Suburban Chicago Bicycling has joined about 1,100 organizations in signing a letter to congressional leaders urging them to preserve programs for bicycling and pedestrian infrastructure.
The effort is being led by the American Hiking Society, American Trails, the League of American Bicyclists, People for Bikes, the Rails to Trails Conservancy and the Safe Routes to School Partnership. It comes as Congress is writing a new transportation law and as federal programs that deliver investment and safety provisions for bicycling and walking infrastructure appear threatened by the current leadership.
The letter calls on Congress to include a fortified Transportation Alternatives program and maintain broad eligibility for trails, walking and bicycling across transportation programs.
As the letter says, “Transportation Alternatives is the nation’s oldest and largest source of dedicated funding for trails and active transportation … . Since 1991, TA has obligated $17 billion, reaching every state and thousands of local communities that have relied on this vital program to build infrastructure necessary to make it safer and easier for Americans to walk, bike and be active outdoors.”
That would include bike lanes and off-road paths to help bicyclists safely navigate metropolitan areas (as well as rural ones) that are busy with cars and trucks.
At least a few suburban Chicago bicycle clubs have added their names to the letter, as well as Chicago-area and state advocacy organizations. Read more about the effort at keepamericaactive.org/.
Here’s the text of the letter:
Dear Chairmen Capito and Graves and Ranking Members Whitehouse and Larsen:
We, the undersigned organizations, write to ask that you maintain and enhance robust investments and safety provisions for bicycling and walking infrastructure in the forthcoming transportation reauthorization bill. This should include a fortified Transportation Alternatives (TA) program as well as the continuation and enhancement of programs and policies meant to increase multimodal access and ensure safety for people outside of cars.
Investment in active transportation infrastructure—such as sidewalks, bike lanes and trail networks—increases mobility choices; improves safety; creates strong, connected communities; provides economic opportunities and job creation; and saves money from health benefits and low-cost travel. Rural, suburban and urban communities alike seek the transformative benefits of these investments. Small towns often desire to enliven their downtowns or attract tourists, while urban areas need safe routes to jobs and essential services for residents, many of whom do not drive, as well as affordable strategies to reduce traffic congestion.
Americans want the federal government to invest in more bicycling and walking infrastructure. In a 2024 Ipsos poll, 76% of respondents agreed with the statement “My community would be a better place to live if bicycling were safer and more comfortable,” including 73% of Republicans, 82% of Democrats and 74% of Independents. Americans also support federal funding for projects that enable biking and walking. Eighty-nine percent of Americans surveyed said the amount of federal funding for biking and walking should be increased or stay the same, and this support held along political party affiliations, with 90% of Republicans saying it should increase or stay the same.
TA is the nation’s oldest and largest source of dedicated funding for trails and active transportation and is the backbone of federal funding for this essential infrastructure. Since 1991, TA has obligated $17 billion, reaching every state and thousands of local communities that have relied on this vital program to build infrastructure necessary to make it safer and easier for Americans to walk, bike and be active outdoors. The commitment of dedicated TA program funds has been supported by bipartisan Congressional majorities for over 30 years because of the demand for this infrastructure and the efficiency of the funding structure. Due in large part to this dedicated funding, the United States now boasts more than 42,500 miles of multiuse trails and thousands of improved street facilities for walking and bicycling. Communities are choosing to invest in active transportation to realize economic, safety and quality-of-life goals. Their reliance upon a federal partnership—through this dedicated program—to achieve this purpose has served them and America well.
Despite this progress and the renewed level of TA funding provided by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), available TA funding is not keeping up with demand, further evidence of American’s desire for safe, connected places to walk and bike. Grant applications total roughly four times the amount of allocated TA funds.
Infrastructure that supports people walking, bicycling and being active outside is essential to a safe, affordable and economically productive transportation system. TA is effectively delivering these benefits now, and we are counting on Congress to protect this fundamental federal investment. Congress also has an opportunity to sharpen TA policy to further increase impact by easing local match requirements, providing transparency to ensure funds are used as Congress intended, and encouraging focus on strategic investments in connectivity. This dedicated program must be preserved and strengthened, and we urge you to grow funding alongside policy improvements that will maximize the impact of this program in the upcoming surface transportation reauthorization.
However, TA is not enough to deliver a safe, connected active-transportation system on its own. Addressing bicycling and walking safety is critical to meet our country’s goals. People biking and walking account for over 20% of the more than 40,000 people killed on our roadways each year, and more than 80% of those vulnerable user fatalities occur on federal aid roadways. Twenty people die while walking in America every day. It is clear that there is a direct ‘federal interest’ in active-transportation infrastructure investments. We ask that you maintain and improve the safety provisions started in the IIJA that specifically focus on vulnerable road-user safety.
Finally, we ask that you maintain broad eligibility for bicycling and walking in core formula programs and discretionary grant programs. Removing active transportation from eligibility for core federal transportation programs would undermine the ability of states and regions to fund the modes that best meet their needs and directly harm the millions of Americans who rely on this infrastructure. States and regions should continue to have discretion to fund a multimodal balance of assets; therefore, Congress should maintain broad eligibility for biking and walking infrastructure. Further, when eligibility is limited, state and local Departments of Transportation (DOTs) may be forced to do fragmented work, increasing the administrative burden on local governments and undermining investments in safe, connected active-transportation infrastructure. For instance, FHWA has found that building a bike lane during a road repaving project can save up to 60% of the cost of that bike lane. Maintaining broad eligibility allows a DOT to complete these two projects efficiently, avoiding different reporting structures, costs, delays and red tape. We support expediting project delivery, ensuring efficient use of tax-payer dollars, and maximizing federal investments by maintaining state and local flexibility to do multimodal projects that benefit their communities, whether rural main streets or safer suburban intersections.
States and local governments invest in active transportation projects for many reasons, from reducing congestion to improving safety to creating new transportation options. Federal investments in TA and other active transportation programs not only help meet those transportation needs, they lead to improved economic outcomes. A 2019 study found that active transportation infrastructure contributes more than $34.1 billion annually to the U.S. economy, an amount that could grow to $138.5 billion annually with improved connectivity. Additional studies have found that active transportation infrastructure makes the greatest contributions to direct construction job creation among transportation investments and that federal investment in active transportation helps the government to contain rising health-care costs and improve the efficiency and safety of the roadway system for everyone, including motorized users.
We urge you to preserve the TA program, as well as the safety provisions for vulnerable road users and broad eligibility across programs meant to give states and communities the ability to build multimodal projects in a cost-effective and efficient manner.
Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to working with you on a successful reauthorization bill.
View current letter signers: https://rtc.li/ta-support
