Or, to be specific, the Senate passed the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, or FAST Act, yesterday, 83-16. The act, which President Obama is expected to sign, will earmark nearly $1.7 billion for “bike lanes, paths and trails, and other infrastructure improvements that will make bicycling safer and more appealing for everyone,” according to the advocacy group PeopleForBikes.
Lest we grow too agitated at the thought of bearded and jack-booted hipsters taking over American roadways with their socialist visions and fixed-gear bicycles, remember that the U.S. government spends $50 billion per year on surface transportation projects, according to the Congressional Budget Office. No one is coming for your Cadillacs, folks.
As a bike commuter—and obnoxious one at that—I applaud this bill, if only because videos like this one, featuring Mario Batali, will no longer be produced: