From Jeff Miller of the Thunderhead Alliance:

We’ve been working for the past several months with our partners in America Bikes to get bike and pedestrian projects included in the Economic Stimulus/ Recovery bill. Congressional leaders have made it clear they intend to draft the bill to use the State Lists. It is now in your hands to get bike ped projects included on your state list however you can.

Time to Act! We need your help with the Economic Recovery $

In January Congress and the President will sign an economic recovery bill that will include hundreds of billions of dollars, many of which will go to build transportation infrastructure. We need to make sure those dollars build a balanced transportation system ­including bike lanes, paths and sidewalks.

Congress is currently planning on funding only projects that are on States’ priority lists, very few of which include bicycle and pedestrian projects. It is critical that we ensure that bicycle and pedestrian projects are included on the state lists!

Tell Your Mayor And Governor

Local governments across the country are creating lists of ready to go projects in anticipation of stimulus funding from the federal government. Congress is suggesting that only projects on these lists should be eligible for funding, so make sure to contact your mayor and governors office. Tell them:

• There are over $2 billion worth of “ready-to-go” bicycle and pedestrian projects across the U.S. that can create jobs right now
• Bike and pedestrian projects are quick. Because they are smaller, states and cities can spend the money quickly and IN the local economy.
• Building biking and walking infrastructure creates jobs. Bike and pedestrian infrastructure is more labor intensive and less material intensive than building roads, thus netting more jobs for dollars spent!
• Sidewalks and bike lanes makes streets and downtowns into destinations for shopping and entertainment. Investing in walking and biking facilities helps local business and is an investment in the local economy.
• 24% of all trips in the US are less than a mile, 40% are less than two miles. Walking and biking facilities, including those that connect to transit, give American families economical transportation options and lay the foundation to address some of our nation’s major crises, such as climate, energy, and health.
• A recovery package that includes funding for transportation infrastructure but does not include investments to improve bicycling and walking denies the current trends in transportation and the safety needs of the American public. Bicycling has increased in the US ­ in some cities its increased more than 35% in the last two years.
• Biking and pedestrian improvements also help wean us for foreign oil and support a healthy and sustainable future for America!

If you can also work with your Department of Transportation directly to include more bike ped projects, we do encourage you to what ever tactics and paths to success you can blaze.

Tell The Media – Write A Letter To The Editor

Newspapers are covering the recovery package every day, but how often do you see them mention funding bicycle and pedestrian projects.

• Letters to the Editor are written as a response to an article, so first find an article about the stimulus package you want to respond to, and respond within a day or two of the article being published.
• Look for instructions on the website of the newspaper or on the editorial page. Most papers will only accept letters that are 200 words or less.
• Focus on one message and stating it clearly, such as “building biking and walking infrastructure helps our economy and our health”.
• Cite relevant facts and statistics where appropriate. This will help bolster your argument and make it more convincing.

Thank you for your help. Getting bicycle and pedestrian projects into city and state lists will not only help fund new projects, but will be key in setting the stage for the transportation bill.

In Kansas, the KDOT Economic Stimulus Project List proposes 33 projects costing $1.3 Billion, and the list contains no mention of any bike/ped components to any of the projects.

Surely Kansas can do better than that.

Please help.