ACTION ALERT – Austin Cyclists! Show up! Safe Passing Bill

Dear fellow Austin area cyclists,

Please attend the Senate Committee Hearing on the Safe Passing Bill – SB 488 – Tomorrow (Wednesday March 11) at 7:30AM at the Capitol in E1.016. Wear a suit!

We need as many attendees as possible to help insure passage of both SB 488 (Safe Passing) and SB 161 (Safe Routes to School). If you can get to the capitol tomorrow morning PLEASE do it. It is very, very important.
Send an RSVP to robin@biketexas.org AND mark@biketexas.org if you plan to attend. BikeTexas will email you tonight to let you know if the Wednesday hearing is on. If you are not sure, please contact Mark Stine at cell 512-921-0581. If you get no answer, leave a voicemail and Mark will call you back as soon as possible.

Important notes:

1. An announcement has been made that this week’s Transportation and Homeland Security committee hearing will be canceled if the State Senate stays in session tonight past 10:00 PM as they debate and possibly vote on the contentious Voter ID Bill. We will not know until the Senate adjourns this evening either by or after 10:00 PM. Our best take that the session will conclude by 10:00 PM and we are preparing to testify tomorrow.

2. The Wednesday Transportation Committee hearing, if held, will now start at 7:30 a.m. Please try to be there at 7:30 a.m. as we cannot be sure when our item will come up. Please remember to wear business attire including coat and tie for men.

3. When you fill our a card at the hearing to support SB 488, please also be sure to fill out a card supporting SB 161, a Safe Routes to School Bill which is also authored by Senator Rodney Ellis. SB 161 will help to make better and more timely use of underutilized Safe Routes to School funds currently held by TxDOT.

Thanks for your commitment and support. Please call or email Mark or Robin with your questions.

We’ve been working and waiting long for this.

All of us know how important this bill is for the overall safety of cyclists in Texas. We are optimistic that we will have success but we all must still work every step of the way in this laborious process. Our sincere thanks to all of you who have stepped up to support BikeTexas in this effort.

Please forward this to friends!