You don't have to pay a corrupt lobbyist like Jack Abramoff to gain funding for bike paths and trails in your area. You simply need to get your mayor or county executive interested in bicycling.
Just look at Seattle, Chicago, and Columbia, Missouri as examples.
For instance, I ran across a story in my local newspaper on Wednesday that said trails are taking a high priority in King County (Washington) Ron Sims' proposed $29 million outdoor recreation budget next year.
By way of explanation, the Seattle Times said:
“Sims said he was surprised to discover how crowded the county's bicycle trails are after he began biking regularly this year. … Tree roots that make trails bumpy are 'a really big deal' for bikers, he said.”
How else can you convince elected officials that trails need to be resurfaced without getting them shook up by bumping across buckled asphalt? Until they get hooked on cycling, they really don't realize how many cyclists use the trails and what a popular form of recreation and transporation it has become.
Included in the budget proposal is $2.5 million to go toward buying a 47-mile rail line through the county for a rail-to-trail project; $1.6 million to connect the Soos Creek Trail to the Cedar River Trail; $1.1 million for a master plan for the East Lake Sammamish Trail (above), which is now gravel; $655,000 to widen and repave the Burke-Gilman Trail north of Seattle.
Eventually Sims wants to expand the 175-mile bike trail network in and around Seattle to 300 miles.
Chicago's goal
Chicago's Mayor Richard Daley is also a bicyclist, and last weekend the Washington Post reported that he hopes to make the Windy City the nation's top cycling city by 2015.
While the city already boasts about 315 miles of bikeways and a center for indoor bike parking, showers, repair and rentals, Daley wants to attain a 500-mile bikeway network in less than 10 years.
The Chicagoland Bicycle Federation reports on those plans on its website. Many of the ideas seem to have the mark of a top public official who enjoys bicycling.
Columbia, Mo.
Darwin Hindman is another example of a bicycle enthusiast who has worked on cycling issues during a dozen years as mayor of Columbia, Missouri.
His commitment to cycling resulted in his town being selected by Congress as one of four to receive a $25 million windfall to set up a pilot bicycling program. His experience from years riding his bicycle on roads in his community convinced him that building roads just for cars is a mistake. He told a reporter:
“When people made plans for roads, they mistakenly made plans for only the automobile. … The strategy of just building more and more lanes is proving to be counterproductive’’ in reducing congestion.
His city has been working on a plan to network trails for bikers and hikers across the city. Hindman's just been waiting for the money to do it.
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