BIKE: [Fwd: Share the Road license plates now available!]

[rcbaker]

When I went to the Texas Transportation Commission meeting a few weeks
ago to warn them of oil supply problems that were going to cause their 40
year toll road bonds to default, I gave them $1 to supplement their strapped
Texas Mobility Fund which had only $44 for the whole state of Texas.

This fund is to help out toll roads and according to James Bass, the only
money in the fund for all of Texas through the end of March had come from
two!!! specialty license plates that had contributed $22 apiece.

This sounds like it may the same fund you are talking about. Are you sure
your 'share the road' money is not actually being diverted into a miserably
impoverished little pot of money to help fund toll roads or are there really
two separate funds that both keep $22 per plate, one of which helps out
bikes and one which helps out other stuff.  Check it out. Nothing TxDOT
says concerning money can be trusted, IMO. There are two many scandals
inside TxDOT for me to check out. Call up James Bass and ask him; he
seemed reasonably honest as TxDOT bureaucrats go.

-- Roger


On 10 Apr 2004 at 10:08, Patrick Goetz wrote:

>
> Recently there was a brief discussion about these license plates on
> the list and I forgot to mention that the plates were actually
> designed and are being promoted by the TBC.  More significantly,
> *Twenty-two dollars* from every plate sale will go into an account
> dedicated by TxDOT to funding bicyclist and motorist safety programs.
> I find Lance just as annoying as anyone else does who's not a
> spineless jellyfish or Republican toady, but these plates do appear to
> be for a good cause.
>
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: 	Share the Road license plates now available!
> Date: 	Fri, 9 Apr 2004 15:38:58 -0500
> From: 	Lauri Apple <apple>
> To: 	<apple>
>
>
>
> (Apologies for duplicates 
 please forward widely!)
>
>
> Dear Texas Bicycle Coalition Supporter,
>
>
>
> The Texas Bicycle Coalition is proud to announce that our *Share the
> Road* license plates are now available for purchase! Our winning plate
> depicts the image of five-time Tour de France champion *Lance
> Armstrong*, who will compete for his sixth Tour victory this summer.
> Lance is the *first living person in Texas history to be honored on a
> license plate*.
>
>
>
> To buy your plate, just download and print our form at:
>
>
>
> http://www.biketexas.org/pdf/Plate%20Order%20Form%20Color%20Web.jpg
>
>
>
> Or, you can use the Texas Dept. of Transportation’s *fax-on-demand*
> system at 888-232-7033, or buy one at your local county tax
> assessor-collectors’ office. You’ll receive notification two weeks
> before your new plate is ready for pick-up at your local county tax
> assessor-collector’s office. TxDOT will charge a $30 extra specialty
> plate fee that must be paid annually in addition to vehicle
> registration and other applicable fees. (TxDOT will honor the time
> remaining on your current plate, if it hasn’t yet expired.)
> *Twenty-two dollars* from every plate sale will go into an account
> dedicated by TxDOT to funding bicyclist and motorist safety programs.
>
>
>
> The Share the Road license plate became possible thanks to a bill
> passed by the Texas Legislature during the final hours of the 2003
> session. TBC subsequently held a design competition that drew 30
> entries from five Texas graphic designers, all of whom were
> bicyclists. After whittling down the choices to six designs, TBC went
> to the public, posting “Vote with Your Dollar” ballot boxes in bicycle
> shops and at events. The Lance design (by *GTO Advertising* of San
> Antonio) won by an overwhelming majority.
>
>
>
> Please let me know if you decide to purchase a plate. And if you
> haven’t already joined or renewed your *membership* to the Texas
> Bicycle Coalition, please do so today! You can find information about
> our advocacy, education programs, and activities on our Web site,
> www.biketexas.org <http://www.biketexas.org/>.
>
>
>
> Happy bicycling,
>
>
>
> Lauri Apple
>
> Communications Director
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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>