This post was written by Elyse Lowe, Executive Director of Move San Diego.
More than 1,000 days after the last transportation bill expired, Congress voted last week to approve a new transportation bill. Unfortunately for those hoping for a bold step into the future, this bill represents a definite step backwards, the last gasp of an outdated 20th century program.
San Diego has made a tremendous difference in the national debate on transportation priorities. We have a bold plan to allocate billions of local and federal monies to transportation alternatives in the next few decades. We are thrilled for having defeated the disastrous House proposal to end all dedicated funding for public transit. At the last possible moment, election-year politics and backroom maneuvering intervened to thwart transportation reform progress, but the movement for a more visionary, 21st century transportation agenda for all Americans has only just begun.
This final negotiated bill has been called a “compromise”, but it’s really a substantial capitulation in the face of threats by the House to include provisions with no relevance to the transportation bill (the Keystone XL pipeline, regulation of coal ash, student loans and flood insurance).
As a result of this “compromise”, the bill
· Cuts money available for walking and biking by 30%,
· Combines Safe Routes to Schools and Transportation Enhancements funding ( walking, biking, trails, transit) into a new pot called Transportation Alternatives,
· Forces Transportation Alternatives to compete with environmental mitigation and minor road construction projects not eligible under current programs,
It dedicates zero dollars to repairing roads and bridges, and cuts the amount of money that cities and local governments would have received, This bill ensures ensures that you have less input and control over major projects that affect you and the quality of your community.
Despite record demand for public transportation service, this deal cut the emergency provisions to preserve existing transit service, does little to expand that service and actually removed the small provision equalizing the tax benefit for transit and parking.
There are a few positives, though:
The dedicated funding percentage for public transit remains the same, though at a lower dollar level. The Cardin-Cochran provision to provide grants to local communities to make their streets safer for walking or biking was also saved from the chopping block. About half the money will be given directly to metro areas, with the remainder used at state discretion.
An exciting new grant program will fund community-led planning for neighborhood revitalization around transit lines. And a major increase in federally backed loans could help regions that raise their own transportation funds stretch them farther and build out ambitious transit plans faster. San Diego as a mega region should take advantage of this, though we will be behind L.A. who already has a plan to advance construction of thirty years of transit projects in ten years.
While we didn’t end up with the bill that we were hoping for, it is clear that this bill represents the last gasp of a 20th century transportation program that has run out of steam. The next bill must focus on repair, maintenance, protected funding for walking and biking and include other provisions that will strengthen our economy and safeguard public health and the environment. With gas prices trending ever upward, and demand for public transportation booming like never before, demographic shifts show a more diverse America with fewer young people driving and huge increases in demand for more walkable towns and suburbs. More and more people are clamoring for safer streets and healthier communities.
The debate will now shift to Sacramento where many decisions will be made about how to spend this blank check. It imperative to urge California’s lawmakers to make sure that the federal money reflects the priorities of local people, such as seniors trying to get to the doctor, families struggling to make ends meet and trying to get to their job, kids simply trying to cross the street to get to school.
And because the federal bill is only 27 months long, less time than it took to draft and pass it, the battle for the next one begins the minute this one is signed!
A coalition of business leaders, environmentalists, urbanists, community members, infill developers, transit riders and land use professionals, Move San Diego is strategically working to supporting good policies that create smart mobility solutions, and supportive land uses. With the federal bill delivering a minor “bump in the road,” Move San Diego will continue to forge a path towards reforming transportation by using policy and planning to create more sustainable, healthy, and convenient transportation options throughout the San Diego region.
