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| SHARING THE ROAD: FUNDING & STAFFING
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Federal transportation
funding is often used for major bike and pedestrian
projects such as the Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis.
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ISTEA
and TEA-21—The
Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA), adopted by Congress
in 1991, and
the Transportation Efficiency Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), adopted in
1997, provided states with great flexibility in the use of federal transportation
dollars.
The laws created several categories of funding that can be used for bicycle
and pedestrian projects. As a result, investment in pedestrian and bicycle
projects
has increased substantially nationwide and in Minnesota. |
Success
Stories
• Since
1971, the state of Oregon has required accommodation
of pedestrians and bicyclists in all road projects that
use state funds, with few exceptions. The law also requires that
a minimum of 1 percent of all state highway funds be spent on
pedestrian and bicycle facilities (9). Wisconsin and Florida have
similar laws that require routine accommodation of pedestrians
and bicyclists in road projects (10).
• In Wisconsin,
Pennsylvania, and Idaho, the state health agencies
provide funding for Safe Routes to School and other pedestrian
and bicycle safety activities (11). Nevada imposes
a 50¢ fee on drivers’ licenses to fund pedestrian
and bicycle education programs (12).
• California has
used one third of its funding from the Hazard Elimination and
Safety (HES) program, $25 million annually through 2003, for
engineering projects for Safe Routes to Schools.
• Federal
tax law currently allows employers to offer their employees
a tax-free monetary incentive to take transit or carpool-$100
per month. The Bicycle Commuter Act, a bill
proposed by Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, Rep. James Oberstar
of Minnesota and others, would extend the same pre-tax “transportation
fringe benefit” to bicyclists (13).
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Nevertheless,
the lion’s
share of federal dollars is still invested in roads and bridges. From 1998
to 2001, less than 1 percent of approximately
$46 billion annually in federal transportation funds was spent on pedestrian
and bicycle facilities and programs (1). In Minnesota, 1.7 percent of all
federal transportation dollars was spent on pedestrian and bicycle projects.
While this is more than in most states, it translates into a mere $1.55
per year for each Minnesota resident (2).
Surface Transportation Program, Transportation Enhancements, and Congestion
Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) are the federal funding sources used most
often for bike and pedestrian projects. Federal Hazard Elimination and
Safety (HES) funds can be used to increase pedestrian and bicyclist safety,
but MnDOT uses HES money primarily for projects designed to reduce vehicle
crash rates at intersections.
The
Metropolitan Council’s Transportation Advisory Board and the
Minnesota Department of Transportation are responsible for making decisions
about the allocation of federal transportation dollars in the metro
area. In the 2005–2006 funding round, less than 5 percent of
federal funds budgeted for the Metropolitan area will be for bike and
pedestrian
projects (3).
Federal safety funds
Safety
402 funds are designated for state traffic safety programs, with federal
guidelines favoring pedestrian and bicycle programs. In 2001,
$3 million in Safety 402 funding was allocated to Minnesota; only $10,000
of it was spent on pedestrian and bicycle safety (4).
State funding
Of
the $2.5 billion in transportation projects listed in the 2001-2004
Transportation Improvement Plan for the Twin Cities metropolitan area,
only 2 percent was for bicycle and pedestrian projects (5). There is
no legislative requirement or MnDOT policy that pedestrian and bicycle
travel
be accommodated in state-funded road projects. Such spending is
not tracked, making it difficult to evaluate how much is being spent
and how often the needs of bicyclists and pedestrians are being identified
or met (6).
Often
sidewalks, bike lanes, trails and other bike and pedestrian amenities
are built as part of road construction or reconstruction. Bike trails,
sidewalks, and tree replacement parallel to and adjacent to Minnesota’s
designated state aid streets and roads are eligible for state-aid funding.
