August recess is upon us, which means lawmakers are back in their home states and districts. With the entire House up for re-election, and one-third of the Senate and The White House on the ballot in November, lawmakers and candidates are making the case for (re) election to their constituents. In September, lawmakers will return to Washington with the essential task of passing a budget (or a continuing resolution) before federal funding runs out on October 1, 2024. In October, lawmakers will return to their home states to campaign.
As those running for election define and finesse their campaign platforms, we at Safe Routes Partnership are pleased to share what is guiding the development of our surface transportation reauthorization platform. We shared last month that the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) is at its midpoint, and surface transportation will be reauthorized in 2026, yet early conversations are underway to begin to shape what that bill will look like. Here are three goals shaping the Safe Routes Partnership’s reauthorization priorities.
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Preserve and maintain gains made in BIL for the Transportation Alternatives Program
We are incredibly proud of the policy improvements and huge funding increases to the Transportation Alternatives Program made in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. More funding than ever has gone to improving safe, connected, and equitable places to walk and bike, and state departments of transportation have taken advantage of new flexibilities in the law to reduce barriers to accessing these funds. The flip side is that by growing TAP, it also becomes a target for siphoning these valuable dollars for walking, bicycling, and Safe Routes to School to other uses. In pursuing policy change and working with our coalition partners, we will not support any bills that cut into TAP for uses other than supporting walking, bicycling, and Safe Routes to School. As always, the most successful strategy to defend a popular and impactful program like TAP is to tell stories of local impact. Help us tell those stories by sharing your local experience and examples with us.
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Streamline implementation of identified safety projects and incentivize safety spending, especially on projects benefitting vulnerable road users
We had a lot to celebrate in BIL, including two safety provisions we lobbied for: states completing Vulnerable Road User Safety Assessments to identify safety concerns related to people walking, bicycling, and other non-motorists, and the Vulnerable Road User Special Rule, requiring states with above 15 percent of roadway fatalities are of non-motorists to obligate 15 percent or more of their Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) funds on projects that keep non-motorists safe.
All states completed their first VRU Safety Assessments in November, and they are required to update them with each update of their Strategic Highway Safety Plan. We would like to see it become easier for states to incorporate locally-developed safety plans, like those developed with Safe Streets and Roads for All funds, into their VRU Safety Assessments.
We also know that plans alone do not improve safety outcomes for people walking and bicycling. Projects that build safe facilities for people to walk and bike do make a difference. In the upcoming reauthorization, we aim to streamline the implementation of safety plans like the Vulnerable Road User Safety Assessments and Safe Streets for All plans. We recognize that investing in safety for people walking and bicycling is a departure from the norm for many states, and incentivizing these projects through reduced local match and other strategies may help grease the wheels for implementing bicycle and pedestrian safety projects.
We have worked in partnership with The League of American Bicyclists on The Sarah Debbink Langenkamp Active Transportation Act, which makes it easier for states and communities to use HSIP funds to build safe, supportive infrastructure for walking and bicycling. The bill is bipartisan in both the House and the Senate.
We are also working with coalition partners as we advocate for the continuation and evolution of the Safe Streets and Roads for All program. After two years, nearly 70 percent of the US population will be covered by comprehensive safety action plans, so we are working diligently toward the next iteration of this program focusing on streamlined implementation of projects identified in these plans.
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Grow evidence-backed strategies
We are fortunate that while transportation safety is an enduring problem, it is not without a solution. We know how to engineer our streets to be safer, the technology exists to make cars safer for people outside the vehicles exists, and there are evidence-backed programs, like Safe Routes to School that make meaningful reductions in serious injuries and fatalities.
In the years since Safe Routes to School was combined into the Transportation Alternatives Program, it has become evident that states that retained or re-invested in statewide Safe Routes to School coordinators are the states with the strongest, most vibrant Safe Routes to School programs. To grow the reach and impact of Safe Routes to School programs, research tells us that statewide coordinators as a critical piece of the equation. The BIL created new ways to pay for state Safe Routes to School coordinators, so we will be working toward expanding state Safe Routes to School coordinators and looking for other ways to grow this positive and impactful program.
Stay tuned to our federal policy post for more updates as our reauthorization platform takes shape!