“Budget cuts on this scale would be a major setback to bicycling in Vancouver.”
— BTA Advocacy Manager Gerik Kransky
As reported yesterday, the City of Vancouver has put its Bike Program on the chopping block. In response, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance is mobilizing its forces in Southwest Washington in an effort to save it.
In an action alert sent out via email and posted on their blog last night, the BTA says their plan is to encourage Vancouver City Council to dedicate $200,000 of what the draft Transportation Improvement Program labels as “presently uncommitted revenue” to the Bike Program.
That $200,000 is called out on page 28 of the TIP document under a chart that shows the five transportation programs (which includes the bike program) that are not slated for funding beyond 2010. Here’s the full excerpt:
“In 2011, the city will have approximately $200,000 in presently uncommitted revenue. If all current capital projects come in on budget, it is possible that some funding could be available, depending on need, for some of these activities. In years prior to the budget crisis, the City funded regular ongoing programs to address neighborhood, safety, and other projects that tend to rely solely on local funding.”
Other programs that could be eligible for that money are ADA improvements, Pedestrian, Traffic Signals, and Traffic Safety.
The BTA’s Advocacy Manager Gerik Kransky sent out an email to 700 constituents in the Vancouver region urging them show up at a City Council workshop on the TIP slated for this Monday (6/7) and tell council members to dedicate that $200,000 toward the Bike Program.
The draft TIP lists $500,000 in unfunded projects under the heading “Bike Vancouver Phase II.” In past years, the Bike Program has paid for things like bike parking, distribution of bike maps, and bike lane striping.
If council chooses to not fund it, Kransky warns that “Budget cuts on this scale would be a major setback to bicycling in Vancouver.”
Read the BTA action alert here.