Americans want more safe opportunities to walk and bike to get where they're going.
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	Federal Transportation Bills RTC Partners with Bikes Belong for National Report SAFETEA-LU Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program 2010 Campaign for Active Transportation An opportunity to advocate for walking and bicycling Burn Calories, Not Carbon!TM pledge "Active Transportation for America"NEW!

Americans Want More Walking and Bicycling:

In July's Advocacy Corner article on Federal Transportation Bills, we discussed the impending expiration of the current federal transportation bill, SAFETEA-LU, on Sept. 30, 2009. Further, the Highway Trust Fund—the primary funding source for road construction—is facing serious revenue shortfalls and will likely see significant financial challenges within the next year.

These approaching events necessitate new transportation priorities. Last month you read about Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's (RTC) 2010 Campaign for Active Transportation—an effort to double the federal funding for trails, walking and biking. In a time when road budgets are shrinking and Americans are saving money by driving less, RTC understands the importance of safes places to walk and bike.

But do most Americans feel the same way?

Resoundingly, yes! In a recent survey by national transportation reform groups (designed by Collective Strength and conducted by Harris Interactive), Americans clearly indicated that we should be spending more transportation dollars on active transportation facilities. Here's how their responses compared to current spending breakdowns:

Transportation Mode	How would you distribute federal transportation funds?	How federal transportation funds are actually distributed*
Roads	37%	78%
Transit	41%	20%
Walking and bicycling	22%	1.5%

* Approximate

In other words, Americans want to spend nearly two-thirds of all our transportation dollars on walking, bicycling and public transit—flipping current priorities upside-down! Indeed, in the last month several major news sources have picked up on the trend and run stories highlighting how more and more people are choosing to walk or bike to get where they're going:

• July 7, 2008: NBC Nightly News, Portland, Ore. inspires bicycling nationally. 
• July 23, 2008: NPR, Bicycling in Portland, Ore. 
• July 27, 2008: CBS News, Renewed American interest in the bicycle 

So we know that Americans want more walking and biking options. We know that walking and biking address many challenges our communities are facing, including public health, mobility, climate change, local economies, and more. But how will we get there?

Your assignment: Start thinking about the best arguments you can make for better walking and biking priorities nationally. Later in the month, we'll ask you to take action to get the word out.

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