National Bike Summit, Washington D.C.:
Oregon’s Congressman DeFazio of Springfield, Oregon received an award from the League of American Bicyclists for excellence in leadership and support for bicycling. DeFazio, the only trained bicycle mechanic in Congress, is a ranking democrat on the House Transportation Committee and the Highways, Transit and Pipelines Subcommittee. He played a key role in crafting and negotiating final approval of the 2005 Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), a $244 billion federal transportation legislation.
DeFazio helped secure optimal funding for Oregon under the bill that brings home $2.7 billion for highway and transit projects in Oregon over the next five years and strengthens programs for bicycling and walking, including:
1. Transportation Enhancements – the primary funding source for bicycle projects, this program has been increased in size and importance.
2. Safe Routes to School Program – the new $617 million program will help create new programs and infrastructure to increase bicycling and walking to school.
3. Surface Transportation Program – the flexible program that allows metro areas to fund bicycle and pedestrian projects.
4. Congestion Management and Air Quality Program – a program to decrease congestion on and improve air quality.
5. Highway Safety Improvement Program – a new program with an increase in safety funding, we hope this new fund will help improve bicycle and pedestrian safety that accounts for 15% of Oregon’s highway fatalities.
(Thanks to Jonathan Maus of Bikeportland.org for the photo!)
