You are cordially invited, and in fact, respectfully urged, to join us at the Eighth Biennial Cyclists in Suits – Texas’ Bike Lobby Day on Monday, March 30, at the Texas Capitol. In late March, bicycle and pedestrian legislation is often at a point in the process where citizen-lobbyists can influence a favorable outcome, as over 50 cyclists from around the state did for Safe Passing in 2009.
We’ll visit every legislative office with bike pins and information about the bills that are important to cyclists. A constituent office visit, especially to legislators not (yet) supportive of biking and walking issues, can and has made the difference in a legislator’s eventual support of a bill. One excellent example is the late BikeTexas Board Member Iris Stagner’s initial visit to both her Senate and House representatives in 2009; subsequent to her visit, her senator changed his “No” on the Safe Passing bill to a “Yes.”
Buses are coming from Brownsville, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio; choose the appropriate city when you sign up. If you don’t live in those areas, you can check the box for carpooling on the registration form and we’ll do our best to match people up (this is not guaranteed; it depends on how many people sign up from your area). Alternatively, you can contact your local bike group and talk to them about getting a group from your area to come to Austin for the day.
