Cyclists are important users of transportation systems

On Wednesday, I had the pleasure of addressing the National Bike Summit. I was invited to speak as a member of the Obama administration, but I have been a supporter of bicycling for many years and was a member of the Congressional Bike Caucus when I was in Congress.

Still, I don't think the League of American Bicyclists knew what to expect when they invited me to their summit.

I hope they were pleasantly surprised because I am committed to investing in programs that encourage bikes to coexist with other modes and to safely share our roads and bridges. And there’s strong support in Congress for these goals as well.

In the Department of Transportation, bicyclists have a full partner in working toward livable communities. We're excited that the Federal Highway Administration is looking at best practices in Europe to improve safety and mobility for walkers and cyclists. We're excited that a federally funded pilot project to study the effects of improved walking and bicycling facilities in four communities is underway. I think I conveyed that excitement to the summit, judging by the early response (BikePortland.org, Streetsblog.org)

I welcome the vigor of the bicycling community in advocating for bike-friendly measures in the upcoming authorization bill, CLEAN-TEA. Bicycles are a critical part of a cleaner, greener future in American transportation, so keep those wheels spinning.

Comments

[Marcus Pollard]

Your comments about the problems with "trash-talk" coming from conservatives toward the president are out of context. Just reread the Lincoln-Douglas deabtes and you can see the language and direct charges of dishonesty and being un-American were part and partial of American political discourse then as they are today.

[Flavio Semas]

I just read your interview in the AARP Bulletin! I'm completely behind your plans! It is SO GREAT to hear a government official finally looking at alternatives to a car culture. Having lived in Portland, OR, I know the beauty of a no-car lifestyle.
Now how do we get more Americans to join behind this movement??!?!
Good luck,
Flavio Semas
Tucson, AZ

[Richard A. Rieger]

I was really dismayed by your recent comment concerning the loss of the bid for the 2016 Olympics. You said that it "was a disappointment for Illinois." Not so......read the newspapers. Out of 11 comments sent to the Peo. Journal Star, 10 were happy that illinois did not get stuck with the Olympics. Illinois cannot afford to even pick up dead and decaying animals from the sides of our roads, much less pay for a boondoggle as large as the Olympics.

It was also gratifying to see Obama get smacked down. Maybe he is not the "Great One" that he thinks he is.

If you would like to do something to help Illinois, make Chicago a district like Washington, D.C.. The people if Illinois would love you for it.

[Paul]

It's nice to know that Cyclists are getting their chance to show what can be done. We just need to get off our butts and do something. Having lived in Amsterdam and other European cities which take cycling seriously, it's about time this was taken up across the globe.

Keep up the good work.

[James]

I also welcome more cyclists and walkers/joggers on our roads! I think this is also an important step towards lowering our carbon emissions. train horn

[Cheap Cars In Chicago]

In the Department of Transportation, bicyclists have a full partner in working toward livable communities. We're excited that the Federal Highway Administration is looking at best practices in Europe to improve safety and mobility for walkers and cyclists.

Charlie Williams

[Bernadette Taylor]

Thanks so much for regulating absolutely everything. I feel sooooo much better.

[suruchi]

I'm pleased to see that we have a Secretary of Transportation who is actively interested in better integrating cycling into the country's transportation system.
International vehicle Shipping

[Paul Adkins]

I am super excited to be able to live this sea change. I want you to continue to push the creative limits of where this change shows up. For me, being liveable means being able to walk and bike safely around my community with wife and kids. Until the priority fully shifts away from cars and car infrastructure to an equal balance for walking and biking and the ease, convenience, safety, and respect - equal to that of other modes - I will be determined to push for liveability in communities across the country. The idea that kids can't get to school safely and that parents choose to drive their kids to school is a key symptom for me. Lets get things re-arranged until we can see 60-70%, or more, kids in America getting to school on their own power.

[Diane B. Lees]

As a member of the National Bike Summit from Ohio and the owner of a custom bicycle shop, I applaud the Secretary for his thinking, his remarks, and his support. I was more than just a little disappointed in the comments made by Congressman LaTourette, who represents the district in which my store resides, and even somewhat humiliated by his remarks when, just the previous week, our delegation was led to believe the Mr. LaTourette was going to be supportive of our programs. The amount of transportation dollars that are being requested amount to a mere pittance - and the benefits, from a cleaner environment to healthier children - would be untold. So, thank you Secretary LaHood! Keep up the good work; see you in D.C. for the 2011 Summit! Diane Lees, owner, HubBub Custom Bicycles, Chesterland, OH www.hubbubcustom.com

[Susie Mays]

I personally think you are unqualified to hold the position you have. Bicycles and bike paths are great but need to be handled at the local level NOT the Federal level. As for the motorcyclist with the EZ Pass, leave it in your jacket, it will still be read. You want all of us on foot, bikes or trains, I am one of your hated truck drivers,, try getting your groceries without trucks. You are incompetent to hold this office.

[Doug McKibbon]

Thank you Mr. LaHood for your support of cyclists. I ride on the roads in Michigan, and most of the roads are not cyclist friendly. I hope your continual efforts will help make the roads safer for all!

[T. Church]

Thank you Mr. LaHood for recognizing cycling as a legitimate form of transportation! Thanks also for your courage and integrity in standing your ground in the face of criticism from entrenched interests.

