Let’s face it. Since 9/11, the American people have been repeatedly told that they’re living in a dangerous world and they are always under threat. Now, our elected officials are able to cite ‘national security’ as a reason for not building a path for pedestrians and cycles on a new bridge in New Jersey. May I recommend that we all take the names of every single politician who is out there citing ‘national security’ as a grounds for not making the new bridge pedestrian accessible and bike friendly? Then, as their constituents, we demand that they

1. stop imposing their irrational, fear-based thinking on us
2. take a walk to the center of the GWB, or any one of the fine East River spans
3. spend 30 minutes contemplating the thousands of walkers and bikers sharing space harmoniously not just with cars but with subways
4. return to their offices after a lunch break
5. take a sip of coffee and maybe have a shower
6. go to their offices and MAKE IT LAW THAT PEDESTRIANS AND CYCLISTS be able to share the new bridge not only with cars, but with and EXTENSION OF THE HUDSON BERGEN LIGHT RAIL to NEWARK, where it will connect seamlessly to the NEWARK SUBWAY, NEWARK AIRPORT and ELIZABETH and a vast new system of public bike lanes and bike sharing stations serving Metro-Newark, Metro-Jersey City and Metro-Elizabeth.

Any politician seen to be anti-urban and in the pocket of Big Oil and Big Auto will be voted OUT of office and sent to the Gulf Coast to assist in the clean up there.

ENOUGH. No New Jersey politician will be off-limits until the chokehold of Big Oil and Big Auto is shattered. We the people will teach our politicians one-by-one who is in charge. National Security is top priority to every American and nobody has to be sent overseas to die so that an ordinary American can walk over a bridge or take public transport to get from ‘A’ to ‘B’.

VOTERS OF NEW JERSEY: Expose all those elected officials who would impede progress on this issue and every single other quality of life issue. We didn’t ask for a car-centric paradigm 70 years ago – it was imposed upon us by Standard Oil, GM and Firestone Tire. As the oil now laps at our shores from Texas to Florida, and 6,000 American men and women have sacrificed their lives for Big Oil, WE THE PEOPLE have to re-educate our elected officials as to what constitutes a true ‘National Security Threat’. Forbidding the public from being able to walk and bike over bridges is as good a place to start as any.

The legal notice announcing the public comment period only has the snail mail addresses, so I’m not sure they are accepting emailed comments on this one.