Press Release: Congress Decreases Funding for Biking & Walking [Bike League]


On Friday, Congress will vote on a new transportation bill that reverses years of progress on biking and walking policy and cuts by 60 to 70 percent funding for local safety projects such as sidewalks, crosswalks, and bike lanes.
For the past 20 years, a modest portion of federal transportation investments — less than 2 percent of all transportation funding — has been dedicated to biking and walking projects that make streets more accessible for everybody, reduce preventable traffic fatalities, help boost local economic development, and create construction jobs. But, despite an outpouring of support from mayors, county executives, and the American public, the deal negotiated by a small number of Congress members behind closed doors eliminates much of this popular funding.
“This new transportation bill is bad news for biking and walking,” said Caron Whitaker, campaign director of America Bikes. “Across the country, people are biking and walking more, and vehicle miles traveled are decreasing. Young people are delaying getting their driver’s licenses and the real estate market shows that people want to live and work in areas where they can walk and bike safely. Yet this new bill ignores current trends and includes drastic and disproportionate cuts to biking and walking.”

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