Last month, overwhelming majorities in the Connecticut State Senate and House passed a complete streets bill, a major step towards safer streets for all road users in the state. This week, Tri-State urged ConnDOT Commissioner Joe Marie to make up for one of the few gaps in the new legislation.
The new legislation dedicates 1% of transportation funding to bike and pedestrian infrastructure and establishes a Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board. However, it omits language from earlier drafts that would have pre-designated 25% of federal Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funds for bicycle and pedestrian safety projects like Safe Routes to School, “safe routes for seniors,” and “safe routes to transit.”
In a letter sent this week, Tri-State urged Commissioner Marie to make it departmental policy to designate at least 10% of HSIP and CMAQ funds to the “safe routes” programs. Given that the goal of HSIP funds is to improve roadway safety, and that deaths involving pedestrians and bicyclists have accounted for 10-12% of all Connecticut traffic fatalities since 2005, it makes sense to have HSIP funds distributed in a corresponding manner. CMAQ funds are intended to reduce congestion and improve air quality, and are appropriate funding streams for pollution-free modes of travel like biking and walking.
Based on the apportionment of Connecticut’s FY2009 transportation dollars, Tri-State estimates that this would produce $4.5 million for biking and walking programs. This is a modest investment given the size of ConnDOT’s entire capital program, and would go a long way towards creating a safer environment for children, the elderly, transit riders, and the public in general.
Pre-designation of HSIP funds is not unprecedented. Virginia’s Department of Transportation pre-designates 10% of its HSIP funds to bicycling and pedestrian projects, perhaps one of the reasons it is ranked 21 spots higher than Connecticut on the League of American Bicyclists’ 2009 Bike Friendly State rankings. The National Association of City Transportation Officials is also requesting that 10% of CMAQ funds be dedicated towards biking and walking programs in the next federal transportation bill.
[…] it is now up to ConnDOT to fill a gap in the bill, the removal of a provision from the original legislative draft that would have […]
Great post! This is a great idea, which everyone should be able to support.
I would argue that the HSIP funds should be more than 10-12%, however, given the related factors that are arguably even more important than statistical “safety” itself: walkability, economic growth, public health, environmental sustainability, and the reduction of the state’s serious health disparities.
Perhaps the CT Department of Public Health could write a letter to help frame the priorities in a way that ConnDOT’s engineers would understand.