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May/June 1997, p.12 T.A. Joins Fight Over Federal Transportation Law
With funding from the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, T.A. has hired environmental organizer Susan Boyle to help renew the Federal Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act, (ISTEA), scheduled to expire in September without Congressional action. Though it has never quite lived up to its potential, the visionary law still has led to a huge increase in funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects and has given transportation reformers a glimpse of what could be. Because ISTEA is one of the few Federal programs from which the Northeast receives more Federal money back than taxes it pays into, it is strongly supported here by an unlikely coalition of environmentalists, big business, highway interests and elected officials. ISTEA, by far the largest Federal urban investment, is funded by gas tax dollars. ISTEA's "fix it first" philosophy selects projects based on need, benefiting older Northeastern cities with decaying transportation infrastructure. Rapidly-growing auto-dependent sunbelt states pay more per person in gas taxes and thus largely oppose ISTEA, While T.A. and the Tri-State Campaign support the need- based funding, we hope to improve the existing law so that it works to create environmentally sensible transportation. Our goals are to: 1. Reduce State and Federal red tape and delays: Bike racks funded by Federal Enhancement funds took two years and two sets of Federal and State approvals before New York City got the money, despite the fact that the State DOT had already voted to approve them. Because the State DOT has to voted to approve them. Because the State DOT has to process and approve requests for Federal money, it effectively has a veto over approved City projects. Once a project has been approved by a Metropolitan Planning Organization panel, it should be funded automatically. 2. Increase funding for pedestrian and cyclist safety: In NYC, pedestrians comprise more than half of traffic fatalities but only 5% of the avail- able Federal safety dollars are spent on their behalf. ISTEA should be modified so that safety spending is based on need. In NYC, this would mean increase in pedestrian safety spending from $23 million to $168 million annually, spread out over five years. 3. Increase flexibility of transit funding: Currently, "capital maintenance" is allowed for highways but not for transit. This should be changed, as should regulations that require transit agencies to jump through hoops before getting Federal transit moneys. Send in the enclosed postcard and write to let your senators know how ISTEA can be improved. Polly Trottenberg Peter Phipps |
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