Thursday, April 23, 2009

SWFBUD Tells Tampa To Think Green (With Bicycling)

This morning the Tampa City Council held a workshop that included discussion on stimulus money of $32 million that apparently is coming the city's way and green jobs. So more than a dozen folks in the Tampa community came out to urge the city to spend the money on environmental jobs that would make Tampa a more "green" place to live.

Several city council members seemed annoyed that city staff didn't seem to know the exact process of getting and spending the money, with the chief city employee on the subject explaining she would get back to the council.

I spoke before the Council on behalf of SWFBUD, urging the city of Tampa to create green jobs and spend money on green projects such as widening roads to make them available to cyclists and pedestrians not just cars; and integrating bicycling into all aspects of city infrastrcuture such as secure bike areas in downtown areas and workplaces.

Bicycling is just one part of the green movement and SWFBUD urges Tampa Bay area governments to think holistically about blending bicycling into their infrastructure systems.

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