[Reprinted from the Capital Times, September 16, 1995. -Ed.]
by Mike Ivey
Political collisions between the bicycle lobby and the highway lobby are generally as one-sided as collisions between a car and a bike.
In other words, the bicyclist gets squashed every time.
But Charlie Gandy is one bike nut who says it doesn't have to be that way. "For years, roads have been built without any input from the bicycle community. Now we're just trying to get to the table," says Gandy, director of the Bicycle Federation of America's advocacy program.
A native of Texas, Gandy is one of several national bicycling leaders in Madison this weekend as part of Bike Action 2000, a series of workshops designed to train bicycle advocates. Similar workshops are scheduled this fall in Boulder, Colo.; Pittsburgh; Decatur, Ga.; and Davis, Calif.
The workshops include technical sessions and problem-solving workshops with national and local experts.
"The goal is to teach people how to make their cities took more like Madison than Houston," says Gandy, who served in the Texas Legislature from 1983-85 before founding the Texas Bicycle Coalition.
With 2,500 members, the TBC is the largest statewide bicycle advocacy group in the nation and serves as a model for similar groups, such as the Dane County Bicycle Transportation Alliance and the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin.
Gandy is now trying to teach others how to grow their own bike organization. And the timing is crucial, he says, because Republicans in Congress are eyeing major cutbacks in bicycle funding.
The federal transportation act of 1991, which for the first time allowed local governments to use highway funds for bike projects, is up for reauthorization. That law, dubbed ISTEA for Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act, also requires states to write master plans for bikes and pedestrians and hire bicycle coordinators.
Because of ISTEA there has been more national funding for bike projects in the last three years than the last 20 combined, says Gandy.
Madison's bicyclists have already enjoyed the benefits of federal highway monies. The East Side Rail Corridor bike path running between Marquette and Blair streets was completed only because those funds became available under ISTEA.
But the roadbuilders and automobile interests have caught the ear of the GOP and are pushing for a return to the days of blank check highway building. Sounds like every other environmental story coming out of Washington.
The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure is now considering cutting back or eliminating the component of ISTEA that allows states the flexibility to use highway money for bike or pedestrian projects.
To Gandy, that would be tragic. "It's damn hypocritical for the Republicans to complain about Washington dictating policy and then go after a program that lets local governments set their own transportation priorities," he said.
Wisconsin's Legislature is also considering a cutback in bike funds. In June, Assembly Republicans recommended a 30 percent cut in bike facility money not tied to road projects. The final decision will come out in the transportation budget still being debated.
The proposal would shift about 11 million over the next two years into the State Highway Rehabilitation program. The hope is to avoid raising the gas tax.
"Call your legislator," says Marcia Miquelon, executive director of the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin.
Miquelon is stepping down in October, after serving one year as the state's first full-time bicycle advocate.
"I was able to get things up and running, but now somebody needs to step in and help a young and struggling bicycling advocacy group," she said. Under Miquelon, the BFA doubled its membership in Wisconsin to 220 members.
Miquelon is staying around town long enough for this weekend's bike conference, which is being held at the Memorial Union and concludes Sunday with a tour of the city's bike paths and facilities.
So, if you see a group of bicyclists out this weekend, using all the proper hand signals and stopping at all the lights, they're probably members of the national bike lobby trying to set a good example.
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