Eric Gilliland, seen here at the 2008
National Bike Summit in D.C., is
executive director of WABA.
(Photo © J. Maus)

With hundreds of thousands of people expected to flock to the National Mall for the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama later this month, the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) wants to make it as easy as possible for people to get there by bike.

Yesterday, they officially announced that they'll staff several free bike valet stations during the event.

Reached via email this morning, Gilliland said that bikes will still not be allowed in the hard security perimeter but, "everything will be fine outside of that."

To further sweeten the deal, WABA -- with sponsorship help from America Bikes and Dero Bike Racks -- will give everyone who takes advantage of the bike valets a commemorative claim check and spoke card. (more...)

Congressional Quarterly has the full transcript from today's press conference where President-elect Obama introduced his choice for Transportation Secretary, Ray LaHood. Below are some key excerpts interspersed with my thoughts...

This is Obama giving some background (emphasis mine):

"...Our economy boomed in the 20th century when President Eisenhower remade the American landscape by building the interstate highway system.
(more...)

Introducing Ray LaHood, your
next Transportation Secretary.

On Friday, President Elect Obama is expected to make the formal announcement that Ray LaHood, a retiring seven-term Republican congressman from Peoria Illinois, will be his Transportation Secretary.

LaHood is a long-time friend of Obama and has worked closely in the past with Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.

Back in May, we (and others) speculated that maybe former Portland City Commissioner and now Congressman Earl Blumenauer would get the nod. That rumor evaporated pretty quickly, but then New York City's shining transportation star Janette Sadik-Khan became the hot rumor. Other names on the short list included biking's political founding father, Minnesota Congressman Jim Oberstar. (more...)

President-elect Barack Obama has responded to an online petition circulated by national advocacy group Transportation For America (remember them?).

T4 America reported on their blog today that 3,300 people signed onto a petition that was delivered to Senators John McCain and Barack Obama before their final debate back in October. The petition urged them to tell T4 America their plans for, "keeping America moving and creating new jobs by investing in our critical transportation system and infrastructure."

Here's a snip from the petition letter: (more...)

Transportation for America, a national advocacy group working to hasten a paradigm shift in how the federal government approaches transportation infrastructure decisions, wants you tell President-elect Obama to make good on promises made during his campaign.

Here's the text of the sample letter:

Dear President-elect Obama:

First of all...Congratulations! Your election, and results from down-ballot votes around the country, represents a resounding call for a new direction.

The Transportation for America campaign, representing more than 100 organizations and thousands of energized citizens around the country, salutes you. And we join you in seeking infrastructure investment that will stimulate the economy now and lay the groundwork for a clean-energy future that is less dependent on oil. (more...)

With expectations that president-elect Obama might pick his cabinet in the next few weeks, we're following his pick for Transportation Secretary very closely.

Previously, we reported early rumors that Obama was considering former City of Portland transportation commissioner and now U.S. Congressman Earl Blumenauer or Minnesota Congressman Jim Oberstar (whose arguably the most important and revered politician to the national bike movement).
(more...)

President-elect Obama at a rally in Portland on March 21, 2008.
(Photo: Ethan Jewett/Stickeen Photography)

(more...)

(Photo � J. Maus)

The Multnomah County branch of the Barack Obama campaign has a bike event planned following this Friday's presidential debate.

First, they'll host a viewing party of the debate at the Laurelhurst Theater in Northeast Portland. (more...)