200 Letters Campaign

Everyone is a Pedestrian.

Our goal is to have 200 letters reach the offices of those making decisions and writing policies -- to specifically request Complete Streets and Safe Routes to School in Berks County. Deadline: March 1, 2008. It is best to email AND to fax a letter to the men listed below:

STATE SENATOR MICHAEL O'PAKE
STATE REPRESENTATIVE SAMUEL ROHRER
STATE REPRESENTATIVE DAVID R. KESSLER
U.S. CONGRESSMAN JAMES GERLACH
U.S. SENATOR ROBERT CASEY
U.S. SENATOR ARLEN SPECTER

Feel free to use any part or all of the form letter provided:

Dear ____________:

Please work with WalkBikeBerks to create safer streets for all users in Berks County, PA. We are at a critical point where our streets will undergo significant changes in the months and years to come as we grow and develop as a county. Please support us in new policies and funding. In addition, I would ask that you contact PennDOT on our behalf to express your concern for our safety and quality of life. Ask PennDOT to retrain their engineers to create streets for all users, making people (not cars) their first priority in traffic design.

WalkBikeBerks seeks to ensure that our streets will be Complete Streets and that our county can rely on Safe Routes to School. We want our communities safe for all users, even the most vulnerable citizens -- children, elderly, poor, and disabled. We want those people who cannot or do not drive (who represent more than 30% of the total population) to be able to move about freely and independently. We also want to reduce our own dependence on automobiles to travel from our homes to amenities in our neighborhoods. We want cleaner air, healthier children, and safer streets. We also want a better quality of life.

I am asking that you do whatever you are able to ensure that all land use policies and development projects that come to Berks County adhere to the PennDOT Strike Off Letter SOL 432-0702 and coincide with the Berks County Greenway, Parks and Recreation Plan, the Berks County Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan, and the Federal Highway Administration's Bicycle and Pedestrian guidelines. Berks County can have thriving, vibrant, walkable communities, if we choose to make them so. Please make it a priority to Complete The Streets of Berks County.

Thank you.

Sincerely,