Thursday, May 3, 2012
Congress urges Amtrak to provide roll-on/roll-off service to Pittsburgh
One of the challenges of self-supported touring is transporting your bike for one leg of the journey. Amtrak’s Capitol Limited Route between DC and Pittsburgh is one option. Currently your bike must be boxed for travel on the train. Roll-on/roll-off service would be much more convenient for cyclists and would likely attract many more passengers traveling the Passage.
We were encouraged to see that 18 members of Congress, including Representatives Connolly, Moran, and Norton, recently signed a letter to Joseph Boardman, President and CEO of Amtrak, asking that roll-on/roll-off service be provided:
May 2, 2012
Joseph H. Boardman
President and Chief Executive Officer
National Railroad Passenger Corporation
60 Massachusetts Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20002
Dear Mr. Boardman,
Thank you for your interest in providing enhanced bicycle service to your riders. We are encouraged by the prospects of Amtrak being able to offer roll-on / roll-off accommodations to travelers with bicycles on the Capitol Limited route and strongly urge you to move foreword with implementing these improvements as soon as possible.
As you know, the Capital Limited line parallels the Great Allegheny Passage and the C&O Canal towpath, which together make a 335-mile bike trail that connects Pittsburgh, PA to Washington, DC. These trails were recently featured in the Washington Post travel section and are increasingly recognized as an international tourist destination. There are over 3.5 million visits to the Great Allegheny Passage trail system every year, many of them long distance riders who need transportation for themselves and their bicycles.
Roll-on / roll-off bicycle service is an important transportation improvement and will serve as a model for expunging this type of service nationwide. Providing these accommodations will help Amtrak attract new customers and will enhance tourism and economic development. These improvements are truly a winning proposition for everyone involved and we look forward to their successful implementation.
Thank you in advance of your attention tot his important issue. We look forward to continuing to work with you on solutions to allow this serve to begin as soon as possible, as well as long term options for dedicated rail equipment to handle bicycles efficiently and safely that help contribute to increased ridership for Amtrak, enhanced tourism, and economic development.
Sincerely,
Bill Shuster, Earl Blumenauer, Corrine Brown, Mark S. Critz, Gerald E. Connolly, Peter DeFazio, Jeff Dunham, Mike Doyle, Bob Filner, Jesse L. Jackson Jr., Dennis J. Kucinich, Patrick Meehan, Jim Moran, Jerrold Nadler, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Laura Richardson, Tim Ryan, and Edolphus Towns, Members of Congress.
Joseph H. Boardman
President and Chief Executive Officer
National Railroad Passenger Corporation
60 Massachusetts Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20002
Dear Mr. Boardman,
Thank you for your interest in providing enhanced bicycle service to your riders. We are encouraged by the prospects of Amtrak being able to offer roll-on / roll-off accommodations to travelers with bicycles on the Capitol Limited route and strongly urge you to move foreword with implementing these improvements as soon as possible.
As you know, the Capital Limited line parallels the Great Allegheny Passage and the C&O Canal towpath, which together make a 335-mile bike trail that connects Pittsburgh, PA to Washington, DC. These trails were recently featured in the Washington Post travel section and are increasingly recognized as an international tourist destination. There are over 3.5 million visits to the Great Allegheny Passage trail system every year, many of them long distance riders who need transportation for themselves and their bicycles.
Roll-on / roll-off bicycle service is an important transportation improvement and will serve as a model for expunging this type of service nationwide. Providing these accommodations will help Amtrak attract new customers and will enhance tourism and economic development. These improvements are truly a winning proposition for everyone involved and we look forward to their successful implementation.
Thank you in advance of your attention tot his important issue. We look forward to continuing to work with you on solutions to allow this serve to begin as soon as possible, as well as long term options for dedicated rail equipment to handle bicycles efficiently and safely that help contribute to increased ridership for Amtrak, enhanced tourism, and economic development.
Sincerely,
Bill Shuster, Earl Blumenauer, Corrine Brown, Mark S. Critz, Gerald E. Connolly, Peter DeFazio, Jeff Dunham, Mike Doyle, Bob Filner, Jesse L. Jackson Jr., Dennis J. Kucinich, Patrick Meehan, Jim Moran, Jerrold Nadler, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Laura Richardson, Tim Ryan, and Edolphus Towns, Members of Congress.
