Federal Transportation Bill: Cities & states both want control of bicycle & pedestrian funding
Work to complete the federal transportation re-authorization bill continues in Washington, DC. The so-called "DRIVE Act" sets federal transportation policy and funding levels for the next several years. Bicycle and pedestrian funding within the bill, primarily through the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) makes this the largest single source of bicycle and pedestrian funding in the U.S.
In addition, the bill includes funding for billions of dollars of roads and highways annually--with the potential to positively or negatively impact bicycle and pedestrian connectivity across the U.S.
Current the House & Senate have both passed versions of the bill. Currently the bill is in conference committee, with House and Senate Transportation Committee leaders working out differences between the two bills. Congressional leadership expects a final vote as early as the first week of December.
On pedestrian and bicycle issues, the good news is that most major issues and funding levels are in agreement (or close to it) between House and Senate versions--meaning that major issues are decided and only a few (relatively) minor details remain to be worked out in Conference Committee.
Recently both the National Governor's Association and a coalition of cities, counties, and regional transportation planning organizations have both weighed in on the details of TAP implementation.
The very positive note here is that both of these influential groups see bicycle and pedestrian funding as important for America and worthy of continuation.
There is something of a tug-of-war going on here, as both groups see the TAP funding as something so important that they would like to have more control of it.
The Governor's Association writes:
Flexibility. Governors support providing states with sufficient decision-making discretion to help advance a national surface transportation system. Federal funding for highway and transit programs should provide maximum flexibility to the state for implementation and innovation because of our diversity of geography, population, and priorities. . . .
- [We] support maintaining current state discretion over 50 percent of the Transportation Alternatives Program (STRR at §1106).
The association of local groups and agencies writes:
Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP): TAP funds represent a modest but powerful resource to advance innovation and promote better network connectivity. We urge adoption of the following:
- Allocate 100 percent of TAP program to local areas, allowing local areas increased flexibility in the use of these funds; and
- Ensure that TAP funds are made available like other STP funds allocated to local areas by including proportional obligation authority.
So should cities or local municipalities have control of the funding? We have definitely found that with local control of funding come better pedestrian and bicycle projects. One of the major successes MoDOT has had with its federal bicycle and pedestrian funding is that from the 1990s, it is distributed most of the TAP fundin to local regions under local control.
However Congress decides to move forward, we urge MoDOT to continue and accelerate this approach to federal bicycle and pedestrian funding. In particular, funding decisions in rural MoDOT districts should concentrate more of the funding and more of the decision-making over the funding according to population rather than land area. For example, small MPOs should have their own sub-allocation of TAP funding (large MPOs like Kansas City, St Louis, and Springfield already do).
On the flip side, it makes sense to reserve at least a portion of TAP funding at the state level, where it can (and should) be used for major statewide projects and projects that connect regions--and which have few or no other potential funding sources.
More about this year's federal transportation reauthorization:
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