3.6 billion transportation package1 that contains no money for bicycling. Not even half a penny to create a better community through bicycling.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
Across America and around the world2, cities3, states4 and countries5 are investing in and prioritizing their bicycle networks because they are the key to prosperity in the economy of the future; Washington should do the same.
The Governor’s proposal would spend billions in an attempt to maintain the status quo. Especially during these challenging economic times, if we are going to spend billions of limited taxpayer dollars on our transportation system, we should do more than tread water.
We should make smart, cost-effective investments that maximize the movement of people and goods in Washington State. Bicycle projects reduce congestion and our dependence on oil6, create more jobs than highway construction7, and provide Washingtonians with more options to safely get where they need to go.
But the Governor’s package dedicates 72 percent to roads, only 4 percent to transit and nothing to bicycle and pedestrian projects.
We have an opportunity to improve this package, but only if your legislators hear from you about the importance of funding bicycle projects to help Washington prepare for the future.
Thank you for everything that you do,
Craig M. Benjamin
Policy and Government Affairs Manager
Cascade Bicycle Club
P.S. Want to tell your legislators in person to improve this package? Join us in Olympia on January 31 for Transportation Advocacy Day.
1www.governor.wa.gov/priorities/transportation/criticalneeds.pdf
2http://thisbigcity.net/amsterdam-bicycle-network-no-magic-pill-world-beater
3http://grist.org/biking/2012-01-11-cycles-and-cents-one-city-sets-out-to-prove-that-bikes-are-good
5http://grist.org/list/swedish-cities-could-connect-via-bike-superhighway
6www.railstotrails.org/ourwork/advocacy/activetransportation/makingthecase/index.html
7http://www.peri.umass.edu/236/hash/64a34bab6a183a2fc06fdc212875a3ad/publication/467
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