i hope many of you had the opportunity to listen to Obama’s speech to Congress recently on creating jobs in America. there was a line that he used that caught my attention, “Everyone here knows that we have badly decaying roads and bridges all over this country. Our highways are clogged with traffic. Our skies are the most congested in the world.”
what interested me in writing this post was to point out that although economic woes in this country have left our states in debt, it has also caused neglect to find recovery from decaying infrastructure. clearly this is no accident, just a reflection of the state of our economy. it costs money to get incentives on infrastructure of all types to pass but the truth is that our Senate does not want to spend it. places like Mexico, where students got fed up with their government lack of interest in creating bicycle lanes took the matter into their hands and paved themselves bike lanes. perhaps that’s what we’ll need to do in the future if it calls us to. my word to you all who want better road infrastructure and bike lanes is to demand Washington to support bike and pedestrian funding. as hard as it is fighting your way to sharing one lane with the driver next to you, fight and do the same with the Senate, keep taking the roads, keep writing letters to the state demanding laws that protect yours and others safety on the road. although we think that it’s a long way towards creating a bike utopia, the road towards the actual creation of a bicycle utopia is in the way in which you decide to participate. this is the most important voice you have in this matter. keep biking.
i wouldn't mind do some hard labor if it meant less pt holes. but writing to congress is always a great idea. hey did you hear that the bill for 3 ft passed! i was thrilled that it passed, a nice big leap for riders here in cali! yahoo!
xo,
cb
i agree with this post so much. people complain that there voice doesn't matter, but truly, on a local level, in my small city in the southeast i have seen such tremendous strides towards becoming bike friendly in the last 5 years…only because local people took action. so your actions DO matter and your voice CAN be heard.
@cb, i did see that it passed. i was stoked and now i can wear a sign that says "3ft please, it's the law!"
@militantcupcake, people need to hear these stories! perhaps you have something you can share with me on your towns experience?
This is pretty upsetting news to hear, but i am definitely taking action over here in NYC