And finally, we have the most tangible result yet that our calls for more active transportation will be answered.
Late yesterday, U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer (Ore.) introduced H.R. 4722, the "Active Community Transportation Act of 2010" (ACT Act), on the floor of the House of Representatives!
The ACT Act is the direct result of Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s (RTC) Campaign for Active Transportation. The Act would create a $2 billion program to fund dozens of communities around the country to improve their trail, walking and biking networks. Your community could ultimately receive some of these funds, better allowing you and your neighbors to walk and bike to the places you live, work, play, shop and learn.
Across the country, Americans have made clear that we want more transportation options, and the ACT Act goes a long way toward making such safe and convenient options a reality. Research clearly shows that funding active transportation is a wise investment, saving our nation substantially over time.
Now that Rep. Blumenauer has introduced the legislation in the House, we need to ensure that other representatives support the bill's passage.
Encourage your representative to co-sponsor this very important legislation now.
This push for co-sponsors is the first step of a larger strategy to ensure that we get the strongest possible congressional support. Next Thursday, hundreds of advocates from around the country will gather in Washington, D.C., for the League of American Bicyclists' annual Bike Summit, to lobby for the ACT Act. That same day, Thursday, March 11, we'll ask you to join a national call-in day in support of the ACT Act. Please stay tuned.
Thank you,
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
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For those who don't have the time/experience/etc to seek out information on how to contact your representatives, here's a quick summary of what I did. Feel free to use/edit this for your purposes.
First, go to the House of Representatives website to contact your representative.
Here's what I sent my representative:
Dear Representative Castor,
I am a university student who lives in the district you represent, and I am writing to you concerning the "Active Community Transportation Act of 2010 (ACT Act)."
As a car-free citizen, I depend on my bicycle to travel around town. I consider traveling by bicycle and walking to be very responsible, both for environmental and health reasons. However, as I'm sure you are aware, Florida is one of the most dangerous places to commute by bicycle or walking. A major reason for this is the lack of well-designed and safe infrastructure for bicyclists and pedestrians to use. The "ACT Act" aims to provide more funding for local communities to improve bicycling and walking infrastructure and to make these modes of transportation safer and easier. This is something that is of vital importance to our community and our country.
I urge you to co-sponsor and support H.R. 4722, the "Active Community Transportation Act of 2010" (ACT Act). Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Hayward
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