Fixing America s Surface Transportation Act: What s the Impact on Active Places? January 27, 2016 10:00 11:00am CT Toll free number: 866 430 8098 Conference ID: 2032359742 This Webinar Will Be Recorded Additional resources may be found at http://bitly.com/fastactaha
Agenda Welcome & Opening Remarks Tim Vaske American Heart Association, Voices for Healthy Kids Transportation Policy and Health, What s the Connection? Sarah Pierson American Heart Association Volunteer Impact on Safe Routes to School and Walkable/Bike able Communities Margo Pedroso Safe Routes to School National Partnership
Agenda Continued Impact on Complete Streets Emiko Atherton Smart Growth America, National Complete Streets Coalition Question & Answer Tim Vaske American Heart Association, Voices for Healthy Kids Final Comments & Resources Tim Vaske American Heart Association, Voices for Healthy Kids
Transportation Policy and Health, What s the Connection? Sarah Pierson American Heart Association Volunteer
HEART DISEASE EFFECTS EVERYONE Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is our #1 killer CVD is our costliest chronic disease $818 billion by 2030 80% preventable through adopting healthy habits
ONE SOLUTION: MORE WALKING AND BIKING $5.6 billion in CVD costs saved if 10% of Americans began a regularly walking. Every dollar invested in walking and bike trails saves nearly $3 in medical costs. People who live by parks or recreational facilities and in communities with wellconnected streets exercise more.
CHILDREN ARE AT RISK, TOO Only 1% of kids meet ideal heart health One third of kids are overweight or obese 13.8% do not get the recommend 60 minutes of daily physical activity
KIDS WHO WALK AND BIKE TO SCHOOL HEALTHIER More physically active Have lower body mass index scores Have lower obesity levels Are more likely to meet their daily recommend physical activity amounts
Impact on Safe Routes to School and Walkable/Bike able Communities Margo Pedroso Safe Routes to School National Partnership
The New Federal Transportation Law: What s the Impact on Safe Routes to School? Margo Pedroso Safe Routes to School National Partnership January 27, 2016
About the National Partnership We are a nonprofit organization that improves the quality of life for kids and communities by promoting active, healthy lifestyles and safe infrastructure that supports bicycling and walking. Equity is at the forefront of our work.
Federal Transportation Policy: The Big Picture On average, less than 20% of federal transportation funding is for transit and 1% for biking/walking. The result? Car centric communities 25% of trips are 1 mile or less, but 90% taken by car In 2009, just 38% of children living within 1 mile of school walk or bicycle; down from 88% in 1969. Lack of safe alternatives to the car Missing or disconnected sidewalks, no bike lanes and paths Not enough public transit High speed traffic on high volume roads Bike/ped is 12% of trips but 16% of traffic deaths Makes transportation expensive, unsafe and difficult for families in poverty
The smaller picture: What is TAP? The Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) Created in last transportation bill (MAP 21) by merging 3 programs (Safe Routes to School, Transportation Enhancements and Recreational Trails) The major federal source of transportation funding for bicycling, walking and Safe Routes to School Funding flows to state departments of transportation (DOTs) and regional transportation planning authorities (called MPOs Metropolitan Planning Organizations) Local governments and school systems compete for eligible projects Covers ~80% of project cost TAP funding supports: Sidewalks, crosswalks, bike lanes, trails Safe Routes to School programs at thousands of schools Eligible TAP Projects Bicycle/pedestrian infrastructure Safe routes for nondrivers infrastructure Rails to trails Turnouts, overlooks and viewing areas Community improvement activities (outdoor advertising, historic transportation facilities, vegetation management, transportation related archaeological activities) Environmental mitigation (stormwater management, wildlife connectivity) Recreational trails Safe Routes to School infrastructure and noninfrastructure Converting highways/ interstate routes to boulevards
The FAST Act The last transportation bill, MAP 21, ran through September 2014 Was extended 15 more months Major barrier to new bill was funding shortfall (~$15B/year) FAST Act Fixing America s Surface Transportation Act Passed in December 2015 $305B for FY2016 2020 Used accounting gimmicks to cover the shortfall If Congress passes a gas tax increase or finds other revenue, a trigger will increase all programs proportionately Was one of the few things that got truly bipartisan support
STATUS QUO (MOSTLY) FOR TAP The FAST Act sustains TAP without many changes Five years of certainty for TAP=no excuses! Moves it to be a part of the Surface Transportation Program rather than an independent program New name: STP Setaside (though states/locals can still use TAP) No real changes in core ways TAP functions Same types of projects eligible Requires competitive process for awarding $$ Still requires state or local match (20%; lower in some states)
TAP Funding Levels Small 4% increase over life of the bill a victory FY15: $819M FY16 17: $835M FY18 20: $850M Retains current decision making split between states and large MPOs Key change: MPOs can use up to half their allocation for non TAP projects Non TAP projects still have to go through competition to be funded State TAP Allocation (less Rec Trails setaside) 50% for anywhere in the state 50% by population State run TAP competition Or can transfer to roads MPOs over 200k run TAP competition** State run TAP competition for >5k and 5k 200k
Other tweaks to TAP Nonprofits that work on transportation safety are now eligible to compete directly for TAP projects More transparency: states and MPOs must report some data on applications and selected projects US Department of Transportation required to identify ways to make projects easier to get through regulatory process
Other funding streams in the FAST ACT All other major transportation funding streams like STP, CMAQ and HSIP still can fund bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure There are other low cost loan (TIFIA) and federal competitive programs (TIGER) that could fund larger projects. New National Priority Safety Program for bicycle/pedestrian safety $14M available to states where more than 15% of traffic fatalities are bike/ped (~20 states) Focused on increasing awareness of bike/ped safety laws through law enforcement trainings, enforcement campaigns, education/awareness Governor s highway safety offices likely to control funding No word yet on when available from USDOT
Congress has acted we ve got five years of funding we re all set now right? Wrong: It s time for advocates like you to influence how your state and MPO use the money!
