Today at 12pm, The Alliance for Biking and Walking are leading a parade of advocates on a bike ride down Pennsylvania Avenue to personally deliver a thank-you note to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. The letter conveys the support of many grassroots organizations for Secretary’s recent policy statement on bike/ped accommodations. For those that can’t join the actual bike ride, they are asking each and every cyclists to tell our Members of Congress to co-sponsort the Complete Streets Act of 2009. They have even prepared an online form to make the process really easy. Please take a minute and do it now!
If you would prefer to contact your representative directly, then here is a letter template they are offering to get you started
Dear [[Representatives Title and Name]]
Today, the National Complete Streets Coalition is thrilled to join with Transportation for America, America Bikes, and the Safe Routes to School National Partnership to bicycle down Pennsylvania Avenue, America’s main street, and publicly express our thanks to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood for all his hard work to make sure that walking and biking are on equal footing with other modes for safety, convenience, and accessibility.
DOT’s new policy is a step forward, but if we’re going to make our streets safer for all users, we need Congress to change federal law to make complete streets the standard — not the exception. Only through a strong federal complete streets policy can we end the project-by-project fight for safer roads for people who are bicycling, walking, and taking public transportation.
The Complete Streets Act would ensure that future federally funded transportation projects take into account the needs of everyone using the roads – old and young, bicycle riders and drivers, pedestrians and public transportation users.
[[Your Name or Organization’s Name Here]]
It’s time to act, let’s make a big splash at the end of Bike Month 2010!