Current Actions

  • Tell Congress to preserve funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects

    Some Congressional leaders are attacking Safe Routes to School, Transportation Enhancements and Recreational trails and are taking steps to cut off dedicated federal funding for bicycling and walking. We need every single person who wants safe options to walk or bicycle to contact their Senators and Representative today.

    House Transportation Committee Chair John Mica has unveiled his proposed transportation reauthorization bill. The bill drastically cuts investment in the transportation system and eliminates guaranteed funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects.

    We need your help to protect important programs like Transportation Enhancements, Safe Routes to School and Recreational Trails. Contact your Members of Congress, and tell them to reach out to Senators Inhofe, Boxer, and Congressman Mica to continue dedicated funding for biking and walking.

  • Ask your Senator to support safe bicycle passing

    House Bill 170, the Safe Bicycle Passing Bill, was passed by the PA House of Representatives on May 23, 2011, with overwelming support. Now it is up to the Senate to take action for safer streets. Ask your senator if they will support this important bill.

    This bill would take the prinicple of "Share the Road" and make it an official part of the Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Code through two important changes. The bill will:

    • Require motor vehicles to pass bicyclists with a minimum of 4 feet
    • Protect bicyclists from a “right hook” or “left hook,” where a motorist makes an improper turn into the bicyclist’s direction of travel

    Motorists misjudging the space needed to pass a bicyclist, and motorists turning into the path of a bicyclist are two common causes of bicycle crashes, accounting for 12% of the total vehicle-bicycle crashes.

    To date, at least 18 other states have passed similar safe passing bills, and several more states are currently considering these bills.

    Get all the details on our policy ideas page.

    Send an email to your state senator urging him or her to support House Bill 170!

  • Pennsylvania needs proportional cuts to transportation funds!

    Ask Governor Corbett to preserve our scarce dollars dedicated to funding bicycle and pedestrian projects.

    In the latest budget deal between the Republicans and Democrats, the two parties agreed to rescind (read: take back) $2.5 billion in unspent federal transportation funds. PennDOT has the power to decide which funds they send back. In the past, state Departments of Transportation have used this as an opportunity to empty out the funds that pay for your sidewalks, bike lanes, trails, and education programs.

    We have seen this before, and it is happening again. Last year, when states had to send back $2.2 billion in transportation funds, almost half of that money came from programs that fund bicycling and walking projects. See this Rescissions FAQ from the League of American Bicyclists for more information.

    Please contact Governor Corbett today to tell him this is wrong. Funding cuts for the rescissions should be fair and proportional across the board.

  • Support the Environmental Stewardship Fund

    NOTE: The House Passed SB1155 on September 29, 2010.  Thanks to all who reached out.  Watch your email for future action alerts.

    The House is poised to pass SB1155 as amended by Rep. Kate Harper, which provides significant funding for the Environmental Stewardship Fund, but we need to help deliver some votes.  This is NOT a done deal!

    The Environmental Stewardship Fund, aka "Growing Greener," has been used to fund a variety of important projects, including trail and bikeway projects that are important to PA Walks and Bikes.

    This may be one of the most important votes the members of the General Assembly will ever cast in their careers. Future generations of Pennsylvanians will look back on this moment with either gratitude for the vision of the men and women of the house and senate, or dismay at a tremendous opportunity squandered.

    Revenue estimates for the Environmental Stewardship Fund (Growing Greener) based on Rep. Harper's amendment:

    2010-11                       $14.48 million
    2011-12                       $80.36 million
    2012-13                       $106.81 million
    2013-14                       $158.66 million
    2014-15                       $188.01 million

    Please call or email your House member and ask him or her to vote for SB1155 as amended by Rep. Harper.

    The House may vote on this today.  DO IT NOW!

  • We want safer streets: Stop texting and driving

    Pennsylvania is closer than ever to making our streets safer by restricting the use of mobile electronic devices while driving.  The Pennsylvania House and Senate have been negotiating the specifics of the bill, and House sponsor Eugene DePasquale stated that he is "confident – not 100 percent convinced, but confident – that we’re going to have a strong bill done this fall."

    Some members of the Senate, however, prefer a watered-down version of the bill that would only apply to new drivers and would make it a secondary offense.  It is unsafe for any driver to be texting behind the wheel, and the people of Pennsylvania know it.

    Let's send a clear message to the Pennsylvania Senate that we want a strong bill that applies across the board, and let's make it a primary offense.  This will make our roads safer for all users, especially pedestrians and bicyclists.

    Write or call your Senator now.

  • Pennsylvania Trail Funding in Jeopardy!

    Governor Rendell has proposed transferring or suspending $132 million from environmental funding to balance the budget.  This funding supprts many valuable programs, including Growing Greener - the source of countless trail projects. Tell your legislators to oppose any budget that would cut these important sources of  funding.