Stimulus Bill: Initial Senate version omits funding bike/ped and green transportation projects

Work on the economic stimulus package in Congress continues this week, with the Senate proposing versions of the bill that will likely be passed by late next week.

The stimulus package includes a good chunk of funding for transportation--about $30 billion for roads and highways and about $12 billion for transit.

President Obama's campaign included promises to work for a greener transportation system, reduce sprawl, make cities more walkable, bicycleable, and accessible by transit.

So the stimulus package provides a first test--will it go to building more roads and highways as in the past or will we take a more balanced approach?

With the stimulus package moving forward under a tight deadline, there is little time for innovation. Support for bicycling and walking transportation in the bill basically comes down to whether current funding programs that encourage bicycling and walking infrastructure will be included in the stimulus bill or not.

With the vote on the bill in the Senate coming up in the next week, we are asking MoBikeFed members and supporters to contact Missouri Senator Clair McCaskill to show her there is broad support in Missouri for bicycling and walking transportation. McCaskill is playing a key role in the new administration and gaining her support for building better bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure will be crucial.

Here is a rundown on recent developments that may affect the amount available for creating a better, more effective, and safer bicycling and walking:
  • The House version of the stimulus bill recently passed includes about $30 billion dollars for road and highway funding. About 55% of that will be passed directly to state DOTs but the remaining 45% will be given to metro areas & states according to the normal federal highway funding formulas. This includes a 10% setaside for "Transportation Enhancements". The result would be about $1.2 billion for Enhancements project nationwide.

  • Enhancements are the primary way bicycle and pedestrian projects are funded in the U.S. There are 12 categories eligible for funding but in most states the vast majority goes for bicycle and pedestrian transportation projects--everything from sidewalk retrofits to bicycle lanes to creating and implementing bicycle plans and pedestrians plans to bicycle education and encouragement.

  • In Missouri about 2/3 of Enhancements funds go towards bicycle or pedestrian related projects.

  • The House version of the bill including funding for Enhancements projects but the current Senate version (as of 30 Jan 2009) appears to include no funding for Enhancements projects.

  • The Senate version of the bill, however, specifies that minimum 5% of the funding will be used for Congestion Mitigation/Air Quality (CMAQ) projects. CMAQ is an existing program that funds things like transit projects, diesel exhaust retrofits, traffic signal synchronization, bicycle and pedestrian transportation projects, programs to encourage carpooling, and other similar programs that have demonstrable benefits in reducing emissions, smog, and pollution.

  • CMAQ funding would be a positive step towards implementing the administration's stated goal of moving towards a more efficient, less polluting transportation system. CMAQ is the one federal transportation program designed specifically to reduce the type of emissions that cause smog and improve air quality. However in general CMAQ funds are only spent in large metropolitan areas with existing air quality problems. In Missouri, only Kansas City and St. Louis have had CMAQ funding.

  • Ideally the final bill will include funding for both CMAQ and Enhancements projects.

  • Without these setasides state DOTS are likely to spend most or even all of the money on big highway projects, including lots of new construction (see MoBikeFed's analysis of MoDOT's stimulus project list). This is a sure-fire way to encourage more sprawl and more driving--which is the opposite of the direction President Obama campaigned on, when he indicated these would be his transportation policies:

    Strengthen Metropolitan Planning to Cut Down Traffic Congestion: Our communities will better serve all of their residents if we are able to leave our cars, to walk, bicycle and have access other transportation alternatives. As president, Barack Obama will re-evaluate the transportation funding process to ensure that smart growth considerations are taken into account. Obama will build upon his efforts in the Senate to ensure that more Metropolitan Planning Organizations create policies to incentivize greater bicycle and pedestrian usage of roads and sidewalks. As president, Obama will work to provide states and local governments with the resources they need to address sprawl and create more livable communities.

    Require States to Plan for Energy Conservation: Obama and Biden will also reform current law which simply asks governors and their state Departments of Transportation to “consider” energy conservation as a condition of receiving federal transportation dollars. As president, Obama will require governors and local leaders in our metropolitan areas to make “energy conservation” a required part of their planning for the expenditure of federal transportation funds. (p. 3)
  • With the accelerated timetable of the Stimulus Proposal, there simply is not time to create new programs--or even refine old ones--to reach these goals. However giving a reasonable proportion of transportation funding to existing Transportation Enhancements and Congestion Mitigation/Air Quality programs will be an effective way of reaching these same goals.
Again--please contact Sen. McCaskill's office to ask her to support these goals.

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