Something Every Cyclist Should Do - Comment On The TIP

The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission is taking public comment on the Fiscal Year 2009 Transportation Improvement Programfor PA and NJ. This is a very important document as it is the priority list of transportation projects for the region. The rule of thumb: If it is not in the TIP then it doesn't get built.

To review and comment on the Transportation Improvement Program for PA and NJ click here or go to www.dvrpc.org. NJ and PA's documents are overwhelmingly large but you can simply search for projects in your own county.

For those of you in NJ, we urge you to look at the Tri-State Transportation Campaign's Analysis of the NJ Capital Program (the TIP is part of the Capital Program) you may simply want to cut and paste the bullet points and make them part of you comments, especially bullet point number 4 which specifically addresses bicycle funding

For Pennsylvania consider mentioning the use of the Bike Ped Checklist and urge PENNDOT to abolish the Bikeway Occupancy Permit which is blocking the development of bike lanes in the suburbs.

At a minimum I encourage you to make a statement about the underfunding of bike and ped projects, feel free to use or abuse this sample: Given the concerns ranging from energy independence, global warming and the benefits of physical activity, bicycling and walking should be entitled to a larger piece of the transportation funding pie. Funding levels should be set at a minimum to match the existing non-motorized mode share and the percentage of bicycle and pedestrian traffic deaths.

Send your comments via email no later than June 2, 2009 - tip-plan-comments@dvrpc.org