Okay, that isn't exactly what he said. But U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today issued what he's calling "a major policy revision, a sea change. People across America who value bicycling should have a voice when it comes to transportation planning. This is the end of favoring motorized transportation at the expense of non-motorized."

The statement declares that "the DOT policy is to incorporate safe and convenient walking and bicycling facilities into transportation projects. Every transportation agency, including DOT, has the responsibility to improve conditions and opportunities for walking and bicycling and to integrate walking and bicycling into their transportation systems."

It's not immediately clear what the new policy statement will mean, practically, since most roads are controlled by state DOT's. And whether USDOT will use the power of the purse to force state planners to add bike lanes to say, the Tappan Zee Bridge in New York or Bay Bridge in San Francisco remains unclear. Noah Budnick, the Senior Policy Advisor at New York's Transportation Alternatives, a pro-biking group, didn't immediately jump for joy upon learning of the announcement. "It falls short of the goal of mandating 'complete streets' at a local level," he said. But in a measure of how far biking has come as a non-fringe activity in recent years, Budnick did give two thumbs up to the former Republican Congressman's appearance at last week's National Bike Summit. It was, Budnick says, the first appearance of a Transportation Secretary at that Conference. "Not only was he there, but at the closing event he jumped up on a table and gave a rousing speech to the crowd. It was amazing...he was in full-on campaign mode and he was campaigning for bikes."

For the full description (and video of that speech), click on LaHood's blog entry here.