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Funding Sources
: Government Sources
federal:
transportation | federal:
non-transportation | state:
transportation | state:
non-transportation | local
Federal:
Transportation
Leading
the way in government funding sources is federal funding through the
Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, or "TEA-21." This
six-year funding bill (FY 1998 - FY 2003) authorizes $217 billion
in Federal gas-tax revenue and other federal funds for all modes of
surface transportation, including highways, bus and rail transit,
bicycling and walking. More than half of these funds are made available
through programs for which bicycling and walking activities are eligible
expenditures, however, none of these funds are dedicated solely for
bicycle or pedestrian facilities or programs.
TEA-21 is the successor to "ISTEA," the Intermodal Surface Transportation
Efficiency Act, which provided federal funding for the years 1992-1997.
ISTEA is now viewed as the federal Act that initiated a major policy
shift in federal funding priorities making federal funds much more
accessible for state and local bicycling and walking facilities and
programs. TEA-21 continues and strengthens this new emphasis on improving
conditions for bicycling and walking.
Click on these links to learn more:
The
ABC's of Federal Transportation Dollars
Federal
Transportation Funding Programs
Choosing
the Federal Program that is Right for the Project
Additional
Resources
Federal:
Non-Transportation
Outside
of the federal transportation programs there are a wide range of other
federal funds that can be used for bicycling and walking facilities.
Some of the most common include funds through the federal land agencies
such as the National Forest Service, National Park Service or Bureau
of Land Management, however these funds are primarily for trails and
must be on federal lands. Community Development Block Grants through
HUD, the Department of Housing and Urban Development are a likely
source of funds for community-based projects, such as commercial district
streetscape improvements, sidewalk improvements, safe routes to school,
or other neighborhood-based bicycling and walking facilities that
improve local transportation options or help revitalize neighborhoods.
The National Transportation Enhancements Clearinghouse has prepared
a useful Technical Brief: Financing and Funding for Trails
that sites over thirty federal and national funding sources that could
be used to help fund bicycling and walking facilities and/or programs,
especially trails: www.enhancements.org
State:
Transportation
Every
state raises revenue for highway and transportation infrastructure
through a state motor-vehicle fuel tax. Some states also raise funds
through vehicle licensing fees. In many states, the laws governing
how these funds can be spent would make most bicycle and pedestrian
projects and programs eligible for these funds, however in other states,
use of the funds may be limited to providing paved highway shoulders
on state owned and operated roads. The following are some examples
of dedicated funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects from state
transportation revenues:
• By constitutional amendment, Oregon dedicates 1 percent
of state gas-tax revenue to providing improvements for bicycling
and walking on state-managed highways. Michigan also has a 1 percent
law.
• Illinois has a long-standing, annual dedication of $1.50
out of the car title transfer tax, for trail and bicycle pedestrian
improvements in local communities; raising up to $5 million annually.
• California dedicates $1 million from the State Highway
Account (gas tax-based), for bicycle transportation improvements,
and the amount is scheduled to grow to $2 million in 2001 2002,
to $3 million in 2003 and to $5 million in 2004. Maximum grants
are $250,000.
• The California state legislature also created the Transportation
Development Act, which dedicates .25 percent from the statewide
7.75 percent sales tax to public transit support. The funds are
returned to the county of origin where the regional transportation
planning agency (often the MPO) may set-aside 2% of the funds for
bicycle and pedestrian projects. In San Diego County, where this
set-aside has been established, funding levels amount to about $1.7
million per year.
• New Jersey has created a bicycle and pedestrian facility
set-aside in its local-aid program by Gubernatorial directive. Municipalities
and counties can apply for these funds for local projects. The money
comes from the NJ Transportation Trust Fund (mostly state gas taxes
and highway toll revenue). Because actual spending of the funds
has lagged, and local requests exceed actual awards for projects
by several times, advocates are currently pushing for a provision
in the Trust Fund reauthorization bill that would require the NJ
Department of Transportation to implement 200 miles of bikeways
per year during the 4-year life of the new Trust Fund.
• California passed a new state law in 1999 that allocated
1/3 of the federal Hazard Elimination monies (a portion of the 10
percent Safety Set-Aside of Surface Transportation Program funds)
to projects that encourage kids to walk and bicycle to school. This
amounts to about $20 million annually for the next two years. While
this example does not primarily involve use of state revenue, it
is a notable state action to further dedicate federal funds.
• Likewise, New York State DOT is in the process of creating
a grant program for traffic calming projects on Long Island. Towns
and villages will apply for the money with specific traffic calming
project proposals. The first year of the program will use $3 million
of the same federal Hazard Elimination funds.
• In Indiana, drivers are paying extra for special license
plates that benefit greenways, open space, parks and trails. In
1995 about $1.9 million was netted from sale of 75,740 plates. The
plates cost an additional $35, of which $25 goes to the Indiana
Heritage Trust. Maine and Florida use similar license plate fee
add-ons for conservation, parks and bicycle and pedestrian program
funding.
State:
Non-Transportation
Maryland
uses ½ of 1% of a real estate transfer tax to fund Program Open
Space, which is used to acquire land for greenways and trails |
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A
growing number of states are providing funds from non-transportation
related revenue streams. However, these funds are not always
eligible for the full range of bicycle and pedestrian activities.
Some examples include the following: |
• By referendum, Colorado dedicates a portion of its lottery
proceeds to trail building.
• Maryland uses a real estate transfer tax (tax on the
sale of residential and commercial property) to raise money for
open space acquisition and trail building.
• The Pennsylvania and Florida state legislatures were
among the first to create state funding programs for trail building
and open space preservation, and make much of the funding available
for local community-sponsored projects, in addition to projects
of statewide interest. Many other states have and are following
suit.
• The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management
(DEM) runs a Greenways and Trails Small Grants Program to award
small amounts of funding to local communities with innovative greenway
and trail protection projects.
Local
Examples
of local communities taking action on their own to create revenue
streams for improving conditions for bicycling and walking are not
hard to come by. Three common approaches include: special bond issues,
dedications of a portion of local sales taxes or a voter-approved
sales tax increase, and use of the annual capital improvement budgets
of Public Works and/or Parks agencies. Some examples follow:
• San Diego County residents voted to impose a 1/2-cent
sales tax for transportation purposes. Out of those funds ($171
million in year 2000), $1 million is set aside for bicycle projects.
The tax is administered by the San Diego Association of Governments
and is scheduled to expire in 2008.
• The City of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Bernalillo
County, both have a 5% set-aside of street bond funds which go to
trails and bikeways. For the City, this has amounted to approximately
$1.2 million every two years for these facilities. The City voters
last year passed a 1/4 cent gross receipts tax for transportation
which includes approximately $1 million per year for the next ten
years for trail development. In addition, many of the on-street
facilities are being developed as a part of other road projects
and are incorporating the bike facilities in the roadway budget
for new roads, or when a resurfacing project is planned.
• Pinellas County, Florida built much of the Pinellas
Trail system with a portion of a one cent sales tax increase voted
for by county residents.
• Seattle, Washington, and King County voters approved
a $100 million bond issue to protect open space in the urban area;
$33 million was set-aside for trail development. The Seattle Department
of Public Works used about $6 million per annum for the City's bike
program.
• Denver, Colorado also invested $5 million in its emerging
trail network with a bond issue, which also funded the city's bike
planner for a number of years.
• Eagle County, Colorado (which includes Vail) voters
passed a transportation tax that earmarks 10% for trails, about
$300,000 a year.
• In Colorado Springs, Colorado, 20 percent of the new
open space sales tax is designated for trail acquisition and development;
about $5-6 million per year.
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