TBC at the 2002 National
Bike Summit
Photos
of the National Bike Summit
WASHINGTON, D.C.
-- Texas Bicycle Coalition Executive Director Gayle Cummins
was presented with the League of American Bicyclists' National
Bicycle Advocacy Award during the League's March 6 through
8 National Bike Summit in the nation's capitol.
Cummins was chosen
to receive the award for her efforts in making the Texas
Bicycle Coalition the bicycle advocacy model for the rest
of the nation, and for her work with the Texas Legislature.
In accepting
the award, however, she refused individual credit for the
honor.
"The work that
went into this does not lend itself to individual credit,"
she said. "It took a lot of dedicated staff, volunteers,
industry support and partners, all of whom stuck with us,
believed in our mission and helped create our advocacy model
in Texas."
Cummins added
that she was proud to accept the LAB National Advocacy Award
on behalf of all Texas cyclists.
Cummins is only
the second recipient of the National Advocacy Award. The
first was U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon), the leader
of the Congressional Bicycle Caucus.
Blumenauer and
Cummins' home congressman, U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas)
presented the award to Cummins in a March 7 ceremony held
in conjunction with the LAB's National Bike Summit.
More than 275
bicycle advocates, transportation professionals and leaders
from the bike industry came together at the Summit to exchange
ideas, explore common goals and make new alliances to encourage
and promote bicycling.
Cummins led an
eight-member Texas delegation to the Summit, and was a key
speaker in the opening plenary session. The group made personal
visits to the offices of 15 congressmen and Texas' two senators
to discuss bicycle-pedestrian transportation issues.
Key achievements
and successes of the Summit include:
- Sen. Hutchison agreed
to co-chair the new Senate Bike Caucus during a meeting
with the Texas delegation. Summit participants secured
another 15 commitments to join the caucus. The Congressional
Bikes Caucus already has 107 members.
- Summit participants encouraged
interest in the U.S. Senate in the Bicycle Commuter
Act. Several new co-sponsors were also added to the
House bill, which now has a total of 44 co-sponsors.
- Equipped with statistics
on spending rates, participants encouraged congressional
offices to write letters to Governors to generate spending
of Federal transportation enhancement monies.
- Summit attendees generated
overwhelming support in Congress for the Safe Routes
to School programs.
Members of the
LAB Texas delegation included Cummins, TBC Education Director
Preston Tyree, TBC volunteer bicycle industry liaison Robin
Stallings, David DeLeon of McAllen, Twilight Freedman of
Houston, Regina Garcia of Houston, Terry Musar of Southlake
and Barry Reese of Houston.
The group visited
the offices of Sen. Hutchison, Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas),
and of U.S. Reps. Sam Johnson (R-District 3), Ralph Hall
(D-4), Joe Barton (R-6), John Abney Culberson (R-7), Kevin
Brady (R-8), Nick Lampson (D-9), Lloyd Doggett (D-10), Ruben
Hinojosa (D-15), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-18), Lamar Smith
(R-21), Tom DeLay (R-22), Henry Bonilla (R-23), Martin Frost
(D-24), Ken Bentsen (D-24), Gene Green (D-29).
All tolled, Summit
participants engaged more than 225 congressional offices
including two thirds of the Senate and more than 160 House
offices with a pro-cycling agenda. Approximately a dozen
members of Congress and 75 congressional staffers joined
Summit participants at the Summit's congressional reception.
Attendees presented
and attended panels on key elements for bicycling within
TEA-21, enjoyed a pro-cycling keynote address from Mary
Peters of the Federal Highway Administration, and participated
in an LAB bicycle tour of Washington D.C.
Organizers said
participation in the 2002 Summit was up 53 percent from
the inaugural summit last year.
The Texas Bicycle Coalition
is the moderate voice for mainstream bicyclists in the state,
and is dedicated to the advancement of bicycle access, safety
and education. The coalition represents 30,000 Texas cyclists.
The LAB is the nation's oldest
bicycle advocacy organization and represents the interests
of the estimated 42 million cyclists in the United States.
