[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 146 (Thursday, November 15, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1775]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  IN RECOGNITION OF THE EAST BAY BICYCLE COALITION'S 40TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 15, 2012

  Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with my East Bay 
colleagues, Representatives George Miller, John Garamendi, Jerry 
McNerney, and Pete Stark on the occasion of the East Bay Bicycle 
Coalition's 40th anniversary celebration. In its 40 years of bicycle 
advocacy, the East Bay Bicycle Coalition has garnered an impressive 
list of victories and a vast network of supporters working toward the 
shared goal of promoting cycling as a sustainable, healthy, and safe 
form of transport in the San Francisco Bay Area.
  On March 20, 1972, a group of cyclists created the East Bay Bicycle 
Coalition as a non-profit bicycle advocacy group with the simple 
mission of promoting bicycling for people of all ages and abilities in 
Alameda and Contra Costa Counties of California. One of the 
organization's first battles was for bicycle access on the then-new San 
Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system. By 1975, the coalition 
had succeeded in that goal and paved the way for BART's continued 
reputation as one of the most bike-friendly transit agencies in the 
country.
  During the past 40 years, the East Bay Bicycle Coalition has also 
worked to expand and establish bikeways on Bay Area bridges, stripe 
hundreds of miles of bike lanes in East Bay cities, and complete 244 
miles of the San Francisco Bay Trail. The organization's members have 
worked tirelessly for access to urban bicycle parking, inclusion of 
bicycle pathways in local and regional transit plans, and to establish 
an annual ``Bike-to-Work Day'' throughout the East Bay.
  With growing awareness that an ever-increasing number of individual 
automobile commuters is neither sustainable nor responsible, there has 
been a national movement towards alternative forms of transportation. 
Thanks in great part to the work of the East Bay Bicycle Coalition, our 
East Bay Congressional districts are leading the way in this trend, 
with four cities certified ``bike-friendly'' by the League of American 
Bicyclists--Oakland, Emeryville, Brentwood and Alameda. Berkeley, in my 
district, ranks fourth in the nation amongst cities with the highest 
number of people bicycling.
  We are pleased to see the role that federal investment has played in 
promoting and sustaining this transportation shift, beginning in 1991 
with the walking and biking provisions of the Intermodal Surface 
Transportation Act. My colleagues and I look forward to continuing to 
work with the East Bay Bicycle Coalition and their allies around the 
country as we prepare in the coming years to develop a long-term 
Federal Transportation Bill that works for everyone, including those 
who find the bicycle to be a clean, healthy, and enjoyable form of 
transportation.
  Therefore, on behalf of the residents of California's 9th, 7th, 10th, 
11th, and 13th districts, we pay tribute to the East Bay Bicycle 
Coalition in recognition of their 40th anniversary. We ask our 
colleagues to join with us in congratulating the East Bay Bicycle 
Coalition for its continued leadership and commitment to making the 
East Bay a wonderful place to ride, and we wish them success in the 
coming years.

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