Are Our Feet A Method of Transportation?

In responding to an opinion page letter in the newspaper, a thought occurred to me. It seems that the Department of Transportation does not think of pedestrians as often as they should. Think about this for a moment: they rebuild streets and highways, they regulate all which is related to vehicular transport.
On the DOT website, under the heading "What We Do" you can see their mission statement:

The mission of the Department is to:

Serve the United States by ensuring a fast, safe, efficient, accessible and convenient transportation system that meets our vital national interests and enhances the quality of life of the American people, today and into the future.

Now I don't know about you, but I'm not entirely certain this qualifies as informative. Having read that mission statement, can you tell what they do? Naw, me either.

The opinion letter I was responding to was discussing a new bridge that was built by the DOT in McLean, NY. The idea of the new bridge was to build it with an extended guardrail so that if a car lost control on the bridge it would not land in the creek. However the pedestrian walkway on the bridge is on the wrong side of the rail, thusly dooming any pedestrians who are in the wrong place at the wrong time to either a grisly end, or a bit of a leap out of the way (landing said pedestrian where? In the creek.)

It dawned on me at this point, the DOT doesn't consider our feet to be a method of transportation. This is startling, since they were indeed the FIRST mode of transport. And they continue to be a free way to get around. So why is it that this regulatory department does nothing to ensure the "safe, accessible, efficient and convenient" transportation of the citizens of this country via their own two feet?

Think about it; if the DOT was to consider pedestrians, they would be responsible for the care and maintenance of all city sidewalks, ensuring that every single corner was handicap-accessible (look around, only a percentage of the corners have ramps). They would be at fault if a sidewalk was in disrepair, and it could fall to homeowners and businesses to report the faulty sidewalks to the DOT.

Suddenly the tax paying citizens would have more money in their pockets, as they would no longer be stuck with the bill for sidewalk repair. These citizens would be happy to walk to local shopping areas and pedestrian malls, knowing that their travel would be safe and efficient. The money they have saved from sidewalk maintenance would now filter back into the local economy, and everyone is happy!

Okay, so I have ZERO idea how to even get the ball rolling on this idea. Anyone know a senator?