2007 Benchmarking Report - Alliance for Biking & Walking

includes funding for biking and walking facilities and programs,
bicycle parking, bike/transit integration, bicycle and pedestrian
infrastructure (such as sidewalks, paths, and bike lanes), and
staffing levels. Each of these is a concrete way in which cities
and states show effort towards improving their communities for
cyclists and pedestrians. In many cases, these provisions are the
result of good written policies. In other cases they are the result
of the culture of cities and states.
Data on Provisions
The data for this section of the report come primarily
from City and State Surveys, with data on funding from the
National Transportation Enhancements Clearinghouse and
the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Fiscal Management
Information System (FMIS). Since most of the data in this
chapter are self-reported by state and city agencies, there may
be a concern among advocates that data would be exaggerated
so that agencies appear to be doing better than they actually are.
Although there is no control over accuracy of answers, responses
are expected to be, for the most part, accurate. Peer review
by local advocates and officials will help make any necessary
corrections for future reports, and will help refine survey methods
to ensure the highest potential for accuracy. Also, because
data collected in this section are compared to cycling and walking
mode share and other variables, it is in the best interests of
advocates and officials to provide honest responses so that they
can best evaluate the progress and needs of their communities.
This chapter of the report focuses more heavily on cities
since they are where provisions can best be measured. However,
not all cities were able to report on cycling and walking provisions
because their agencies have not implemented methods to
collect these data, and thus, have no data available. The tables
on page 62-65 give an overview of the data collected.
Funding for Biking and Walking
Data on funding was the most difficult to access. States
and cities were asked to report on the amount of funding going
to bicycle and pedestrian projects from a number of federal funding
sources including: Surface Transportation Program (STP),
Transportation Enhancements (TE), Congestion Mitigation
and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ), Safe Routes
to School, and Section 402 Highway Safety Funds. States and
cities were also questioned about any additional state or local
funds allocated to bicycle and pedestrian projects. Responses
were too sparse to make any reasonable comparison, so Thunderhead
relied on the FHWA for all data in this section. FHWA
data in this report represents a six-year average (2000-2006)(1)
of federal funds obligated to projects, and are not necessarily
the actual amount spent in these years. These data include the
total amount of federal funds obligated to a project and the total
cost of the project. Tables on page 62-65 show both the federal
dollars per capita for each state and city, and the total per capita
amount which includes the federal funds and state, local and
other funds obligated to these projects.
The variation in federal funding sources to bicycle and
pedestrian projects is relatively small, with TE funding making
up 73% of all bike/ped obligations. More than 50 additional
federal funding programs have been allocated for bicycle and
pedestrian projects, most at relatively small amounts. On average,
states spend just 1.54% of their federal transportation dollars
on bike/ped projects (based on the 3-year funding period from
2004-2006). This amounts to just $2.50 per capita for bicycling
and walking each year. The variation in per capita funding and
the percentage of transportation dollars spent on bicycle and
pedestrian projects is great among both cities and states. This
fact, along with the number of diverse funding sources, indicates
that states and local jurisdictions play a determining role in how
their federal transportation dollars are spent.
Transportation Enhancements
The Transportation Enhancements (TE) program is
the best known funding source for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure
improvements. The program provides federal funds
to metropolitan areas to distribute to community-based projects
that expand travel choices and enhance the transportation experience
by improving the cultural, historic, aesthetic, and envi-
(1) Data on the percent of transportation funds to bike/ped projects and per capita funding for states are based on a 3-year average from 2004-2006.
BICYCLING & WALKING POLICIES & PROVISIONS
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Bicycling & Walking in the U.S./ Thunderhead Alliance 2007