Saferoutespartnership.org FAST Act Background and Resources: Safe Routes to School legislative history Changes made by the FAST Act and MAP-21 State funding allocations State and MPO implementation models and profiles Blogs explaining the local match, messaging Safe Routes to School and other key areas Links to webinars
Resources for monitoring your state DOT National Partnership quarterly State of the States http://saferoutespartnership.org/healthy communities/policychange/state implementation Tracks each state s TAP funding, transfers, obligation (spending) and Safe Routes awards Helps you see your state s progress (or lack thereof) Go to your state s TAP webpage & look at funding Have Safe Routes projects been funded? Are low income communities getting funded? Is your state transferring funding away from TAP? Or is it slow to hold competitions for the TAP money? Work together to recommend changes to the application and advocate to use TAP money for TAP projects http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/transportation_alternati ves/state_contacts.cfm In March: new report card assessing state progress on physical activity policies (incl. TAP) States transfers of TAP funding: Arizona: 17% Colorado: 33% Connecticut: 48% Georgia: 33% Idaho: 16% Iowa: 6% Kansas: 7% Louisiana: 30% Mississippi: 9% Missouri: 16% North Carolina: 22% North Dakota: 33% Ohio: 10% Oklahoma: 50% South Carolina: 47% South Dakota: 50% Texas: 50% Utah: 28% West Virginia: 5% Wisconsin: 33%
Resources for working with MPOs Profiles of four MPOs using TAP to advance Safe Routes to School, plus a webinar: Available in FAST Act background page You should: Get to know your MPO Understand their priorities Pitch how SRTS fits into those regional priorities (safety, traffic reduction, health, etc.) Look at how TAP is being implemented in your region; recommend improvements if SRTS is not competing well
Time for your questions! Margo Pedroso, Safe Routes to School National Partnership margo@saferoutespartnership.org www.saferoutespartnership.org
Impact on Complete Streets Emiko Atherton Smart Growth America, National Complete Streets Coalition
FAST Act & Complete Streets January 27, 2016
Complete Streets A nationwide movement launched by the National Complete Streets Coalition in 2004, Complete Streets integrates people and place in the planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of our transportation networks.
What are Complete Streets? Complete Streets are streets for everyone, no matter who they are, their age or how they travel. 27
FAST Act & Complete Streets What does the FAST Act mean for Complete Streets? 28 28
FAST Act & Complete Streets Before: Roads only required to accommodate a narrow set of users After: Roads shall accommodate for all users 29
FAST Act & Complete Streets Safe streets for all users: The bill takes steps in maker streets safer for all users
FAST Act & Complete Streets The FAST Act is the first federal transportation bill to ever include Complete Streets. 31
FAST Act & Complete Streets Encourages states and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) to adopt Complete Streets language.
FAST Act & Complete Streets Directs the Secretary to report on state progress toward implementation and to identify best practices in the states.
FAST Act & Complete Streets Requires National Highway System roadway designs to consider all modes
FAST Act & Complete Streets Requires the use of the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) s Urban Street Design Guide as one of the standards that U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) must consider when developing design standards
FAST Act & Complete Streets Helpful Resources: Secretary s Action Plan on Bike and Pedestrian Safety https://www.transportation.gov/ office-policy/transportationpolicy/secretary%e2%80%99s-action-plan-bike-and-pedestriansafety Bicycle and Pedestrian Funding Opportunities: US Department of Transportation, Federal Transit, and Federal Highway Funds (http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/bicycle_pedestrian/ funding/funding_opportunities.cfm) Bicycle and Pedestrian Funding, Design, and Environmental Review: Addressing Common Misconceptions http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/bicycle_pedestrian/guidance/m isconceptions.cfm
FAST Act & Complete Streets For more information: Emiko Atherton, Director, National Complete Streets Coalition: eatherton@completestreets.org Joe McAndrew, Policy Director, Transportation for America: joemcandrew@t4america.org www.completestreets.org www.smartgrowthamerica.org www.t4america.org
Questions & Answers
Additional resources may be found at: http://bitly.com/fastactaha Including: Factsheets & Issue Reports on Complete Streets, Safe Routes to School, TAP, etc. Media Advocacy and Grassroots Advocacy Tools Messaging Documents, Videos and Other Campaign Materials
Thank You to Our Presenters: Sarah Pierson, American Heart Association Margo Pedroso, Safe Routes to School National Partnership Emiko Atherton, Smart Growth America, National Complete Streets Coalition