12 DEC 2005: Flood MO Sen. Bond with pro-bicycling/walking email

Missouri Bicyclists and Pedestrians,

Please take two minutes today to contact Senator Bond in support of bicycle and pedestrian accommodation in future transportation bills.

Send Sen. Bond an email by visiting this website: http://bond.senate.gov/contact/contactme.cfm

Phone: (202)224-5721

Message: Thank you for supporting the Columbia non-motorized transportation pilot project, Kansas City's Riverfront Heritage Trail, the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) program and, particularly, renewed CMAQ funding for Kansas City, the federal Transportation Enhancements program, Chouteau Bridge bicycle accommodations, bicycle/pedestrian accommodations on the new Senator Christopher S. Bond Bridge near Hermann, the requirement for routine consideration of bicycle and pedestrian needs in the federal transportation bill, and other bicycle and pedestrian friendly elements of federal transportation policy. Please support bicycle and pedestrian friendly projects like these in the future.

I would like to absolutely blow up Sen. Bond's email box again this week (as we have done a couple of times in the past). Here is why:

If you remember, Missouri's Sen. Bond played a key role in defeating the "Complete Streets" initiative in the federal transportation bill. Since then we have been developing a strategy to get Sen. Bond's support next time around.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) a conference in Washington DC about the new Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program is starting. Columbia, MO, is one of the 4 participating cities. MoBikeFed has arranged to present an award to Sen. Bond during this conference.

To coincide with this presentation I would like to have hundreds of supporters of bicycle and pedestrian accommodations email or call Sen. Bond in support of a bicycle and pedestrian friendlier America.

Basically, we need to show Sen. Bond that as bicyclists and pedestrians, we have a lot of support and some clout.

The reason it is so important to affect Senator Bond is because he plays a key role in determining the direction of federal transportation policy. Bond was among only 4 senators who hammered out the Senate's version of SAFETEA-LU, the recently passed federal transportation bill.

Whether you personally support or oppose Mr. Bond, he is an incumbent and in our political system that means he will likely remain a senator until he decides to retire.

That means that he will almost certainly be there in a key position for the next decade or more. During that time he will be wielding a lot of influence on the federal transportation decision-making process.

Bond's support for key bicycle/pedestrian issues--or, short of actual support, even just a tempering of his opposition--could mean that those provisions survive in Congress the next time around.

We want to see "Complete Streets" pass the next time it comes before Congress!

So, please, email or call Sen. Bond today, thank him for what he has done to support bicycle & pedestrian issues in the past and ask him to support bicycle pedestrian issues in the future.