It's really not much of stretch that these people aren't the brightest. Haven't they elected a former steroid user, WWF wrestler as governor and a moronic comedian as Senator. They probably do need walking instruction.

Um, almost every major city in North America has some form of Pedestrian and Cycling Advisory group, usually within the transportation planning department.

Toronto , New York, even down there in ultra-liberal Texas.

So a city deciding to spend a very small portion of their transportation budgets on non-automobile alternatives is news why?

Lefties have been infiltrating the ranks of low level government for years, this is what you get,

Next come the Walk Police, and Walk Judges. Wait for it.

One can't help but think of Monty Python's Minister of Silly Walks. And back in the 1970's we thought that it was just a comedy sketch - who knew???

I think they left out the word "silly".

I understand the Mexicans are going to require them to have visas.

New economy proponents suggest that many of the jobs that will employ us in the future have yet to be invented. This must be one of them.

Question: if the citizenry scoff at the Walking Ambassadors, will the State 'recall' them as a sign of protest?

there's alot of dumbasses in my town who need to be taught how to walk, cycle and drive. most of them can't think, you can tell by the voting record.

tComing to Ontario soon complements of Dulltone Mc Nutty.

Not to be outdone, the US Treasury Department is calling for proposals to teach people.. wait for it.. how to be funny in the workplace. They want seminars to teach people how to tell jokes, how to use humour when communicating, and how to draw cartoons. Approximate budget is $500,000.

But I am seriously thinking of getting one of the new e-bikes. See "daymak.com" or "blueavenue.ca" for some examples. These e-bikes travel at 32 km/hr, and use approximately 8 cents of electricity per day if you ride them the 50-60 km range that most have. They look like little motorcycles (so much so, police have been stopping people because they don't have license plates attached). No license, no insurance required, and you can run them for an entire year on less than you pay for one fillup.

I'd still want a car for rainy or snowy days, but these bikes are great for commuting around the city. And they're just a lot of fun to ride.

I do hope Democratic voters find out about those ebikes and purchase them in droves, Kevin. If they take them out on the road, GOP prospects for 2010 should improve almost immediately.

I live in the area (35 miles out on 11 acres to keep away from the insane adult children)
A few years ago, these wizards of smart started a "yellow bike program" where a couple of hundred bikes were left on the streets for all people to share. Need to go somewhere? Hop on a yellow bike. Leave it where you land for the next comrad to use. I shit you not.
They all disappeared in about a week.

If the walk ambassadors are given full permission to immediately strangle pedestrians who cross on "don't walk" signs, and cross the street diagonally rather than perpendicularly, or who express careless disregard when crossing, then I'm all for it

KevinB - I cycle commute to work a lot - and I've tried a few electric bikes, and found them fun and powerful. I told a friend of mine I was considering one, and he said "why don't you just get an electric wheelchair"?

(No disrespect meant to our differently-abled readers)

e-bikes would be great for cycling downtown - easy to get bike parking for free!!

More Empire building by government. Civic this time. I guess they gassed Pedal Pushers where I learned to ride a bike saftly. It was not controled by our betters in government.

Lileks won't like this, I bet.

KevinB at 3:33 - It's not my absolute favorite show, but that Treasury Department thing sounds like an especially cringe-making episode of The Office.

Black Mamba:

Apparently, there are some brains left in the US government. When an (unnamed) Senator heard about this, he hit the roof and the program has been cancelled.

Yes, I'm just as stunned as you.

Multiply "walk ambassadors" by a few tens of millions and pretty soon you have an army of unproductive, parasitical bureaucrats, causing a recession. Like this one.