Comments on: Oklahoma Senator Calls Bike Library “Wasteful”

By: Oriello

Oriello — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 16:32:24 +0000

Coburn put the Federal Highway Administration’s entire “transportation enhancement” (TE) program on his list as well. This $800 million program (in 2008) has been the source of most of the bike lanes, bike paths and many of the sidewalks in the nation since 1991 thanks to far-sighted members of congress who funded the enhancement program to the tune of about 4% of all federal highway monies. Thanks to them also for the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) program which funded the Fort Collins Bike Library, our Bicycle Coordinator, and many of the bike paths in town. These programs and the hard work of City transportation planners, in large part, have made Fort Collins a Gold Level Bicycle Friendly Community, according to the League of American Bicyclists, and have made Fort Collins one of the best places to live and to locate a business in the country, according to Money Magazine. Oklahoma hasn’t a single bicycle friendly community compared to eight in Colorado.

For Coburn’s 2009 list we’re working on using library bikes to offer escorted rides for kids, seniors and visitors from Oklahoma who otherwise might not bicycle.

By: Lee

Lee — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 12:28:34 +0000

The whole point of greenery for roadside beautification is that it saves the state money and looks better at the same time – which would appear to be a win-win situation. If you spray wildflower seeds on the roadside you can let it grow wild all summer and nobody will complain, as compared to a grass which has to be mowed by a work crew all the time – which costs a lot more. Plus native species are given a boost. And it’s pretty.

By: Lee

Lee — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 11:58:29 +0000

The Baltimore-Washington Parkway is an example of a “scenic route”. It’s one of the more popular ways for Residents of Washington, DC to get to Baltimore, and vise-versa (besides the MARC Train, which doesn’t even run on weekends). Right, who needs that?

And what kind of person calls a museum frivolous?

What now walking is frivolous too?
What’s next, breathing?

By: Streetsblog » Street-Level Intelligence from the Streetsblog Network

Streetsblog » Street-Level Intelligence from the Streetsblog Network — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 22:38:38 +0000

[...] out by men who didn’t appreciate me ignoring their advances. Also on the network today, a post from Kansas about an Oklahoma senator who seems to have a problem with bicycles, an update on the [...]

By: George

George — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 18:17:19 +0000

The best part of Coburn’s report is where he summarized the $800 million transportation bill.

In 2008, more than $800 million in taxpayer funds were spent on “transportation enhancement”
(TE) projects, such as bike paths, pedestrian facilities, museums, scenic routes, historic
preservation, and greenery for roadside beautification.196 To pay for these frivolous projects,
taxpayer dollars are siphoned from federal highway transportation dollars needed for critical
infrastructure initiatives, such as road and bridge repairs.

I think Coburn should talk to some of the cyclists and pedestrians who use the paths to get to work–and tell them that their means of commute is frivolous.

By: Streetsblog » Street-Level Intelligence from the Streetsblog Network

Streetsblog » Street-Level Intelligence from the Streetsblog Network — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 17:20:16 +0000

[...] on the network today, a post from Kansas about an Oklahoma senator who seems to have a problem with bicycles, an update on the [...]