Tag: 2013 legislature

May 29, 2013

Orcutt: No need to increase transpo investment because ’11 of the 12 sections of the bridge are still standing’

Ed Orcutt, the ranking Republican on the Washington House Transportation Committee, has sent another email with questionable conclusions about transportation policy. You may remember the representative from this misstep from March: “You would be giving off more CO2 if you are riding a bike than driving in a car.” That statement and an email saying…
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tagged: 2013 legislature, ed orcutt
May 6, 2013

For sixth year in a row, Washington named most bike-friendly state in the US

Washington is, once again, the most bike-friendly state in the Union. That’s according to the League of American Bicyclists, which creates annual report cards for every state in the US, taking into account various criteria for being bike-friendly. “But wait,” you’re saying to yourself, “when did Washington start investing so heavily in bicycling?” You’re not…
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tagged: 2013 legislature, league of american bicyclists, wsdot
March 20, 2013

Neighborhood Safe Streets Bill one step closer + Transportation funding up in air

The humble Neighborhood Safe Streets Bill (SHB 1045) passed out of the Senate Transportation Committee Tuesday with unanimous support. The bill, which would give municipalities the option to lower speed limits on non-arterial streets to 20 mph, passed the House 86–10 with broad bipartisan support in February. Now it has until mid-April to get a…
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tagged: 2013 legislature, hb 1045, neighborhood safe streets bill
March 2, 2013

State lawmaker defends bike tax, says bicycling is not good for the environment

EDITOR’S NOTE, May 2015: This story is going viral again, but not everyone realizes the story is old. Please note that it happened in 2013. Thanks! Representative Ed Orcutt (R – Kalama) does not think bicycling is environmentally friendly because the activity causes cyclists to have “an increased heart rate and respiration.” This is according…
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tagged: 2013 legislature, bike tax, ed orcutt
February 25, 2013

The bike tax is just a distraction: The real problem is the billions on new highways

When the state Senate Democrats unveiled a transportation package last week, folks were shocked to see a “symbolic” bike tax of up to 5 percent on bike sales in the state. And we all fell for it, posting about why it makes no sense. But really, the bike tax is just a distraction from the…
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tagged: 2013 legislature, bicycle alliance of washington, bike tax
February 21, 2013

Why a statewide bike tax makes no sense

UPDATE: For more, see our post “The bike tax is just a distraction: The real problem is the billions on new highways” State Democrats unveiled a $10 billion revenue package for transportation Wednesday that includes monstrous investments in new highways and highway expansions and comparatively few investments in safe streets and projects that make it…
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tagged: 2013 legislature, bike tax