Ray LaHood, President Obama’s Transportation Secretary kicked off the opening plenary at the National Bike Summit this morning.

BikePortland.org » Sec. LaHood: “You have a full partner at the US DOT”
One bright spot that did not go unnoticed by the crowd is that LaHood said he and other transportation officials plan to study European models of bike and walk-friendly facilities this spring (something Portland, New York City, and others have already been doing).

At the end of his speech, LaHood repeated his line about how the US DOT will be a “full partner to accomplish the things you want to do” and he added that, “We are on the cusp of making more progress on these issues than ever before.