URGENT: Senate Considering Toomey Plan to Kill Local Funding for Bicycling

Today Congress is considering an amendment that would kill the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP), the main federal source of money for bicycling and walking projects.

Two years ago, Congress passed a bill known as MAP-21, which provided more local control over funding for biking and walking. They encouraged cities like Philadelphia, Lancaster, and Pittsburgh to choose the projects they felt were best suited for the money within TAP explicitly set aside for biking and walking.

Now Senator Pat Toomey is introducing an amendment that would entirely eliminate TAP. No more money for trails, bike share, or new sidewalks.

Please take a moment this morning to encourage Sen. Bob Casey, Sen. Cory Booker, and Sen. Robert Menendez to support bicycling and local control over transportation by voting against Sen. Toomey’s amendment.

The League of American Bicyclists has an e-mail action you can fill out. You can also tweet at our region’s Senators here: @senbobcasey , @menendez4nj, and @CoryBooker. For example:

Tell Senate to vote NO on @SenToomey‘s amendment #1 that eliminates funding for biking/walking. #notoomey1 https://t.co/WvDgrw0s0u — Bike Coalition Phila (@bcgp) June 25, 2014

What would eliminating TAP mean for our region?

Among the casualties: any future funding for Circuit trails, bicycle facilities, or sidewalks.

This morning, Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission will vote on 11 projects that have been chosen to receive the “regional” allocation of TAP, and they will recommend 16 more projects to the statewide pot of TAP. Projects that improve safety and bicycling in all 5 Southeast PA counties. Projects like these would no longer be able to receive funding next year if Senator Toomey’s amendment passes.

Speak up TODAY for the importance of local communities’ ability to support better, safer bicycling! Don’t let Senator Toomey take away this valuable funding source!