Honk for more taxes

[gatorback]

The other day I was honked at by a car while riding my bike to work.  Okay, I was crossing an intersection walking my bike thru and cut in front of a car that was stopped waiting for the car in front of him and so on.  I was perturbed to say the least and decided to make eye-contact an exercise I avidly avoid. No telling what this nut job is prepared to do and for fear of an even heated interaction.  Get this, the guy said "Start Paying Taxes."  So the perception is cyclist don't pay their share of the roads?  I pay taxes.  You should be paying me. 

Honk!   

[gatorback]

By GILLIAN GAYNAIR, The Virginian-Pilot
© January 27, 2007

VIRGINIA BEACH - Bill Hart would prefer to ride his bike to work more often than once a month. But he can't.

"There are no showers and I'm all hot" when he arrives at his CPA firm in Hilltop, Hart said. Nor are there bicycle racks. Hart stores his bike in his office, "which doesn't go over too well."

The 59-year-old cyclist was one of Virginia Beach Del. Terrie Suit's constituents who urged her to sponsor HB1826. The legislation would create two separate tax credits to entice people to ride - instead of drive - to and from work.

Under the bill, employers who provide showers and bicycle racks would receive a tax credit of as much as $5,000. Employees who ride to and from work at least 10 days a month would earn a tax credit of $15 per month.

Suit introduced the same bill two years ago, but a House finance committee refused to act on it.

Some of her constituents who ride in the General Booth Boulevard and Dam Neck Road areas approached her once again on the matter.

"I thought it was a great idea," Suit said. "Anything we could do to strip away at the transportation problem.... It's a good gesture and a good thing to promote."

Local cyclists agree.

"We feel that cycling to work can be a way to put a small dent in our country's dependence on oil," Rick Powell of Norfolk said. "The less we drive, the better. We think it's good for a person's well-being."

Powell is president of the 500-member Tidewater Bicycle Association, which supports Suit's effort. E ven if the legislation passes, though, he said it still won't address the dangers many Virginia Beach cyclists say they face riding in the city.

"You're taking your life in your hands if you try to ride to work," Powell said. "The city of Virginia Beach has done nothing to improve roadways where it's safe to navigate roads."

In November - the month the League of American Bicyclists declared Virginia Beach a "Bicycle Friendly Community" - organizers of the area's annual Celebration of Life Ride canceled this year's event. They said the city's streets were too dangerous for the more than 1,000 bicyclists who participate.

The city is building multiuse trails that cyclists, walkers and skaters can share and installing pavement markings and signs at two locations.

# Reach Gillian Gaynair at (804) 697-1580 or gillian.gaynair@pilotonline.com.

Honk Honk 

[gatorback]

This one is  so perfect.  This is how you can pay us.

[gatorback]

August 16, 2007

The Honorable Mary E. Peters
Secretary of Transportation
U.S Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20590

Dear Secretary Peters:

I listened with dismay to your recent interview on the MacNeil Lehrer Newshour, August 15 airing, on the subject of transportation funding and the Minneapolis bridge collapse. I was particularly taken aback by your comments related to the funding of bicycle projects in the United States.
1. Your statement that bicycle trails and paths are not “transportation-related” or “infrastructure” is baffling. I have been riding to work every day in Washington DC for almost 20 years on one of the regions many well-used bicycle paths, many of which have benefited from Federal transportation funding. Tens of millions of bicyclists and pedestrians in communities across the country use trails to get to work, school, shops, and to visit friends and family â€" and every one of these trips prevents congestion, pollution, and energy consumption while improving the health of the rider or walker.
2. You left the impression that an enormous percentage of Federal transportation funds are spent on projects such as these. The reality is that only one percent of these funds are spent on bicycling and walking projects despite the fact that these two modes account for ten percent of all trips in the country and 12 percent of traffic fatalities each year.
3. You also left the impression that critical bridge projects are being left unfunded because of this. You did not point out the huge sums of money that states have been allocated for bridge projects over the years but they have failed to spend. Indeed, states have returned to Washington hundreds of millions of “unspent” bridge program dollars as part of recent rescissions ordered by the Congress.
I find it astonishing that, almost 20 years after the groundbreaking ISTEA legislation that created flexibility and allowed greater local input over Federal transportation funding, you would single out bicycle trails in this way. At a time when individuals, communities and as a nation we are battling congestion, obesity, energy consumption, global warming, and air quality issues, projects and programs to help people use alternatives to driving are a wise investment.
More than 40 percent of trips in urban areas in the this country are two miles or less; one quarter are just one mile or less and most of even these trips are made by car. I urge you to stand beside Congressman Oberstar, Congressman Blumenauer, and others in Congress who are attempting to efficiently and effectively unclog our highways by shifting some of these short, polluting car trips to healthier modes.

Secretary Peters, as Federal Highway Administrator you delivered remarks at the 2002 National Bike Summit that presented a much different view of the role bicycling can play in our national transportation system.
As you stated then, and I quote, “Many people in our country use bikes for more than recreation. For them, bikes are their vehicle for the commute to work and for the errands of daily life. We need every mode of transportation to keep America mobile. What modes did you use to get to your hotel? Very few of us depend on a single mode. I strongly agree with Secretary Mineta, bicyclists are an integral part of our nation’s transportation system and we all need to work together to develop a better more balanced transportation system that provides facilities and programs for bicyclists on a routine basis.”
Secretary Peters, I urge you to stand by your words in 2002, and publicly correct the misleading impressions regarding bicycling that you left with the viewers of the MacNeil Lehrer show.

Sincerely,

Andy Clarke
Executive Director

League of American Bicyclists, 1612 K Street NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20006. 202-822-1333  bikeleague@bikeleague.org

[ELeroyReed]

Here's a "Do you know" moment:

Do you know that for buildings pursuing LEED certifications, one LEED point is awarded for providing bicycle storage and shower/changing facilities for a certain percentage of their full-time equivalent and transient visitors? 

Related to that, do you know that the Guvn'r signed executive orders regarding implementation of LEED standards for government buildings?

Would lead one to believe that Florida should begin to see more bicycle-friendly facilities. 

Also, this point is considered one of the 'gimme' points because implementation is relatively simple, cost-effective, and painless.  Following that logic, we really oughta see more bicycle-friendly facilities.

Along with the other Alternative Transportation points available in LEED (fuel-efficient and low-emission vehicle incentives, accessibility to public transportation both bus and rail, along with bicycle facilities), can Jax see an increase in non-traditional transportation?  Wouldn't it be nice?  ;-)

Ellen