Site icon BikePortland

Transpo. Sec. Ray LaHood on his blog: “Cyclists are important users of transportation systems”

Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward


National Bike Summit - Day two-8
Transportation Sec. Ray LaHood speaking
at the National Bike Summit.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has followed up his encouraging keynote speech at the National Bike Summit — where he said bike advocates “have a full partner at the US DOT” — with a post on his “Welcome to the Fast Lane” blog titled, “Cyclists are important users of transportation systems”.

The post is a reflection on his speech at the Summit. Here’s an excerpt (emphasis mine):

“…I don’t think the League of American Bicyclists knew what to expect when they invited me to their summit.

Story continues below

advertisement

I hope they were pleasantly surprised because I am committed to investing in programs that encourage bikes to coexist with other modes and to safely share our roads and bridges. And there’s strong support in Congress for these goals as well.

….I think I conveyed that excitement to the summit, judging by the early response (BikePortland.org, Streetsblog.org)

I welcome the vigor of the bicycling community in advocating for bike-friendly measures in the upcoming authorization bill, CLEAN-TEA. Bicycles are a critical part of a cleaner, greener future in American transportation, so keep those wheels spinning.”

I’m not sure what I like best about this. The fact that the Transportation Secretary has a blog (it needs a new name though), LaHood’s recognition of bicycles and a sense that he really “gets it”, the part when he said he “welcomes the vigor” of the bike community, or the fact that he linked to BikePortland.org.

Wow. The transportation authorization bill effort should be very interesting to watch unfold.

Switch to Desktop View with Comments