what does it all mean?

this entire week i have been biting my nails in anticipation to whether the House of Representatives was going to cut bike and pedestrian funding or not. as of this morning, the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee eliminated funding for bike/ped projects in the Federal Transportation Bill. tomorrow a vote will be placed in the House of Ways and Means on whether they will kick out public transit out of the Highway Trust Fund. this will mean cutting funding from public transit while they fight for full share of funding annually. from what i have experienced in recent years with budget cuts, public transit in san francisco and in the east bay have undergone many fee hikes in recent years while cutting services and paying extravagant benefits to those who work for BART and MUNI. there have been many protests against higher transit costs in recent years, regardless, it's become increasingly expensive to afford transit for many, and those who are fined for not paying $2 are severely punished with expensive charges. aside from the provisions this eliminates for the public, i also have my worries about how this will impact public health and safety as well as compromise the future of programs for clean air and development of sustainable cities. i'm curious to know how these systems will react. i'm also curious to find out what this means for the public and what they will do when services are cut.
some communities, like Oakland who is constantly undergoing budget cuts, have heavily invested more in creating walk/bike infrastructure than highway projects, and are currently creating ways to fund these projects for the future (vote yes on Measure B this November!). i'm proud to see this city prioritizing it's community.

what do you think this means for communities across the states? how do you think this will impact your community?

still a little more curious or want to take action? read more here... Transportation for America.