Skip to Content
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Log In
Streetsblog USA

Brace Yourself: Here Comes Another Attack on Bike/Ped Funding

Projects like this pedestrian-friendly streetscaping in Bayonne, New Jersey, might not get built without the crucial support of the federal Transportation Alternatives Program. Photo: ##http://taimages.railstotrails.org/1-Ped-Bike-Facilities/Bayonne-StreetscapeBayonne-NJ/i-QWKnM2B##Rails-to-Trails Conservancy##
Projects like this sidewalk in Bayonne, New Jersey, might not get built without the crucial support of the federal Transportation Alternatives Program. Photo: Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

If petty Congressional attacks on bike/ped funding were a drinking game, you'd be drunk by now. And now two House Republicans want to pour you another shot.

Reps. Sam Johnson (TX) and Vicky Hartzler (MO) have introduced a bill to eliminate the Transportation Alternatives Program, the largest source of federal funding for biking and walking projects. TAP is today's curtailed and underfunded version of what used to be known as Transportation Enhancements. Without it, simple infrastructure we all depend on -- sidewalks, trails, crosswalks, bike lanes -- would get even less support from the federal transportation program. Other activities that mitigate the environmental damage caused by roads, like stormwater management, would also lose an important source of funding.

The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy warns that the (perfectly-named) Right-of-Way for American Drivers Act of 2015 (H.R. 2609) could be offered as an amendment to a transportation funding bill that will be voted on as early as today. If not, the measure could find a home in the next transportation reauthorization, due in less than two months.

"Programs like TAP are in high demand," said Patrick Wojahn, RTC's director of government relations, in a statement. "Today, 12 percent of all trips in the United States are made by biking or walking. These active-transportation modes continue to grow as options for more and more Americans, yet we only invest 1.5 percent of surface transportation funds in these programs."

Three hundred organizations from all 50 states and the District of Columbia have signed a letter [PDF] urging Congress to support TAP.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog Los Angeles

Friday Bikeway Briefs: Ktown, Leimert Park, UCLA, USC, Highland Park, and Tarzana

Recent bike lanes on 43rd St, Westholme Ave, and Mesa Ave. Bike upgrades on First St and on Jefferson Blvd. Slow progress on Reseda Blvd displays city's meager HLA response.

November 9, 2024

Metro Ridership Snapshot Suggests Added Service, Bus Lanes, and Walk/Bike Projects Increase Riders

Overall Metro ridership grew 7.5 percent year-over-year, but some rail and bus lines grew 10-20+ percent. SBLA explores factors that influenced outsized system-leading ridership increases.

November 8, 2024

Eyes on the Street: 57/60 Freeway Confluence Construction in Progress

New off-ramps have begun to sprout out of the dirt, and widening surface streets are going through the growing pains of construction closures

November 6, 2024
See all posts