Pigs on Bikes
Posted: August 17th, 2007 by Karl RosengarthIt seems that U.S. Secretay of Transportation Mary Peters feels that spending DOT moneys on bicycle paths is just another way to spell pork. According to the excerpt below, from the League of American Bicyclists website, Peters made the remarks on a recent edition of the PBS NewsHour with Jim Leher. There are links in the excerpt where interested cyclists can access a PDF of the League’s official response, listen to a podcast from the pertinent edition of the PBS NewsHour, and contact Secretary Peters to voice support for bicycles as transportation.
Transportation Secretary Mary Peters talks about infrastructure problems and travel initiatives.
Peters cited “bicycle paths” as a prime example of the wasteLast night on the PBS NewsHour with Jim Leher, DOT Secretary Mary Peters was interviewed by Gwen Ifill.
Peters, when asked about a possible gas tax increase, repeated President Bush’s response - No, there can be no tax increase because Congress is wasting the money they already get. Peters cited “bicycle paths” as a prime example of the waste because bicycles are not a transportation use of the gas tax money.
It is disappointing that the administration is attacking Jim Oberstar for his efforts to get the Minneapolis bridge repaired along with raising all the funding for transportation maintenance, by using Oberstar’s support for bicycles as a weapon.
The League of American Bicyclists feels strongly that this should not go without a response and we have sent a letter to Secretary Peters voicing our view. Click here to view our response.
For those of you who feel strongly about bicycling issues, we would also urge you to contact the Secretary to share your personal viewpoints.
To view a copy of the program click here
August 17th, 2007 at 10:17 am
This seems to be a standard GOP memo right now to attack sensible transportation as “Pork”. I’ve seen the speech Patrick McHenry gave in Congress.
August 20th, 2007 at 12:08 pm
I thought this was going to be about bike cops…..
August 25th, 2007 at 5:10 pm
I agree that it is sensible to fund pedestrian frendly transportation with the gas tax. I find it a little simplistic to call it pork when less than 1% of my states federal alocated transportation budget goes toward these projects. It’s a hard strech to put a program that gets used a hell of alot more and gets people out of there cars in the same catagory as the “bridge to nowhere”.The “bridge to nowhere” in Alaska would fund the my state’s “enhancement” budget for 70 years!
August 27th, 2007 at 10:39 pm
[…] Commute By Bike Dirt Rag Blog […]
September 4th, 2007 at 9:12 am
I would think that this would be a great way to tackle the collapse of this country. Have fun, commute, get in shape. Americans are getting fatter and lazier. That is undeniable. The SAT scores were the lowest in 07 than ever. It will not be long before foreign interest own us. You can thank B00Shizlers like this woman and her ilk. But hey you cares as long as you get yours. Right?
September 17th, 2007 at 1:21 pm
Keeping people in their cars, or in their cubicles, or sitting in front of the television, goes a long way to keeping them from independant thought. That being said…
Stay involved in the local community, start a fund raiser, contact your DNR, get a grant for trail building and maintenance. Promote responsible advocacy groups, write a letter to the editor. I’m sure there’s a safety angle to this that some legal whiz can spin…
The feds, so far removed from reality, will do their own thing, promoting their special interest groups. Address them come election time- and that means at the community level, too.