Political Quotes

“Today's Washington Post has an interesting article about the possibility that Congress will jettison the Transportation Enhancement funding. Best known for providing resources for bike and pedestrian activities, it also opens the door to a wide range of important benefits. Sadly, the language in the article betrays a lack of understanding on the part of those who would eliminate these important programs. For instance, they single out somehow that this was forcing the creation of wildlife corridors--turtle tunnels, passages that don't just comply with our environmental responsibilities. These aren't something to trivialize. More Americans die in collisions with moose, with deer--or, for that matter, from swerving to avoid a turtle in the roadway--than die on our airplanes and buses in a given year. These are not trivial issues. These are areas that give choices to be able to deal with meaningful transportation problems. Right now, as I speak, there are millions of Americans stuck in traffic--burning fuel, wasting time, raising their blood pressure. The investment in complete transportation systems, which includes bike and pedestrian activities, means that there are hundreds of thousands of cars that aren't in front of these people in the roadway because they're able to walk or bike to work, and they're not fighting these commuters for a parking space. These programs are about safety. In the communities that enhance bike and pedestrian activity, everyone is safer.…”