MnDOT allows other bike and pedestrian amenities such as benches, trash
containers, pedestrian scale lighting, crosswalk pavers, sidewalk extensions,
bike lockers, and bus shelters, to be paid for with state aid dollars
as long as the costs don’t exceed 5 percent of a city or county’s
annual state-aid allotment (7).
Local funding
Most cities and counties spend property tax dollars for bike and pedestrian
infrastructure, but these investments are dwarfed by the investment in
roads, driving and parking. Cities also use property tax revenue for
traffic enforcement, emergency response, court costs and other costs
related to traffic management and vehicle crashes.
Some
cities require developers to install and pay for sidewalks as part
of new development, and some charge developers fees that can be used
for trail construction (8).
Staff commitment for biking and walking
There are few staff at any level of government in Minnesota dedicated
to bicycling and walking, in stark contrast to the large numbers of planners
and engineers dedicated to roads and parking. At best, most cities or
counties have staff who work on an ad-hoc basis on trail and sidewalk
planning and construction.
Recommendations
Pedestrian and bicycle projects and programs should get a greater share
of transportation funding. At a minimum, funding and staffing for pedestrian
and bicycle programs should be adequate to greatly increase pedestrian
and bicycling mode shares.
- The
Minnesota DOT should designate a percentage of federal transportation
safety funds (Hazard Elimination Safety and Safety 402 funds) for
Safe Routes to Schools and other pedestrian and bicycle safety projects.
- The
Minnesota legislature should require that state-funded road projects
accommodate travel by pedestrians and bicycle, with few exceptions.
- The
Metropolitan Council and its Transportation Advisory Board should
target a significant share of federal transportation funding
to infrastructure and education projects to encourage walking and bicycling.
- Local
governments should use a greater share of their transportation
spending for sidewalks and bicycle lanes, trails and other
infrastructure and programs.
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Footnotes
1 Surface Transportation Policy Project (STPP), Mean Streets 2002,
Washington, D.C.: 2002, 19.
2 STPP, Pedestrian Safety and Spending in Minnesota 2000-2001, (Washington,
D.C.: STPP, November 2002).
3 Transit for Livable Communities, table on “Allocation of Federal
Transportation Funds in the Metropolitan area,” 2003.
4 William Shaeffer and Kathy Burke Moore, MN Department of Public Safety,
phone interviews with Ben Owen, 17-18 June 2002.
5 Transit for Livable Communities, An Analysis of the Draft Twin Cities
Metropolitan Area 2001 to 2004 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP)
Classification Spending by Mode, (Saint Paul, Minnesota, TLC: Oct. 2002),
1-2.
6 Kristie Billiar, Minnesota Department of Transportation, interview by
S. Peterson, 5 Sept. 2002.
7 Bob Brown, MnDOT, email communication with B. Thoman, 6 May 2003.
8 City staff of Woodbury, Plymouth, Chanhassen, St. Louis Park, Minneapolis
and Saint Paul, phone interviews with S. Peterson, August-November 2002.
9 ORS 366.514. Accessed from www.odot.state.or.us/techserv/bikewalk/plan_app/366514old.htm.
10 Joanne Pruitt-Thunder, Wisconsin DOT, e-mail communication with S. Peterson,
28 Oct. 2002 and Dwight Kingsbury, Florida Department of Transportation,
e-mail communication with S. Peterson, 4 Nov. 2002.
11 Transportation Alternatives, “The 2002 Summary of Safe Routes
to Schools Programs in the United States,” March 5, 2002, 42 and
Mark McNeese, State of Idaho, e-mail communication with S. Peterson, 25
Oct. 2002 and JoAnne Pruitt-Thunder, Wisconsin DOT, e-mail communication
with Sacha Peterson, 28 Oct. 2002.
12 Susan Snyder, Bicycle professional, Nevada, e-mail communication with
Sacha Peterson, 7 Nov. 2002.
13 HR 1265, Bicycle Commuter Act, accessed on Feb. 12, 2003 from http://www.bikeleague.org.
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