Editor’s Note: Blake has been in Olympia all session working with the legislature to make the state safer and more accessible for people on bikes. In this guest post, he makes the case for why urgent action is needed to make sure vital funding for biking and walking projects secures its rightful place in the state’s transportation bill.

In Seattle, where excitement is growing for the Seattle Bicycle Master Plan Update’s completion, one sobering fact remains: Funding remains short to get much done in growing a world-class network of bikeways.

In Olympia, as tensions rise in the waning days of the Washington State Legislature’s special session, critical investments are still in play that promise to jump start Seattle’s Bicycle Master Plan Update and simultaneously build hundreds of non-motorized safety and mobility projects statewide.

With all this promise and opportunity for bicycling in Seattle and statewide, we need your voice by this weekend to make it a reality (see below for instructions how).

The Bicycle Alliance of Washington – along with our partners on the Transportation for Washington campaign – need your help to remind your state legislators that walking and biking investments (as well as transit investments) create safer streets for our kids, expand our transportation freedom, and save money for taxpayers statewide.

Statewide Transportation Revenue Package

While the current state transportation revenue package has sparked considerable debate – in no small part because it could use additional investments to fix our aging roads and bridges – we’ve negotiated to get over $370 million of investments that could touch hundreds of walking and biking, livable streets, and school safety projects.

It’s more for walking and biking than any previous state transportation package and offers us a rare opportunity to make streets safer for our kids, improve cycling opportunities on trails and in cities, grow business, and create jobs statewide. Continue reading →