The Florida Department of Transportation’s attack on active transportation funding demands a strong response from all of us.

The South Florida Bike Coalition and partners ask you to write a letter to Congressman John Mica of Florida’s 7th District who is also Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. E-mail it, Fax it, Post it; Call his DC or District Offices; Tell your friends, write a letter to your editor of your local paper; Blog about this. But please, tell Congress that the most dangerous state for walking or bicycling in the Country needs more sidewalks and bike facilities, not less. Here’s our letter - feel free to edit it, add your personal story or just copy and paste it. Don’t forget to sign it with your full contact information (address, phone & e-mail), no matter how you send it. Thank you for reading – and for doing.

The best way to reach Congressman Mica quickly is via his website contact form, via his aide Wiley Deck or via phone or fax to his DC office: Phone: (202) 225-4035 Fax: (202) 226-0821.
 
 
The Honorable John Mica
House Office Building
United States House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515Dear Representative Mica:

As a Floridian, I am writing to tell you that the Florida Department of Transportation does not represent me when they question the importance of sidewalks and bike facilities.

At the special hearing on transportation policy in Maitland, Florida on March 14th, FDOT asked the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for a “reduction of number of federal transportation programs” so that they can spend all federal funding on highways instead. As gas prices rise, more people are walking and biking in our state than ever before, but Florida is already the most dangerous state in the country to walk or bike in.

Therefore, I am asking you to dedicate as much funding to bike and pedestrian improvements as you can in the new transportation bill. At a minimum, I hope that you will maintain current funding levels, since they are already just a small part of the overall transportation budget.

FDOT doesn’t represent the people of Florida; I hope that you, Rep. Mica, will represent me.

Thank you,

Your Name
Address
Email
Phone Number

Other Florida Congressional representative that serve on the T&I Committee are first-term Republican Steve Southerland of Panama City/Tallahassee and Jacksonville/Gainesville/Ocala Democrat Corinne Brown. If you are in either of these districts, please contact them directly. You can also call or write to your own representative and ask him or her to speak to their colleagues on your behalf.

This takes only a few minutes of your time but it can have lasting impacts on the safety of transportation in Florida and across the United States. Again, thank you for speaking up for bicycling and walking.

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