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America
Bikes News Release July 29, 2005
New
Transportation Bill Will Help More Americans Walk, Bike
Safe Routes to
School, other programs to bring safer streets, paths
The final
federal transportation bill approved by both the House and Senate on
Friday will launch a new Safe Routes to School program, and
strengthen existing programs that will make it safer and easier for
millions of Americans to bicycle and walk.
“This bill
will help states provide substantial benefits for adults and
children who ride bicycles, and this will benefit America as a whole
– by helping people avoid traffic congestion, by producing less air
pollution, and by helping more Americans lead active, healthy
lives,” says Andy Clarke, President of the Board of America Bikes
and Executive Director of the League of American Bicyclists.
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The new Safe
Routes to School program, championed by Representative James Oberstar of
Minnesota, is funded at $612 million over 5 years and will help make it
safe and convenient for children to walk to school. Grants
administered by state Departments of Transportation will allow
communities to build sidewalks, fix hazards, and slow traffic near
schools while increasing safety through focused enforcement and
education programs. A smaller new program, the Non-Motorized
Transportation Pilot Program, will grant each of four designated
communities $6.2 million annually over 4 years to develop comprehensive
networks for bicycling and walking. The intent is to demonstrate
the potential of such networks to shift travel patterns.
The bill, known as
the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity
Act-Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), also strengthens three existing
programs of importance to bicycling: Transportation Enhancements,
Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ), and Recreational Trails.
The Transportation Enhancements program has been a primary source of
funding for multi-use trails and other facilities, and funding for the
program is set at approximately $3.5 billion over 5 years. CMAQ
helps communities improve air quality with non-polluting solutions.
This program will be available in more communities and funding is set at
about $8.6 billion over 5 years. The Recreational Trails program uses
off-road vehicle fuel taxes to build trails; it will receive a higher
portion of the revenue from those taxes, receiving $370 million over
five years, $100 million more than the original allocation in the last
bill, TEA-21.
“Everyone who
contributed funds or contacted their members of Congress – bicycle
suppliers, shop owners, advocates, club riders – should be proud that
our efforts convinced members of Congress that when America bikes,
America benefits,” says Tim Blumenthal, Executive Director of Bikes
Belong, the coalition representing the bicycle industry that has
provided primary funding for America Bikes.
As in any
legislation, the final bill fell short of reaching all of America Bikes’
goals. In the final days of House-Senate negotiation the Senate’s Fair
Share for Safety provision was removed, which would have required states
to spend their safety funds in proportion to bicycle and pedestrian
deaths. Today most states spend only a tiny fraction of those
funds on non-motorized safety, despite bicyclist and pedestrian fatality
rates averaging 13 percent. Another disappointment was the Senate’s
defeat, by a slim margin, of a provision that would have required the
construction of complete streets – roads that safely serve all users.
“Despite these
disappointments, we are confident that we have established bipartisan
momentum for doing more to make all of our streets safe for bicycling
and walking,” says Clarke.
A number of other
provisions will also help improve the environment for people who bicycle
and walk; please check out our website regularly for additional
information on all the provisions. This information will be
updated as details become available.
For more
information, contact Barbara McCann at (202) 641-1163. |
