Key U.S. House Transportation Bill passes, including numerous amendments affecting bicycling, walking, trails, parks, and equity
The League of American Bicyclists has posted an article summarizing the INVEST in America Act, a major transportation bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. Congress is planning to pass the federal transportation bill--updated every six years and setting U.S. transportation policy and funding for the next six-year period--by September.
On Thursday morning, the House of Representatives passed the INVEST in America Act, a key bill in the transportation reauthorization process that contains a massive $715 billion investment in surface transportation. . . . The League supported its passage because INVEST includes a significant expansion of funding for pedestrian and bicycle projects, and notably includes a national Complete Streets policy plus safety improvements. . . . Its next step in the reauthorization process will be a conference committee with the Senate version of a similar bill.
Passing a strong House version of the transportation reauthorization bill, like INVEST, is critical to setting up big wins for people who bike and walk in the final law. After the Senate passes its version of the transportation reauthorization bill, both that one and the INVEST Act will meet in a conference committee where lawmakers from both chambers will hash out a deal on what goes to the president’s desk. By including as much as we can in INVEST, we set up our priorities to survive the conference committee. . . .
Ahead of the vote on final passage on INVEST, the House voted on 147 amendments, most of which were presented in en bloc packages. For weeks, the team at the League of American Bicyclists has been tracking proposed amendments to determine whether they support our mission of creating safer roads and more connected communities. Of the 13 amendments identified as top League priorities, 11 made it into the final bill. Notably, the League supported the introduction of amendments that align with our goals of improving transportation equity and keeping vulnerable road users safe.
Amendments summary - safety, funding, equity
Here is a summary of some of the most important amendments included in the bill, that were supported by the League of American Bicyclists and their allies (Summary of each amendment from the League article, MoBikeFed's comments in parentheses):
- Directs the Secretary of Transportation to make sure that the ongoing and future updates to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) treat all users equally, including pedestrians and cyclists. (This year an update to the influential MUTCD has come under heavy criticism for being far to automobile-focused and ignoring the needs of people who walk, bicycle, and use public transportation. More details and MoBikeFed's letter regarding needed changes in the MUTCD here.)
- Requires Department of Transportation to use updated research on setting speed limits and requires the Department to conduct further research into speed limit setting best practices. (Often speed limits in neighborhoods and areas with high bicycling and walking are set far too high, because of outdated research and policies.)
- Allows states to use funds to collect and include data of people stopped bicycling and walking. (That is, will help prevent biased/unfair traffic stops of people bicycling and walking.)
- Requires the Department of Justice, in addition to the Secretary, to adopt the U.S. Access Board's Public Right-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines as enforceable standards.
- Establishes the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program to provide grants to urban communities for the creation and renovation of urban parks.
- Establishes a program to award grants to entities that provide transportation connectors from critically underserved urban communities and rural communities to green spaces.
- [R]equire the Secretary of Transportation to consider the degree to which a project serves economically disadvantaged communities when awarding grants. Economically disadvantaged communities include communities that are underserved, located in areas of persistent poverty, or impacted by environmental justice. (Places with high percentages of bicycling and walking often fall under these "underserved communities" guidelines. Even though these communities have a higher percentage of bicycling and walking than the norm, they typically receive far less than their fair share of federal grant funding to help improve bicycle and pedestrian safety. Here is MoBikeFed's analysis of just one grant program in Missouri that shows how the program disadvantages the underserved communities and areas.)
- Directs the Secretary of Transportation, through the Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), to establish new safety standards for car, truck, and bus hoods and bumpers. These standards will help reduce injuries and fatalities suffered by pedestrians and cyclists, especially children, older adults, and people with disabilities.
SUMMARY
The INVEST in America Act is a transformative piece of legislation that improves safety and access for people biking, walking, rolling, or taking public transit. The significant funding increases for bicycle and pedestrian projects, coupled with the equity and safety focused amendments supported by the League, ensure that the INVEST in America Act will help re-center our infrastructure around people, not cars.
The changes we see in Federal transportation funding and priorities may seem esoteric and distant from the average person's experience. And changing these policies and funding priorities even a little bit often takes years and even decades of work--MoBikeFed has been working in this area since around 2004.
But, probably more than anything else we do, these changes affect our communities and our built environment in every city and neighborhood across Missouri and the U.S. If you see a bike lane, a sidewalk, a crosswalk, a multi-use trail almost anywhere--chances are federal transportation policy and funding had some impact.
And even more clearly--if you see roads, intersections, highways, cities, and towns built with no accommodation for safe walking or bicycling, that almost certainly relates to the lack of federal support for those facilities in past decades.
Slowly but surely, we and our allies across Missouri and the U.S. are working to change that situation.
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