Last Friday afternoon, Melanie Curry broke the news of the introduction of Assembly Bill X1-23, a bill that would double state funding for active transportation projects, better known as bicycling and pedestrian projects.
Immediately upon the bill's introduction, the California Bicycle Coalition (CalBike) began urging members and interested parties to contact their legislators to get the bill heard and passed. The legislative session is set to expire on Friday night, so AB X1-23 needs to move, and move quickly. At the start of the session, CalBike had listed increasing state funding for bicycle projects, especially bicycle safety projects, at the top of its legislative agenda.
"We’ll never meet our goals one bike lane at a time," writes Dave Snyder, the executive director of CalBike.
"We need to start building networks to connect people to all the destinations in our community. This bill will provide the incentive and the funding to do that, appropriately focused on the communities who need it the most."
CalBike is urging interested parties to sign an online Action Alert that will be sent directly to their local representatives. The Action Alert urges support for the active transportation principles outlined in Senator Jim Beall's funding legislation and ABX1-23. Beall's legislation would ensure that "maintenance and rehabilitation" funded by state dollars includes projects that advance “bicycle and pedestrian safety, access, and mobility improvements."
You can find CalBike's Action Alert here.
