Last month, our Policy and Planning Manager Erica Schneider headed to Capitol Hill with advocates from across the country for the National Bike Summit’s Lobby Day to make the case for something we care deeply about: making it safer and easier for people to walk and bike where they live.

Advocates sought to help Congress understand why walking and biking infrastructure isn’t optional, it’s essential. Investments in trails and active transportation networks don’t just move people. They improve wellbeing, connect communities, and even save lives.

Erica joined the New York delegation and met with staff from the offices of Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, along with Representatives Yvette Clarke, Hakeem Jeffries, Adriano Espaillat, and Paul Tonko. 

The day kicked off with a congressional bike ride with advocates from all over the country, showing D.C. the scale and energy of the active transportation community.

“They reinforced one important message for me: Bikes are joy!” -Erica Schneider

From there, it was a full day of meetings and conversations, all centered on how to keep momentum going for key federal programs that make this work possible.

A few big priorities guided those discussions:

• Reauthorizing Safe Streets for All (SS4A) with a proposed $5 billion annually for 2027–2031, and a smarter funding balance that shifts more dollars toward getting projects built (not just planned). 
• Protecting a strong Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) in the upcoming transportation reauthorization bill, instead of folding it into larger funding buckets. TAP is one of the main ways communities actually build sidewalks, bike lanes, and trails.
• Passing the Sarah Debbink Langenkamp Active Transportation Safety Act, which would make it easier for smaller and rural communities to access funding by allowing Highway Safety Improvement Program dollars to help meet local match requirements for TAP projects.

Big thanks to the League of American Bicyclists for organizing such a great event, and to our partners at the New York Bicycling Coalition, Reconnect Rochester, Transportation Alternatives, East Coast Greenway Alliance, and the Rochester Bicycling Club for showing up and making the day such a strong collective effort.

Erica left Capitol Hill feeling encouraged, energized, and most importantly ready to keep pushing forward.