Get ready to walk or bike, leave your car, your Harley, and your trucks in the garage!

[PHILIP SCHNEIDER]

Obama Transportation Secretary: ‘This Is the End of Favoring Motorized Transportation at the Expense of Non-Motorized’
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
By
Terence P. Jeffrey, Editor-in-Chief

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

(CNSNews.com) - Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has announced that federal
transportation policies will no longer favor “motorized”
transportation, such as cars and trucks, over “non-motorized”
transportation, such as walking and bicycling.

LaHood signed the new policy directive on March 11, the same day he
attended a congressional reception for the National Bike Summit, a convention
sponsored by a bicycling advocacy group, the League of American
Bicyclists. LaHood publicly announced his agency’s new direction four
days later in a posting on his blog—“Fast Lane: The Official Blog of
the U.S. Secretary of Transportation”--where he effusively described it
as a “sea change” for the United States.
LaHood’s policy statement not only called for this change to take place in programs funded by the federal government, but also said the federal
government would “encourage” state and local governments to do the same
in their own programs.

“The establishment of well-connected walking and bicycling networks is
an important component for livable communities, and their design should
be a part of Federal-aid project developments,” said LaHood's policy
statement.

“Because of the benefits they provide, transportation agencies should
give the same priority to walking and bicycling as is given to other
transportation modes,” it said.

LaHood's policy statement
envisions the development of a transportation system in which people
walk and bike for short distances and rely on mass transit for longer
trips. “The primary goal of a transportation system is to safely and
efficiently move people and goods,” said LaHood's statement. “Walking
and bicycling are efficient transportation modes for most short trips
and, where convenient intermodal systems exist, these nonmotorized
trips can easily be linked with transit to significantly increase trip
distance.”

On May 21, LaHood told reporters at the National Press Club that the
“Partnership for Sustainable Communities’ his department
had formed with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department
of Housing—sometimes known as the “livability initiative”--was designed
to “coerce” people out of their cars.
“Some in the highway-supporters motorist groups have been concerned by your livability initiative,” said the moderator at the National Press
Club event. “Is this an effort to make driving more torturous and to
coerce people out of their cars?”

“It is a way to coerce people out of their cars,” said LaHood.

The moderator later asked: “Some conservative groups are wary of the
livable communities program, saying it's an example of government
intrusion into people's lives. How do you respond?”

“About everything we do around here is government intrusion in people's lives,” said LaHood. “So have at it.”

Motorists now pay a federal tax of 18.3 cents on every gallon of
gasoline they buy, and 24.4 cents on every gallon of diesel fuel. These
taxes fund the federal Highway Trust Fund. According to a study by the
Heritage Foundation, 26 percent of the money in this trust fund was
diverted in fiscal 2008 to pay for things other than highways and
roads. Of the total of $52 billion spent that was spent that year, $9.7
billion went to mass transit, even though mass transit passengers
accounted for only 1.6 percent of surface-transportation passengers.
The highway trust fund also gave $80 million that year to build trails.

“Today, I want to announce a sea change,” LaHood wrote. “People across America who value bicycling should have a voice when it comes to transportation planning. This is the end of favoring motorized transportation at the expense of non-motorized.”

[PHILIP SCHNEIDER]

Or maybe for those who absolutely can't give up their cars there's THIS idea . . . .

It's not a Chevy Malibu . . . . it's a Chevy Manylegs, runs on water, but gets less miles per gallon as passengers are dropped off.

[PHILIP SCHNEIDER]

Maybe if they're successful at this "walk-bike" idea, we can be as successful as they have become in India:

[Emery McClendon]

Thanks for the post. They hitting us with more and more stupid rules.

[Freedom Is Not Free]

What is wrong with this people? That is bring the Nation backwards not forward, and I believe the intent is to destroy the credibility of the USA with other Nations... bring the USA down... we will conquer the world. This people is so stupid that I can't wait until they are remove from their positions. so much money waste!!!! I hope the future generation of leaders have more wise views and more respect for the people... the next one will be what kind of tooth paste we must use. Just wait and see.


In a different subject... congratulation for your decision, I wish for you the best and allot of support, if you have website please allow me to know, I will post in all my groups.
God Bless.