State bicycle advocates are fighting several provisions in Gov. Scott Walker's proposed budget that could slow the growth of cycling in the state.

Dave Cieslewicz, the executive director of the Wisconsin Bike Federation and former Madison mayor, said three major budget provisions affecting bikers constitute an “attack” on the industry.

First, by freezing purchases by the state conservation stewardship fund, Cieslewicz said that Walker is also freezing any expansion of Wisconsin's 1,000-plus miles of state-owned bike trails.

Second, the budget would eliminate all state funding — about $2 million — for the Transportation Alternatives Program, which is otherwise federally funded. Cieslewicz said the cut is about 14 percent of the total budget for the program, and compared it to the proposed $300 million cut at the University of Wisconsin System in terms of how big an impact it could have.

The TAP supported more than two-dozen projects in the last cycle, including expansions of municipal trails in Waukesha and Madison and improvement of Beloit's riverfront area. Cieslewicz said the program would be able to support fewer projects without state funding.

Finally, the state budget would repeal the state's “Complete Streets” law, which requires governmental authorities to consider bicycles and pedestrians — and, if at all possible, to accommodate them — whenever a road is built or reconstructed using state or federal dollars. Cieslewicz said the law did not cost the state money to implement.

“We don’t think it should come in the budget," he said. “We think that’s a policy issue that is separate from the budget.”

Cieslewicz described the state’s bike industry, which is valued at $1.5 billion and supports as many as 14,000 jobs, as “bigger than deer hunting” when it comes to economic impact. He said the 4,600-member bicycle federation was working to encourage renewed state support of bike projects.

“It just makes sense because bicycling is such a big part of Wisconsin’s economy,” he said.

He said his experience as mayor of Madison, which is one of the top-ranked communities for bicycling in the country, had also encouraged his support of cycling.

“It’s a great way to get around a community. It means less traffic congestion, less competition for parking, less wear and tear on the roads,” he said. “I loved bikes as a mayor because they were so easy to accommodate, and cost so much less money to accommodate.”

He said bicycling also had support from a broad coalition of other organizations, including the Sierra Club, state road builders and some Republican legislators. He said he’s optimistic changes in the budget are forthcoming.

"There’s really broad support for cycling in the state,” Cieslewicz said. “At least in our initial conversations, I’m encouraged at our chances to get this reversed.”