Remarks delivered by Nancy Schulz, Executive Director, Vermont Bicycle & Pedestrian Coalition at the 4/17/09 meeting with U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood at the Vermont State House:

Mr. Secretary:

I join the speakers who preceded me in thanking you for making the time to come to Vermont to meet with us this afternoon.  And I thank Senator Sanders for inviting me, the director of the Vermont Bicycle and Pedestrian Coalition, as a representative of Vermont’s bicycling and pedestrian community.  The bike/ped community appreciates the past support you both have demonstrated on issues that matter to us.

After you were confirmed as Secretary of Transportation, the buzz within the national bike/ped community was one of excitement, optimism, and anticipation.  The word was that you were a friend of bike/ped interests, and hope was expressed that you could be an agent of change.

Last month you gave a speech at the National Bike Summit in Washington.  I listened to your speech twice because I wanted to be sure I heard it correctly.   In the speech, you said “I want state and local officials to consider all the flexibility they have to use federal highway and transit funds to support bicycling facilities”.  To that statement, we in the bike/ped community say “Amen!”  It’s refreshing to have someone at the top who understands that bicycling is a mode of transportation, not just recreation.

You also stated that “Bicyclists and pedestrians are important users of our transportation system”.  That sentence falls on the ears of the bike/ped community members as the first drop of rain on a parched plant and we say “Hallelulah!” The bike/ped community is thrilled to hear this kind of affirmation and we look to you, as the nation’s highest transportation official, to provide the leadership needed to realize the livable communities that you declared are such a high priority for the Obama administration.

You described President Obama as a “transformational figure.”  Those of us in the bike/ped community agree with this assessment and hope that you will channel that transformative energy through the U.S. DOT to the Vermont AOT so that it will benefit the towns and cities of our beloved Green Mountain State.

There is a point made in the current issue of Time magazine that people are drawn to doing what is easy and what is perceived as the norm.  The government, in its role of fostering the well being of citizens, has an opportunity to affect behavior change by making it safe, convenient, and easy for people to walk and bicycle.  Bicycling can be viewed as an activity to be tolerated or it can be promoted and celebrated.  Walking can be inhibited or it can be facilitated.

Funding needs to be devoted to both education and infrastructure.  Funding for safety training is particularly important.  There is a huge pent up demand for bicycle and pedestrian projects in Vermont, but if communities perceive that the federal and state monies won’t be forthcoming or are being directed elsewhere, they won’t invest the time in the application process.  While funding is the number one concern of the bike/ped community in Vermont, the number two concern is safety.  We continue to lobby our legislature for the Safe Passing bill, which simply requires a motorist to pass a vulnerable roadway user with “due care” and “every reasonable precaution.”

As the new federal transportation bill is crafted, we hope you will increase the required amount of funding devoted to bike/ped.  It’s essential to maintain the Recreation Trails Program and the Enhancements Grant Program.  “Complete Streets” language needs to be included in the reauthorization and the Safe Routes to School Program needs to be expanded.

Mr. Secretary, you declared that bicycle and pedestrian advocates have a full partner with the U.S. DOT.  I hope you will continue to visit Vermont and that, on future visits, you’ll experience a state that is truly safe and welcoming to bicyclists and pedestrians of all ages, a state that has benefited by having you at the helm of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

And, while we’re on the subject of bicycling and walking, I’d like to extend an invitation to everyone present to join in the upcoming “Bike/Walk with Your Legislator” Days.  Please meet in front of the State House on Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:15 am for a guided bike ride or walk.  And, for good measure, we’ll also go on Friday, May 1, to kick off Way to Go week.

Question for Secretary LaHood:  Can you name one specific way in which you, as an agent of transformation within the Obama administration, will overcome the entrenched thinking that has put cars first and bikes last for decades?

U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is shown with VBPC
executive director Nancy Schulz (left) and VBPC board president Judy Bond (right)
at the VT State House.  Nancy was invited to address the secretary about the concerns
of bicyclists and pedestrians in Vermont. (Photo courtesy of Kevin Russell)