BIKE: Proposed law for $5 MB trails set-aside

[Hill Abell]

How many people on this list began their life of cycling by first using your
bike for transportation?  Recreational cycling is the portal to cycling for
the vast majority of people who become riders, first for fun and then
possibly transportation cyclists.

Another thing to consider regarding this bill is the fact that over 80% of
the bikes sold in Texas are from mass merchants like Wal Mart.  While some
of those mass merchant acquired bikes are used for transportation by lower
income folks, the majority of them are ridden in neighborhoods and hike and
bike trails around the state.  Using tax revenue to build trails (which are
not predominantly single track but mostly wider, multi-use trails like the
one soon to be built on a tract of Austin's water quality protection lands
at Slaughter and rr 1826) that are appropriate for families and novice
cyclists goes a long way to grow the pro-cycling constituency in Texas, even
if they never ride their bikes to work or for errands.

The money would not go exclusively to trails in state parks, but would be
distributed like the Recreational Trails Fund program, which allows its
funds to be used on city, county and even federal property as well as state
parks land.


And in the scheme of things not even 2.5 million, when distributed
state-wide, would do much to enhance on-road cycling facilities, but it will
build hundreds of miles of off-road trails statewide.  Hill



On 4/1/05 5:18 PM, "elizabeth gray" <egray88> wrote:

> I received a mailing from TX Bike Coalition, advertising a lobbying day at
> the Capital.  One of the bills—sponsored by Hildebrand—is to add a $5
> surcharge on ALL bikes sold in TX.  This is expected to generate $2.5
> million per year.  The money would go for “development of single track
> trails in TX state parks”.
> 
> I never thought I would be against something related to bikes, but this
> strikes me as meeting only the needs of a special interest group
> (recreational mountain bikers).  What about other types of biking?  What
> about unintentionally perpetuating the idea that bikes are for fun, not for
> transportation?
> 
> Any thoughts or ideas on this?
> 
> 
> Elizabeth Gray
> egray88
> 974-4150 work
> 476-1861 home
> 
> 
> 
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Hill Abell
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http://www.bicyclesportshop.com

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