Labels: amtrak, c and o canal, congressman connolly, congressman moran, great allegheny passage
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Ped/bike bridge at Wolf Trap being installed
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| Bridge span being lowered into place. |
This project is part of the Beulah Road Walkway Project that was initiated by the NoVi Trails group headed by Jenifer Madden. It shows that hard work, persistence, and patience pays off. Funding was obtained from several sources with the help of Congressman Moran and the support of Supervisors Hudgins and Foust.
The final span of the bridge will be installed tonight. Congratulations to Jenifer for her work on making this facility a reality.
Labels: congressman moran, jenifer madden, supervisor foust, supervisor hudgins, trap road, wolf trap
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Modifications to bicycle commuter tax benefit law introduced
The Bicycle Commuter Tax Benefit has been in place since January 2009. Bicycle commuters who bike 3 or more times a week for a month can receive $20 toward bike commuting expenses. Unfortunately not many companies have implemented the benefit. It cannot be used in conjunction with the transit benefit. It's not easy to implement.Congressman Earl Blumenauer of Oregon introduced the bill that became the Bicycle Commuter Tax Benefit. He understands the limitations of the law and wants to make changes. He is sponsoring the Commuter Relief Act:
For bike commuters, the Commuter Relief Act would:
Congressman Moran is also sponsoring the bill- Increase the amount of the bike commuter benefit from $20 to $40 a month.
- Allow bike commuters to combine the bike commuter benefit with other fringe benefits — up to $200. For example, You could use the $40 bike benefit and collect up to $160 of your public transit benefit.
- Cap all transportation fringe benefits at $200 a month (the parking benefit is currently $230, the transit cap will drop to $130 at the end of 2011).
- Allow self-employed people to receive transit fringe benefits for work-related commuting.
- Require employers offering a parking transportation fringe benefit to also offer employees the option to take cash instead. This would create an incentive for more people to leave the car at home and take cheaper options, like transit, biking, and walking.
- Create a 10 percent tax credit for vanpool expenditures
"With the some of the worst traffic in the nation, Northern Virginians are no strangers to wasting gasoline while sitting in rush hour traffic," said Moran. "Providing incentives for commuters to carpool, bike, or take public transportation is not only good for our environment, but for our pocketbooks. It’s one of the best ways we can address traffic congestion in the region."
Labels: bicycle commuter tax benefit, congressman blumenauer, congressman moran
Thursday, March 10, 2011
FABB is headed to Capitol Hill
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| VA bike advocates meet with Zack Fields of Congressman Connolly's office last year. |
See the article in today's Post, Bicycle advocates lobby Congress with jobs pitch:
The cyclists want continued dedicated funding for three key federally backed programs: a $117 million program to develop safe routes that promote walking and biking to school by children; a program that builds and maintains recreation trails; and funding for bicycling and pedestrian projects.
Their first objective is to preserve those programs in the cost-cutting debate over the 2011 federal budget, and then to see them maintained in the long-term transportation funding bill that may be considered this year.
They are armed with statistics that show that 1.5 percent of federal transportation dollars are spent to support biking and walking while 12 percent of all trips are on two feet or two wheels.
With an increased emphasis on reducing funding for federal programs we'll be making the argument that investing in bicycling is cost-effective. A study conducted in Baltimore showed that bike projects put more people to work than road projects. And in Portland, Oregon for the cost of 1 mile of highway they’ve built a world-class bicycle network with a high percentage of daily trips are taken by bike. It costs 22 times more to build the infrastructure needed for new car trips vs. new bike trips.Their first objective is to preserve those programs in the cost-cutting debate over the 2011 federal budget, and then to see them maintained in the long-term transportation funding bill that may be considered this year.
They are armed with statistics that show that 1.5 percent of federal transportation dollars are spent to support biking and walking while 12 percent of all trips are on two feet or two wheels.
Labels: bike summit, congressman connolly, congressman moran, congressman wolf
