On National Bike to Work Day, U.S. DOT and Cycling Advocates Eye New Moves

In addition to the announcement of
a new local bike-share system, today's D.C. Bike to Work Day found both
the U.S. DOT and the nation's leading bike advocacy groups positioning
themselves to claim new victories for cyclists in the coming days.

FTA chief Peter Rogoff addressing cyclists at this morning's Bike to Work Day events. (Photo: U.S. DOT)

The U.S. DOT sent several senior officials to this morning's capital-area bike events,
using the day to finalize a new expansion of eligibility for federal
funding of cycling and pedestrian infrastructure connected to transit.

Federal
Transit Administration (FTA) chief Peter Rogoff, who suited up for a
morning ride into downtown D.C., told fellow cyclists that "the Obama
Administration will keep supporting cycle-friendly policies because
they help connect communities in ways that are beneficial to everyone
at very little cost," according to a statement released by the U.S. DOT.

First proposed in November,
the FTA's new policy for boosting federal bike-ped spending sets radius
surrounding a transit station in which bike infrastructure projects
would be eligible for aid at three miles. Pedestrian projects within a
half-mile of transit stations would be eligible for federal assistance.
The previous regulatory radius was 1,500 feet, in most cases.

Meanwhile,
nine national cycling and pedestrian advocacy groups released a letter
in advance of Bike to Work Day seeking extra clean transport funding
from the new Senate climate bill. The groups studiously avoided the
critical tone that the transit industry and state DOTs used on Wednesday
to seek a greater share of the revenue from the climate measure;
nonetheless, the bike-ped backers urged sponsors Sens. John Kerry
(D-MA) and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) to lift their legislation's limit on
transport spending.

The
letter's signatories -- including America Bikes and the League of
American Bicyclists -- began by lauding Kerry and Lieberman for
requiring that any revenue from their bill's proposed new fuel fees be
spent on emissions-cutting transport projects.

Noting that
infrastructure investments from the bill's new fuel fees would operate
under a ceiling of slightly more than $6 billion per year, the groups
added:

The
bike-ped advocates proposed an increase in climate revenue set aside
for transportation that would be commensurate with the estimated U.S.
emissions generated by the movement of people and goods -- about 30
percent, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).