Statewide Advocacy Resources
How Statewide Organizations Are Winning Federal Dollars For Bicycle And Pedestrian Projects
Case studies of statewide organization campaigns to improve the project selection processes for federal funding programs such as the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ), the Surface Transportation Program (STP), the Highway Safety Improvement Programs (HSIP), and Section 402 State and Community Safety Grants. Some comments on Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to School are also included.
These ideas come from organizations that have been successful in reforming project selection processes. For example, in 2011, BikeDelaware and its partners successfully campaigned for the first CMAQ-funded bicycling project in state history. The League of Illinois Bicyclists worked with Peoria’s Metropolitan Planning Organization to revise the STP application to award points for bike lanes, trails, and sidewalks as components of larger projects. The Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation has a seat on the CMAQ project selection committee.
Working With Your MPO
If you live in a city or suburb and want to make biking and walking safer and more convenient, your Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is an important agency to understand.
MPOs make big behind-the-scenes decisions about how federal transportation dollars are spent in cities and their surrounding regions. These choices affect every transportation project in a greater metropolitan area that uses federal funds. For advocates who want to ensure that available dollars go towards creating great places to bike, walk and live, it’s important to work with the MPOs making these critical funding decisions.
Guide To State Summits
How to plan, create and market your next gathering of bike advocates.