Van Hollen, Markey Secure Inaugural Funding for Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program to Boost Walking and Biking Infrastructure

U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) secured $45 million in funding for the Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program (ATIIP) – first authorized through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act – in the end-of-the-year omnibus legislation. This first-time funding will support the development of walking and biking infrastructure that connects to accessible, affordable, and safe active transportation networks, allowing people to reach destinations within a community and travel between communities.

“Transportation infrastructure should connect us to all modes of transport, including walking and biking paths. These transportation networks reduce air pollution and traffic congestion as they also support healthier and more active communities. That’s why I am glad we fought successfully to promote and expand access to these active forms of transportation,” said Senator Van Hollen. 

“Investing in green walking and biking infrastructure ensures that people can get to where they’re going without ever needing a car,” said Senator Markey. “Increasing accessibility and affordability of transportation is not only a win for our climate, but it also provides low-income and underserved neighborhoods with the ability to navigate their communities seamlessly, at no cost. I’m proud that we secured this first-time funding, and I’ll keep fighting to grow green, affordable, and free transit across Massachusetts and the country.”

“The initial appropriation to launch the Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program will be remembered as the point at which America committed to making our communities walkable and bikeable. For the first time any community can compete for dedicated federal investment to connect existing infrastructure into active transportation networks to make it safe and convenient to walk and bike to routine destinations and between communities,” said Kevin Mills, Vice President of Policy at Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. “This leveraged approach is bound to grow given huge demand and outsized transportation, economic, and environmental benefits.”

In May 2022, Senators Van Hollen and Markey, along with Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), led nineteen of their colleagues in a letter to the chair and ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development requesting funding for the ATIIP in the fiscal 2023 Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development appropriations bill. Earlier, in February 2022, Senators Van Hollen and Markey sent a letter to the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requesting full funding for the new Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program.