Proposed Program Reshuffling

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Transportation for America has put together a helpful visual (above) on their blog showing the consolidation of the various funding programs, as proposed by the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works. As you can see, the main funding sources for bicycling — Transportation Enhancements, Safe Routes to Schools, and Recreational Trails — would get grouped into the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program category. This category has two parts: traditional CMAQ activities and additional activities. Bicycling projects fall under additional activities. Unfortunately, the total amount of funding for bicycling projects is equal only to Transportation Enhancements’ FY 2009 level. There is also an opt-out clause that allows states to use the “additional activities” money for the traditional CMAQ activities, if “unobligated balances” accumulate.

For more on this, see the America Bikes side-by-side analysis of MAP-21 with SAFETEA-LU (the current authorization act).