Dear Bicyclist,
It's not often that you get complimented on the floor of Congress and roasted in the pages of the Daily News within a week. Congressman Earl Blumenauer is impressed with our efforts to make Philadelphia and Montgomery County more bike-friendly; columnist Stu Bykofsky fumes that bike lanes are going to turn Philadelphia into a congestion nightmare.
Would you like to send Stu Bykofsky a message about your support for bike lanes and bicycle education?
I want to make Stu Bykofsky the biggest donor to the Bicycle Coalition this year and you can help --
make a donation in Stu's name!
Congressman
Blumenauer visited our offices with local Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz.
Blumenauer, representing Portland, OR, is known as Capitol Hill's bicycle
champion and he was impressed with trail plans on the Delaware and Schuylkill,
the new bike lanes on Spruce and Pine Streets and Philadelphia's #1 ranking for
bike commuting among big cities.
But, as he said
later in his floor speech, what really caught the Congressman's attention was
the Bicycle Coalition's new Safe Routes Philly program. Within a year,
Philadelphia will have one of the largest Safe Routes to School programs in the
country with safety education in all 174 elementary schools in the Philadelphia
School District.
Daily News
columnist Stu Bykofsky has spilled a lot of ink in the last few months worrying
that buffered bike lanes will lead to congestion armageddon, doubting the
efficacy of the Bicycle Coalition's counts and criticizing us for not doing
enough to educate the bicycling public.
I guess it's not a
surprise that someone is finally getting upset with all of our success:
-
buffered bike lanes on Spruce and Pine
Streets,
-
a bicycle and pedestrian walkway on the new
Scudder Falls Bridge,
-
$23 million in trail money for the Schuylkill
River Trail, East Coast Greenway and Camden Greenway (plus another $5 million
for the Chester Valley trail),
-
a new bike plan in Philadelphia recommending
many new miles of bike lanes, separated bike lanes and shared lane markings (or
sharrows).
As our successes
mount, I don't want to let up. This month the Bicycle Coalition hired six
seasonal Bicycle Ambassadors and three year-round Safe Routes Philly staff in
our education department. Contracts cover their salaries but not all of the
other costs associated with the program.
Stu Bykofsky wants
to slow us down. I want to strike while the iron is hot. But I can't do it
without your support!
-
Please consider
making a gift to support our education programs and -- by making the gift in
the name of Stu Bykofsky -- send him a message that Bicycle Coalition members
care passionately about education
-
Volunteer your
time -- at Bike Freedom Valley or Bike Philly or to extend the trail network
across the Delaware Valley (hit reply to request more information)
-
Introduce a friend
to the Complete the Schuylkill River Trail Campaign by inviting them to ride
Bike Freedom Valley
Stu does not get
it. But you get it and I get it -- bicycles are an important transportation and
recreation choice for the future of the Delaware Valley. Your support will help
me and the dedicated staff and volunteers of the Bicycle Coalition to continue
to spread the word!
Please make a gift in honor of Stu Bykofsky today!
Alex Doty
Executive Director
PS If you have already given, please accept my thanks and
consider forwarding this email to a fellow bicyclist.
