Take Action!

As reported by the New York Post, Staten Island Republican Councilmembers James Oddo and Vincent Ignizio are demanding that all new bike lanes be subject to a lengthy -- and highly unnecessary -- review process. Councilmembers Oddo and Ignizio's proposal would put a snarl of red tape and potentially years of waiting time between New Yorkers and life-saving improvements to their streets.

Take action! Click here to send Councilmembers Oddo and Ignizio a fax and stand up against a long, drawn-out review bogging down life-saving bike lanes. Tell Councilmember Oddo and Ignizio that New Yorkers need bike lanes. We will not stand for their attack on safe streets.

T.A.'s legal committee is fast at work on an official answer to this nonsense. Meanwhile, before other Councilmembers begin blaming every other traffic jam on bicyclists, we need you to tell Councilmember James Oddo that obstructing the installation of bike lanes will only make our streets more dangerous for cyclists, pedestrians and motorists alike.

On Manhattan's 9th Avenue, a parking-protected bike lane and its accompanying pedestrian islands reduced injuries for everyone by 56 percent. That's drivers, passengers, pedestrians and cyclists, all safer because of a bike lane. Because bike lanes make streets safer for pedestrians and drivers too, their timely installation is integral to making our streets safer for everyone.

T.A. needs your help to defeat this attack on bicycling before it gets started. Stand up for your right to bicycle in a safe lane! Send an e-fax to Councilmember Oddo now!

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Subject:	I'm a New Yorker in Support of Bike Lanes
Message Body: Dear Councilmember Oddo, I am writing to ask that you immediately stop wasting the City's resources and your constituents' time by trying to put red tape between New Yorkers and life-saving bike lanes. Bike lanes are to biking what sidewalks are to walking -- necessary street improvements that enable New Yorkers of all ages and abilities to ride safely. Your proposal is an attack on safe streets and an affront on the right of all New Yorkers to travel their city in safety. According to the City Department of Health's own exhaustive report, bike lanes are integral to providing safe passage for a rapidly increasing number of New Yorkers trying bicycling for the first time. But it is not just bicyclists who are made safe by bike lanes. Did you know that streets with bike lanes also reduce crash and injury rates for motorists, passengers and pedestrians? Streets with bike lanes see 40 percent fewer crashes resulting in death or serious injury for all users, whether they are biking, walking or driving a car. The street improvements you want to stall helped make 2009 the safest year for traffic since the City began keeping records 100 years ago. Imagine that: 40 percent fewer debilitating, life-altering injuries; 40 percent fewer lives shattered by a traffic crash; the safest streets in our city's history. Why is political pandering more important to you than preventing the pain and suffering of the New Yorkers you were elected to protect? Department of Transportation research also shows that bike lanes reduce vehicular speeding while having little or no impact on overall travel times. Before bike lanes came to Brooklyn's Prospect Park West, 75 percent of cars were speeding. With the lanes installed, less than one in four cars break the speed limit. Vehicle counts on that corridor are the same, as is the average travel time for motor vehicles. It is simply not true that bike lanes impair driving. Anything that stalls the installation of bike lanes is a threat to the safety of all New Yorkers. The people of New York want to ride bikes in the safety of dedicated lanes. When you stand in the way of bike lanes, you are standing on the side of more speeding, more crashes, more injuries and more dangerous streets. I implore you to reconsider your position on environmental review for these integral street safety additions. Sincerely, Cc: Councilmember Ignizio, Council Speaker Quinn, Councilmember Vacca, Mayor Bloomberg
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