At Pro Walk/Pro Bike today, Secretary Anthony Foxx of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced a new USDOT national bicycle and pedestrian safety initiative to

1. • Close gaps in bicycle and pedestrian networks, especially in low-income neighborhoods.

• • Conduct bicycle and pedestrian safety assessments in every state. Recently in Quincy, MassBike and WalkBoston led one of the three pilot assessments in the country.

• • Create a "road diet" guide to help states and communities make streets safer for everyone. This is essentially a national Complete Streets guide.

• • Launch a bicycle and pedestrian safety action team to examine and improve how government approaches these issues.

This initiative is the most comprehensive that USDOT has ever put forward for bicyclist and pedestrian safety. In his announcement, Foxx asked Congress to pass a long-term surface transportation bill. A long-term bill will help create opportunities that are often lost with short-term funding, such as the chance to have a broader conversation on how to engage communities in the highest efforts. Foxx asked all of us to tell Congress to pass a long-term transportation bill.

MassBike Executive Director David Watson, who is attending Pro Walk/Pro Bike and heard Foxx speak on this important issue, said "We're confident the Massachusetts Congressional delegation is supportive, but we will all need to help convince the rest of Congress."

UPDATE: Here is a link to the Safer People Safer Streets initiative.