Harnessing Federal Funding for Active Transportation Kevin Mills Rails-to-Trails Conservancy May 24, 2016
Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act Five years, $305 billion surface transport Modest dedicated active transport pot –Transportation Alternatives: $850 million/yr Continued eligibility for bigger programs Financing program made accessible to smaller projects
Transportation Alternatives Program Largely status quo… Transportation Alternatives: –+3% –structural changes symbolic –urban regions can shift half $ Recreational Trails Safe Routes to School
Retain eligibility for bigger programs Surface Transportation Program (Block Grants) TIGER Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Highway Safety Improvement Program
Cutting Edge: Active Transport Networks
Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) Low-interest loans Five reforms to make accessible for completing active transportation networks
Accessible for Smaller Projects Threshold cut from $50M to $10M for: –Local government –Transit-oriented development Bundling segments
Lowering Transaction Costs Fee waivers –$2M/year for USDOT to cover costs Streamlining for small, low-risk projects –Simpler, user-friendly application process
Loans to Lenders For rural transportation projects… State Infrastructure Banks –TIFIA capital –Consolidate transactions
TIFIA in Action Share of project cost Technical assistance
Is your community ready to put together an active transportation network? …vision, planning, political will, $