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On Thursday, March 9th, the Wisconsin Bike Fed along with partners at Rails to Trails Conservancy, Wheel & Sprocket, and Trek hosted an Advocacy Day at the state capitol building in Madison. Despite some nasty weather, we had a great turnout of advocates from around the state and some great meetings with many state legislators and staff. Members of Bike Fed staff, the Bike Fed board of directors, Council of Advocates, students from Lawrence University, and Trek CEO John Burke all brought their energy and enthusiasm to meetings with legislators.

Recently, Governor Tony Evers released his biennial budget proposal which includes allocating $18.5 million of federal funding for investments in trails and other safe walking and biking infrastructure across the Badger State. While this is very promising news, there will be an on-going process between now and mid-summer as the legislature debates what components of the Governor’s budget should still be included in the final state budget. 

When advocating in Madison, we at Bike Fed have repeatedly heard that legislators simply aren’t hearing from people back home that biking infrastructure, access, and safety are important to them. While we as cycling enthusiasts know the importance of these things for each and every Wisconsin community, not every legislator does.

Now is the most important time to be advocating for trails and bikes in Wisconsin. With the legislative budget session underway, there are many opportunities between now and the end of June to let legislators know what our bike, pedestrian, and trails communities need. Whether you attend a Joint Finance Committee listening session, visit your legislators in Madison, or just want to send a letter, every bit of advocacy helps! 

Make Your Voice Heard!

Please follow this link to let your elected officials know that supporting issues important to cyclists – whether they be based in the biennial budget, infrastructure advancements, bills related to safety and access, or more – are important to you, a constituent and a voter.