US Transportation Secretary Promotes Biking

US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is blogging bikes, and he's getting media coverage for it -including in The New York Times.  First, consider the internet savvyness of an official US DOT blog, "Fast Lane."  One doesn't usually think of a high-ranking federal official as the source for an interesting blog.

Next, consider LaHood's words about biking, which suggest something might be different in the culture of the usually auto-focused DOT.

Why devote resources to a transportation mode that fewer than 10% of the nation is using? Well, bike infrastructure is relatively inexpensive--particularly if you compare it to, say, adding a lane to an existing roadway. Now, imagine if those people who do bike around chose instead to make all of their trips in single-occupancy vehicles. Our already congested roadways would be brought to a halt. So, even for those folks who have no interest in bicycling, this relatively low investment actually pays dividends for those who still choose to drive. Everybody wins.

The transportation times, they are a changin'

Jamie Baker Roskie