1 Aug 2003: Congressional action jeopardizes bicycle, pedestrian projects; Fact Sheet, Resource Guide Available

Information from America Bikes:
Communities counting on federal funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects will have to shelve their plans, if a measure recently passed by the House Appropriations Committee becomes law. The Committee voted on July 24th to eliminate funding for the popular Transportation Enhancements program from the federal transportation budget for 2004.

The Transportation Enhancements program dedicates a small portion of each State’s annual federal transportation funding to community-initiated projects such as multi-use paths, bike improvements, sidewalks, streetscaping and renovation of historic transportation structures. Thousands of communities have used the funds to build nearly 16,000 projects since the program was created in 1991. More than half of the funds have gone to creating safer places to bicycle and walk.

“For twelve years, this program has provided a reliable stream of funding for projects that communities have identified as important to improving quality of life for their residents.” says Andy Clarke, director of state and local policy for the League of American Bicyclists.

“If this measure becomes law, the immediate impact will be confusion,” says Clarke. “The decision to fund enhancement-type projects will be left in the hands of the State Departments of Transportation. Our experience prior to the creation of the program suggests that most States will choose NOT to spend funds this way,” he says.

To help community leaders and reporters, America Bikes has created a fact sheet and resource guide to answer questions about the implications of eliminating the Enhancements program.

Representative Ernest Istook (R-OK) chairs the House Appropriations subcommittee which drafted the bill eliminating the funding. “In a time of falling resources, you need to make decisions of where the greatest need is,” explains Micah Swafford, Rep. Istook’s press secretary. “For years we have siphoned off funds from highway repair and construction.”

“Rep Istook’s argument about “falling resources” is not reflected in the numbers,” counters Martha Roskowski of advocacy group America Bikes. The federal transportation budget approved by the Appropriations Committee on July 24, 2003 was $33.3 billion, an increase of $1.7 billion over 2003 spending. Enhancements was expected to be funded at about $600 million in 2004. “The successful and popular Enhancements program is being paved over for no good reason,” says Roskowski.

A majority of Americans believe that federal funds should be used to create safe places to bicycle and walk. Sixty-eight percent of Americans surveyed in a recent poll by the Surface Transportation Policy Project said they would like to see more federal funds spent on walking
facilities, even if it means less money would go toward roads.

The budget now moves to a vote by the full House of Representatives, expected in early September. Supporters of the Enhancements program, including America Bikes and other organizations, are mobilizing to convince Congress to guarantee full funding for the Enhancements program.

America Bikes is a national coalition of organizations representing more than 50 million Americans who bicycle, and is asking Congress to enact a federal transportation law to ensure that new and existing transportation investments improve conditions for bicycling and walking.

For further information, see our fact sheet or contact Barbara McCann at (202) 641-1163, Martha Roskowski at (202) 833-8080, or Andy
Clarke at (202) 822-1333.

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