Action Alert: Call Now to Prevent Legislation Hostile to Bicycling in Texas

Update from April 1: 

BikeTexas supporter Justin McMurtry stayed up all night to bring us this report:

“At 3:20am, the House at last takes up consideration of Rep. Hughes’s amendment to prohibit state funds from being spent to convert any existing general-use traffic lane into a bike, bus, or other special-purpose lane.

Hughes offers to modify his amendment to make it ‘less objectionable’, but before he can explain, another member [Rep. Eddie Rodriguez] raises a point of order against it—presumably based on the House rule that disallows budgetary acts that would change existing general law.

At 3:23am, the point of order and the amendment are both temporarily withdrawn.”

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Contact your rep now and ask him or her to oppose Rep. Hughes’ amendment to Article 7.

Rep. Bryan Hughes is proposing an amendment today that could hobble Texas? ability to provide safe roads for bicycling for decades to come. The amendment would prevent any state or federal funds from being used to reduce excess motor vehicle lanes for use as bicycle lanes or bus lanes. If passed, no state or federal funds, even those given to local areas as grants, could ever be used in this manner.

Please contact your Texas House Representative RIGHT NOW by phone and/or email. Ask that he or she vote NO. Also, ask him or her to speak out against Rep. Hughes’ amendment to Article 7. (Don’t know who your rep is? Find out here.) You can use any or all of the talking points below:

• This amendment is dangerous and will cost lives.
• Engineers routinely determine that there will not be significant impact to motor vehicle traffic before changing a roadway.
• Lane conversions create safer spaces for people walking, biking, and driving, reducing roadway injuries and fatalities.
• Transportation engineers in a local community need to be able to exercise their own professional judgement to determine the best solution to local traffic situations.
• The FHWA-approved lane conversions are proven to be effective at improving safety.
• [Name a local road in your area] is unsafe to bike or walk on. This amendment would make it very difficult to make this road a safe place for me and my family.

Be sure to include your name, address, and occupation. Thank you for making Texas a great place to bike and walk!

Edited to add the amendment language:

Floor Amendment No. _____________   By: ____________________ 

1    Amend C.S.H.B No. 1 (house committee report) by adding the 

2 following appropriately numbered rider in Article VII after the

3 appropriations to the Texas Department of Transportation:

4    ____. Conversion of Vehicle Lane. The Texas Department of

5 Transportation may not use any money appropriated by this Act:

6       (1) for the conversion of an existing vehicle lane to a

7 bus lane, bike lane, or other special purpose lane; or

8       (2) to issue a grant to a political subdivision of this

9 state for the purpose described by Subdivision (1) of this rider.