President signs $305 billion transportation bill with improvements for bicycling and walking

Last week, the House and Senate passed final version of the FAST Act, which authorizes $305 billion in federal transportation spending and sets federal transportation policy for the next five years. President Obama signed the bill into law yesterday.

Improving federal policy and funding for bicycling and walking is a top priority
Improving federal policy and funding for the benefit of people who walk and bicycle is one of our top priorities whenever we visit Washington, DC, or communicate with Missouri members of Congress and their staff members

We have been working with our national and local allies on the bicycle and pedestrian portions of the bill for about two years now.  Several members of Missouri's Congressional delegation played a key leadership role in moving the bill forward, including both of Missouri's Senators--Claire McCaskill and Roy Blunt--and Congressman Sam Graves, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on HIghways and Transit.  Graves is one of four Senators and Representatives who form a leadership group that sets the direction of national transportation policy.  Gaining his support for funding for bicycling and walking was crucial--and at the National Bike Summit this year, Graves' transportation staffer promised us the Graves would support funding for bicycling and walking.

Overall the bill was a modest step forward for federal funding and policy for bicycling and walking.  Perhaps most important, it solidifies the major progress in federal bicycle and pedestrian funding that started with ISTEA in the 1990s, and repudiates major attacks on bicycle and pedestrian funding that had come, particularly from House leadership, in the 2012 reauthorization.

The success of the FAST Act proves that bicycle and pedestrian funding is truly "bike-partisan"--we have made good progress in funding and policy under Democratic-controlled Congresses, Republican-controlled Congresses, and those where leadership was mixed. 

Good policy and reasonable funding for bicycling and walking benefits all Americans, and leaders of both major parties recognize that.

What is in the FAST Act? What is new, what has changed?

The League of American Bicyclists summarized the changes in the FAST Act: 

Overall the active transportation community did really well. The new bill includes an increase in funding for bicycling and walking and makes nonprofits eligible for that funding. The bill also creates a new safety education program and, for the first time, includes complete streets language.  

We didn’t get everything we want, and there are some things we don’t like, including changes to the metropolitan transportation alternatives funding and changes to highway safety funding. There are also several places we wish language could be stronger, but overall the FAST Act is an improvement on MAP-21 for biking. 

Thank you to everyone who lobbied at the National Bike Summit, responded to our action alerts and helped us build support for this bill.

The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy wrote:

The Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) continues to house the three original funding programs that have long been the backbone of funding for trails, walking and biking: Transportation Alternatives (formerly Transportation Enhancements), the Recreational Trails Program (RTP) and Safe Routes to School. Time and time again, members of Congress have attempted to cut funding or eliminate TAP altogether. In this bill, TAP remains very similar to the program we know today, although the FAST Act makes a symbolic structural change by moving TAP into a broad umbrella program as a set-aside. In addition, regional transportation organizations in urban areas are given the ability to transfer out half of their TAP funds to other uses, representing a new vulnerability for TAP. . . .

In addition to the core funding provided by TAP, including RTP, a new source of low-interest loan financing will now be made available to communities to help connect and accelerate completion of active-transportation networks. Many communities have individual trails, protected bike lanes or sidewalks scattered throughout neighborhoods, but filling in the gaps will enable more people to safely walk or bike to their destinations.

The details: Complete Streets, Vision Zero, increased overall funding, and more

Some details of the changes to bicycle and pedestrian elements in the bill: 

  • Continuation of the trend towards increasing federal funding for bicycling and walking that started in 1992 and has continued steadily since then. The needs of people who bicycle and walk had been completely neglected in federal transportation funding and policy for many decades prior to the 1990s. The amount of federal funding for bicycling and walking was literally zero--despite the fact that federal dollars were building numerous roads and streets that cut through our communities and require safe bicycle and pedestrian access.

  • Continued trend towards local control and putting more decision-making power in the hands of local agencies rather than state DOTs.  Overall, this is a positive for those of us who support better planning for bicycling, walking, and transit.

    People who walk and bicycle in Missouri are the main beneficiaries when federal
    People who walk and bicycle in Missouri are the main beneficiaries when federal funding for bicycling and walking increases to reasonable levels

  • For the first time, a national Complete Streets policy is included in the federal transportation bill.  The language encourages state DOTs and metropolitan planning organizations to develop and adopt Complete Streets policies and requires a report to Congress in two years.
     
  • Vision Zero language
     
  • Increased emphasis on walking and bicycling in dedicated Safety Funding - states with higher than 15% bike/ped fatalities will be required to make bike/ped safety a priority issue.  Missouri's bike/ped fatality rate is about 7.5%, so we will not be eligible for this funding.  But it is still a major  step forward at the national level.
     
  • Some improvements that will allow smaller projects (like bike/ped projects) to use innovative financing techniques
     
  • Non-profit organizations can apply for Transportation Alternative Program (TAP) funds. This is particularly helpful for bicycle and pedestrian programs that are eligible for TAP funding, including Safe Routes to School, bicycle and pedestrian safety education and encouragement, and Bike Share.
     
  • The TIGER grant program--which has provided hundreds of innovative grants and encourages multi-modal transportation solutions--was preserved

The League of American Bicyclists has and excellent, detailed rundown of the bicycle and pedestrian provisions in the bill.

Thank you - your support has made progress possible

Many thanks to every one who has contacted your members of Congress, visited with members of Congress at the National Bike Summit, and helped support the work of local, state, and national bicycle and pedestrian advocacy groups, including MoBikeFed.

It has taken many years and much work by many individuals and organizations to get to the point where we are today: Where reasonable levels of funding to meet the needs of Americans who walk and bicycle is considered an essential part of our national transportation funding.

 

Working to create a seamless, world-class bicycle and pedestrian transportation network across Missouri, and to improve safety for people who walk and bicycle--and for all road users--are among the key goals of MoBikeFed's Vision for Bicycling and Walking in Missouri. Working to ensure legislation like the FAST Act includes needed funding and better policy for bicycling and walking is one of the most important ways we do that. 

We are a member-driven organization, and member surveys has clearly identified that including needed bike/ped funding in every transportation funding proposal is a very top priority of our members.  For that reason, we have made it one of our very top priorities as an organization, and work hard to communicate that priority to our elected officials in Washington, DC, in Jefferson City, and all across Missouri.

Your ongoing membership and generous financial support help turn our Vision into reality!

 

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