« Taliban Insurgence | Main | A Public Education Workshop! Defining Democratic Values in Support of Equitable Public Policy for All Texans »
May 03, 2006
Do you have a moment to call or email to improve Houston transit?
From the Citizens' Transportation Coalition. Please take a moment to visit their site and take action.
Citizens' Transportation Coalition members are partnering with BikeHouston members to finally get bike racks on Houston Metro buses. METRO has agreed to do bike racks in 2008/09. But they have access NOW to $1.2 million in federal bike rack dollars (already appropriated) that expires in August 2006. What's missing is political will to follow through, resolve any implementation challenges, and get this program underway.
METRO's board of directors is appointed, which means they are ultimately accountable to our city and county elected leaders.
We already have the support of Senator Rodney Ellis, Judge Robert Eckels, and Council Members Carol Alvarado and Adrian Garcia. We've had positive meetings with several others. On Tues May 2, we'll go to Commissioners' Court (10:00 am) and Houston City Council (2:00 pm) and ask our local elected leaders to support bike racks on buses. You can help by calling or emailing to voice your support in the next few days.
You can get phone numbers and email addresses for leaders, read more background, and download the packet we're giving elected leaders in our online forum: http://www.ctchouston.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=211
Why are bike racks on buses important?
The combination of bikes and buses will take more Houstonians to more destinations than either one can alone. Bike racks on buses encourage "multi-modal" trips and will help reduce automobile dependence in Harris County. Bike racks:
- Connect existing bus routes to more destinations by making long walks easy
- Allow METRO to serve transit users at the edge of the service area and beyond
- Support cyclists caught by inclement weather or mechanical problems
- Improve safety by allowing cyclists to travel by bus through hazardous traffic areas
- Help Houston meet air quality goals by increasing use of both transit and cycling
Twelve of the 15 largest US cities have racks on buses. Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio have racks on buses. And with your help, Houston can, too.
Posted by Lyn Wall at May 3, 2006 08:03 AM | Permalink
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.houstondemocrats.com/cgi-bin/mt-tb.cgi/880
Comments
Dear friends of Houston cycling and transit:
We heard strong, clear statements of support for putting bike racks on buses from members of both Commissioners' Court and Houston City Council today! Thank you both to the volunteers who came downtown, and to everyone who made time to call or write our local elected leaders! I've posted a short account of the meeting and what we accomplished, along with some next steps, in CTC's forum. If you have not yet contacted the Mayor's office to express your support, please do so in the next day or two.
Thanks for your advocacy! Robin
Posted by: Robin Holzer at May 4, 2006 10:25 PM