To Fight Climate and Road Safety Crises, Van Hollen, Markey, Pappas, Huffman Call on DOT to Fully Fund Active Transportation Program

Today, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Representatives Chris Pappas (N.H.-01) and Jared Huffman (Calif.-02) sent a letter to Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg requesting the Biden administration fully fund DOT’s Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program (ATIIP) in its fiscal 2024 and 2025 budgets. The ATIIP, which provides grants to states and localities to develop and connect active transportation infrastructure, such as bike paths and walking trails, received $45 million in the end-of-year spending package last December. In their letter, the lawmakers call on DOT to fund the program with at least $200 million a year – its authorized level under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – to fight climate change and curtail the road safety crisis.

“Active transportation infrastructure […] encourages individuals to adopt more affordable, healthier, and cleaner forms of transportation such as walking and biking, keeping their carbon-belching cars parked at home. These investments are particularly important because the transportation sector is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter to Secretary Buttigieg. “Active transportation investments are also important for reversing the alarming increase in motor vehicle deaths, which have disproportionately impacted individuals outside of vehicles.

“Finally, active transportation networks will make our transportation system more equitable by providing affordable and accessible transportation options for the millions of U.S. households that do not own a car,” the lawmakers wrote. “The ATIIP is thus uniquely positioned to advance the Biden administration’s transportation goals and create the foundation for a cleaner, healthier, safer, and more equitable transportation system. […] To fully deliver on the ATIIP’s promises, we urge DOT to fund the ATIIP with at least $200 million per year in its fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2025 budgets.”

Senators Van Hollen, Markey, and their colleagues have led the effort in Congress to support safer and more accessible active transportation infrastructure, including:

1. Earlier this month, Senators Van Hollen and Markey celebrated their successful efforts to secure $45 million in funding for the ATIIP through the fiscal 2023 omnibus.
2. In May 2022, Senators Van Hollen and Markey, alongside Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), led 19 of their colleagues in a letter to the chair and ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development requesting full funding for the ATIIP.
3. In February 2022, Senators Van Hollen and Markey and Representatives Pappas and Huffman sent a letter to Biden administration officials requesting full funding for the ATIIP.
4. In February 2021, Senators Van Hollen, Markey, and Sullivan introduced the Connecting America’s Active Transportation System Act, legislation that would allocate $500 million annually for grants to states and localities to connect walking and biking infrastructure into active transportation networks.

Full text of the letter can be found here and below.

Dear Secretary Buttigieg,

We write in support of full funding for the Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program (ATIIP) in the President’s fiscal 2024 and 2025 budgets. The ATIIP — which was authorized in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and first funded in the fiscal 2023 omnibus — provides grants to states and localities to develop active transportation infrastructure, such as bike paths and walking trails, and to connect that infrastructure into networks within communities and spine trails between communities. Active transportation infrastructure is safer, more affordable, and more accessible than traditional roads and it mitigates climate change by promoting carbon-free transportation options. We urge the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to fund the ATIIP at least at its IIJA-authorized level — $200 million per year — in its fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2025 budgets.

Although Congress appropriated $45 million for the ATIIP in the fiscal 2023 omnibus, active transportation infrastructure remains significantly underfunded. In spring 2020, for example, local transportation planners and bicycle and pedestrian organizations identified $7 billion of unmet need for active transportation networks. The actual unmet need may be much higher than that figure. Yet, besides the new funding for the ATIIP, the only major dedicated source of funding for active transportation infrastructure comes from the set-aside in the Surface Transportation Block Grant, known as the Transportation Alternatives (TA) program. Although Congress increased the TA set-aside in the IIJA, these funds — roughly $1.4 billion per year — are largely used for discrete projects and do not provide concentrated investments to create comprehensive active transportation networks. Congress created the ATIIP to fill this gap and build on this historic investment.

The ATIIP would also help address some of the biggest challenges facing our country, including climate change and the road safety crisis. Active transportation infrastructure, for example, encourages individuals to adopt more affordable, healthier, and cleaner forms of transportation such as walking and biking, keeping their carbon-belching cars parked at home. These investments are particularly important because the transportation sector is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, a recent study estimated that substantial investment in active transportation could reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 54 million metric tons annually. Active transportation investments are also important for reversing the alarming increase in motor vehicle deaths, which have disproportionately impacted individuals outside of vehicles. Pedestrian fatalities, for example, rose 54 percent from 2010 to 2020, while all other traffic deaths increased just 13 percent during that period. By investing in protected bike paths and other active transportation infrastructure, the ATIIP will help increase walking and bicycling and reduce motor vehicle fatalities. Finally, active transportation networks will make our transportation system more equitable by providing affordable and accessible transportation options for the millions of U.S. households that do not own a car.

The ATIIP is thus uniquely positioned to advance the Biden administration’s transportation goals and create the foundation for a cleaner, healthier, safer, and more equitable transportation system. With $45 million in fiscal 2023, the ATIIP will soon begin to deliver benefits to communities across the country. This funding, however, is less than a quarter of the amount authorized in the IIJA. To fully deliver on the ATIIP’s promises, we urge DOT to fund the ATIIP with at least $200 million per year in its fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2025 budgets.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,