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Tag Archive for: ATP

CalBike response to Governor Newsom’s Proposed Budget

January 14, 2022/by Kevin Claxton

Biking and walking safety programs get a $600 million boost in Governor Newsom’s proposed budget released last week. The Active Transportation Program gets an additional $500 million, more than double its normal annual allocation, and the Highway Safety Improvement Program gets an additional $100 million. CalBike applauds the governor for dedicating a solid 3% of the discretionary surplus to biking and walking.

The budget also includes a welcome $150 million allocation for freeway removal.CalBike advocated for a $2 billion allocation of the state’s surplus to biking and walking safety, including a pilot program for complete bikeway networks. The governor’s commitment of $600 million falls far short of making the transformational impact we need for bicycling to become a realistic option for most Californians in most communities. Worse, the governor’s budget includes a massive $523 million allocation to gasoline consumers in the form of a reduced gas tax. 

“The governor’s budget is two steps forward and one step back,” said Dave Snyder, CalBike’s Executive Director. “Big spending and breathless verbal commitments to address the climate crisis, social inequity, and declining health are all meaningless if Californians are forced to drive a car for most of their trips,” he added. “We look forward to working with the legislators and the governor’s office, with the support of our members, to make the budget reflect the state’s expressed priorities.”

Next, legislators and the public review the budget and advocate for changes until May, when the governor releases a revised proposal based on that feedback and updated economic data. The legislature uses the “May Revise” of the governor’s budget at its starting point for its final budget proposal that must be signed by the governor in June. CalBike has until then to work with legislators and the governor’s staff to get a better result. 

The full budget summary is available at https://www.ebudget.ca.gov/FullBudgetSummary.pdf 

Tell the Governor that California needs more active transportation spending to meet our climate goals. Please use the form below to send an email now.

https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/California_State_Capitol_in_Sacramento.jpg 1000 1500 Kevin Claxton https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.png Kevin Claxton2022-01-14 13:31:212022-02-10 08:26:52CalBike response to Governor Newsom’s Proposed Budget

How will the Infrastructure Bill Impact California Bike Riders?

November 16, 2021/by Laura McCamy

Congress has passed, and the president has signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. It’s a $1.2 trillion spending package that will invest in aging infrastructure across the US. We share the disappointment of many progressives that this bill still puts too much money toward road-building and not enough toward infrastructure that will help wean us off fossil fuels. Still, there is a lot to like.

Infrastructure Bill basics

Every five years, Congress passes a transportation bill providing five years of funding for transportation projects across the U.S. That bill is wrapped into the $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Bill. So, out of $645 billion for transportation, $300 billion is a reauthorization of existing funding, while $345 billion is new money on top of expected spending.

Here’s a partial list of what’s in the bill (in billions):

  • $110 for roads and bridges
  • $39 for transit and rail
  • $65 to upgrade broadband infrastructure
  • $25 for airport upgrades
  • $17 to modernize ports
  • $65 for improvements to the electric grid
  • $55 for water infrastructure 
  • $50 for security and resilience in public infrastructure
  • $7.5 for electric vehicles

Of course, the question on the minds of active transportation advocates and bike riders is: What’s in it that will make bicycling safer? We have a few preliminary answers to that question, based on reports from and interviews with state and national leaders. 

Active transportation funding boost

California has been getting $89 million in active transportation funding from the federal government. That money goes to the state’s Active Transportation Program, which has a total budget of $220 million. The Infrastructure Bill increases active transportation funding by 60%, which gives California an additional $53.4 million to bring the total ATP to more than $270 million. 

Of course, this is still woefully inadequate. In the last cycle, the ATP budget covered only a fraction of the projects that applied for funding, leaving many excellent projects unfunded. The governor and the legislature need to settle a dispute about high-speed rail funding and release $500 million in additional ATP monies.

The bill also includes a Complete Streets policy, mandating that planners consider all road users, not just car drivers. However, thanks to advocacy from your CalBike, California already has a Complete Streets policy in place, so this feature won’t have much, if any, impact here.

Rule changes in the bill will dedicate a larger share of funding to regional agencies, which are more likely to support active transportation than state agencies. This funding can also make it easier to meet local match requirements. 

Another critical new policy requires states where at least 15% of fatalities are vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians and people on bikes, to dedicate at least 15% of their Highway Safety Improvement Plan funds to measures that improve vulnerable road user safety. In California, 29% of fatalities are vulnerable road users and, in its  HSIP implementation plan, spent approximately 24% of its funds on safety for people walking and bicycling. CalBike believes that California’s investment in protecting vulnerable road users should match their share in road fatalities.  We will push the state to increase its HSIP spending on biking and walking safety to at least 29%.

New standards for automobile safety

The Infrastructure Bill represents a significant break from past automobile safety policies, which focused on protecting the safety of passengers and defending, literally to the death, the drivers’ rights to go ever faster. 

Here are some of the noteworthy safety initiatives in the legislation:

  • New cars will come equipped with sensors that prevent drunk driving.
  • New headlight standards will require technologies that help reduce fatalities at dusk and after dark.
  • Crash testing for front bumpers will include an assessment of safety for people outside the car during a collision. While this doesn’t impose any limits on auto manufacturers who want to make SUVs and trucks designed to kill pedestrians, it will put information in the hands of consumers. Hopefully, people will vote with their dollars and choose safer models. 

But wait, there’s more potential funding

CalBike recently spoke with California State Transportation Secretary David S. Kim, and he’s excited to compete for some of the additional funding sources created by the Infrastructure Bill. That includes $200 million a year for the Connecting America’s Active Transportation System Act, which improves connectivity in active transportation networks. We a thrilled at Secretary Kim’s enthusiasm and this opportunity to bring more connected bikeway networks to California communities.

The bill also includes $200 million a year for the Reconnecting Communities pilot program, which seeks to compensate for damage caused by freeway building through BIPOC neighborhoods. Projects that this money could fund include bikeways, pedestrian bridges, and freeway removal. 

Chinatowns in many California cities were split by freeway construction. CalBike would love to see I-980 in Oakland removed to make room for badly-needed housing and reconnect the city’s historic Chinatown. However, as Smart Growth America pointed out, the $1B investment in freeway reparations is dwarfed by the bill’s $300B for building new freeways, including a Louisana highway that will bulldoze a Black neighborhood in Shreveport.

As bike advocates, we’ve learned to celebrate incremental progress and fight hard for more. So we appreciate the Infrastructure bill, and CalBike will work hard to get more money for better biking and better communities in California.

https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/fresno-bikeway-on-J-Street.png 1006 1336 Laura McCamy https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.png Laura McCamy2021-11-16 15:40:412021-11-23 08:04:38How will the Infrastructure Bill Impact California Bike Riders?

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