[Teri McComb]

Mr. LaHood I cheer you!

Thank you Sir for your courage and conviction to lead the way to change. I am so very proud that you walk the talk and we need so many more men like you in government.

I haven't owned a car for more than 5+/- years in my life and I just turned 61. I live in Veneta Oregon and so many of us in the community just outside Lane county would love to have bike lanes. Our Hwy 126 is narrow and with a small bridge. Many bikers have lost their lives due to this condition.

Have courage and don't back down to the insults. "We" have your back. Happy safe biking to you and yours!

[Brock Foreman]

Thank you for addressing the need for better cycling infrastructure and recognizing cycling as a viable transportation solution.

[Mark Allen]

If you are the transportation minister then why can't I take my bike on Amtrak? Cincinati to DC it is impossible to take your bike. Why is that?

[Labann]

If you take Haenni suggestion, you'll find that, per capita or per mile, bicycling is the safest form of transportation, 3 Sigma for fatalities. It may not soon replace other forms, since folks are too burdened or lazy to give up motor vehicles, but it should be wholeheartedly encouraged through infrastructure improvements. Roadway preference should be given to bussmen, tradesmen and truckers who move goods and supply services. Private passenger vehicles are a luxury and should come last.

Motorists tend to marginalize bicyclists and walkers. About 90% of accidents involving motorists and them occur where there are no bike lanes or sidewalks.
[Statistics cited are from USDOT sources.]

[Ron]

It was encouraging to read this site, not only for the original text, but additionally to read the many helpful comments. When I read about covered bike covers and such in Europe, my eyes were opened to a whole different reality.

If such courtesies were extended toward the American cyclist, their 'legitimacy' would increase substantially, resulting in far less motorist resentment at sharing the roads.

[Dan Puroclean - water damage]

The social aspects of transportation cycling include personal and societal responsibilities. The personal responsibilities are the physical requirements needed to ensure the safety of self and society. The societal responsibilities include communication, courtesy and contribution.

The emotional aspects of transportation cycling include the context or presumptions under which cyclists engage with traffic and development of emotions and concern for self and society, to cope with traffic.

Together, the development of a cyclists social and emotional understanding of traffic leads to an eloquent cycling style that clearly communicates with other road users and is, by itself, a persuasive argument for the need and benefits of integrating cycling into societal norms of acceptable transportation.

[Labann]

If you analyze Rod Haenni's comment carefully, you will find the kind of half truths that have marginalized alternative forms of transportation for decades. Private passenger cars are this nation's preferred method where destinations are decentralized through suburban sprawl because of bad urban planning. If you had no reason to visit suburbs, taxis and subways/trains would suffice, as they do in some of our major cities, and most of Europe. Because of huge expenditure on roadways, motorists gravitated to it. But this process is reversible since it's also unsustainble.

Any comparison between fatalities of one form of transportation versus another must take into account hours engaged in it, not miles traversed, on a global basis, not biased by American habits. Among nation's sixty million bicyclists, the death toll is the least per capita/year, although there are less miles/hour than other forms; worldwide, there are a billion bicyclists, making it the most popular form except for walking. Five times as many pedestrians are killed here, but practically everyone engages in some walking daily, perhaps an hour/day on average. Overseas, trains cover more ground with more passengers safely than planes. The least safe form - by far - is motoring private vehicles. In 2009 at 33,000 fatalities (typically over 40,000) in 3.5 million accidents, it is still the #3 cause of death in America. Cardiovascular disease is #1 and cancer #2.

Motoring is inimical in so many ways, it's effects exceed alcohol and tobacco combined as a killer. Carcinogenic pollution and lack of exercise as results directly cause asthma, COPD, heart disease, melonomas and tumors. Anything you can do to encourage more bicycling and walking - such as enforcing states to include ADA compliant sidewalks, bike lanes, bike paths, bike-ped bridges/underpasses, and like infrastructure already mandated by law - will not only diminish nation's dependence on foreign oil but reduce wars over it and safeguard nation's health. The private passenger car, while it seems a necessity now, is among the worst threats facing the planet.

[pex tubing]

I do not like bike, but I want to sometimes ride )

[serial numbers]

The combination of hyper-inflated minimum parking requirements in local government land development codes, and the writing-off of customer and employee parking as a business expense, have made most of our urban and suburban areas into huge parking lots that people figure they must use, since they're "free" (actually, the customer pays for it whether he wants to or not).

[marietjie]

Cyclists in the USA are extremely lucky to have such a magnificent cycling infrastructure and support from the authorities.
Although foreigners often stand amazed at this (as I am when I visited this amazing country), it is unfortunately often taken for granted by many cyclists in the US.

http://www.bicycleracetraining.com

[Losing Baby Weight]

I used to bike all the time until I suffered an injury. As I was recovering I found out I was pregnant, and I've recently had my baby.
I've missed riding my bike, and where we live, there are lots of great trails to go on! I'm slowly getting back in shape, and I'm looking forward to competing again!

[pex plumbing]

development of a cyclists social and emotional understanding of traffic leads to an eloquent cycling style that clearly communicates with other road users and is, by itself, a persuasive argument for the need and benefits of integrating cycling into societal norms of acceptable transportation