‘Tranportation Enhancements’ cut from House Transportation Bill
Forbes is reporting that federal funding for human powered transportation infrastructure is being completely removed from the current $90 billion dollar transportation bill sent to the floor by the House Appropriations committee.
“The bill would also completely eliminate “transportation enhancement” projects such as bicycle routes and rail-to-trail conversions, redirecting the roughly $600 million spent on them this year into highway construction and maintenance projects.”
I went to www.congress.org to write my congressman, Congressman John Culberson, the following letter:
Congressman Culberson,
I urge you to fight to restore the $600 million in funding for transportation enhancement projects like bike paths and rail-to-trail conversions that was removed from the $90 billion bill for transportation programs recently approved by the House Appropriations Committee. Certainly, the money is available, as the Appropriations Committee has proposed $4.8 billion more in highway construction than President Bush requested.
As a resident of Katy, transportation enhancement programs such as the proposed bike path across George Bush Park could significantly improve my health, safety and quality of life by providing commuting alternatives to sitting in smog on the Katy Freeway or Westheimer parkway. Improved infrastructure for cycling and other human powered transportation could help alleviate the gross obesity of your constituents by encouraging lifestyle fitness activities.
As a registered Republican, I would love to change the reputation of my party as the lapdog of big oil, big auto, and big highway by embracing the empowerment of people to make their own transportation choices, and by encouraging self-reliance in fitness. As a resident of Katy, I cringe at the thought of the 22 lanes of gridlock that will soon run through my community. As a parent, I would love for my children to grow up in a community where cycling, walking, and running are safe and common activities.
Sincerely,
Bill Jankowski
Will it make a darn bit of difference? Doubt it.
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