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rtc policy 101
Enhancements (TE).” Since 1992,
thou-
sands of trail building and enhancement
projects have been made possible through
these funds. Sections of the famous
Pinellas Trail in Florida, Chief Ladiga Trail
in Alabama and Olympic Discovery Trail
in Washington have all been funded in
part through TE/TAP funds.
Why it’s a legislative priority: “
The
Transportation Alternatives Program has
been the backbone of trail building in
the U.S. for nearly 25 years,” says Mills.
“The federal dollars not only have directly
helped to build most of our favorite
rail-trails, but they leverage many other
resources and have seeded a cultural shift
in which trail networks are now under-
stood as essential community assets.”
TE/TAP has been constantly under
attack by various members of Congress
over the years. RTC has mobilized to help
increase or protect TE/TAP funds in every
federal transportation bill since 1991—
including increasing TE in 1998, and
restoring it following an attack in the U.S.
House of Representatives in 2003.
In 2012, Congress reduced TE alloca-
tions in the federal transportation bill and
consolidated it into TAP with two other
programs: the Recreational Trails Program
and the Safe Routes to School program. In
2015, although some congressmen sought
to eliminate TAP, the legislation instead
made a symbolic structural change by
moving TAP from a standalone program
into a broad transportation program (as a
subprogram). The new legislation also gave
urban regional transportation agencies the
ability to transfer out half of their TAP
funds to other uses, representing a new
vulnerability for TAP. The program did see
an immediate increase from $820 million
to $835 million per year—and another
$15 million increase to $850 million per
year for the 2018 to 2020 fiscal years.
According to Mills, maintaining the
program intact was a real political victory
in a bitterly divided Congress, and RTC
remains dedicated to protecting and grow-
ing TAP going forward. However, the
marginal gains are inadequate to meet the
burgeoning national demand for active-
transportation funding, so RTC also is
working to grow and diversify the options
communities have to fund trails, cycle
tracks and sidewalks.
TIFIA: Building Active-
Transportation Networks
What it is:
The Transportation
Infrastructure Financing and Investment
Act (TIFIA) is a federal program—also
included in the federal transportation
bill—that provides low-interest loans,
lines of credit and loan guarantees for
transportation projects, including trails,
and biking and walking infrastructure.
How it’s currently distributed:
Via
an application process managed by the
U.S. Department of Transportation
Background:
The minimum thresh-
old for TIFIA loans has historically been
$50 million or more for urban/suburban
projects and $25 million for rural proj-
ects. In 2015, RTC successfully advo-
cated for improvements to the act in the
federal transportation bill that would
make TIFIA accessible to communi-
ties looking to build out their trail and
active-transportation networks.
In a nutshell—the changes to the act
included: 1) lowering the threshold to
$10 million for projects involving local
governments; 2) enabling projects to be
bundled together to reach the threshold;
3) permitting funds to be used to finance
State Infrastructure Banks, which can in
turn more easily finance rural projects;
4) streamlining the application process
for low-risk projects; and 5) allotting at
least $2 million per year for application
fee waivers for small projects.
Why it’s a legislative priority:
“We’re reaching a point in the trail
movement where people understand that
trails aren’t just ‘nice to have,’ but are
essential community assets,” says Leeann
Sinpatanasakul, advocacy coordinator
R
TC continues to pursue
investment in rail-trails at all
levels of government in the
U.S. to ensure these essential
assets are created and protected. As
the organization celebrates its 30th
anniversary in 2016,
Rails to Trails
magazine is taking a brief moment to
spotlight this work, which often takes a
backseat in our coverage of the American
rail-trail movement, but which has been
critical to its growth and evolution.
“Since the early days of RTC, the orga-
nization has worked tirelessly to ensure
adequate public investment in these essen-
tial pathways,” says Kevin Mills, senior
vice president of policy at RTC. “Today,
our work continues at the federal, state
and local levels to enable regions to build
the trail networks they need—to connect
people and places, and provide healthy
outdoor recreation for all.”
Here’s a quick look at RTC’s funding
priorities for the future and why they’re
important to America’s healthy trail
future. Learn more at
railstotrails.org.
Transportation Alternatives
Program (TAP): Federal
Trail Funding
What it is:
To put it simply, it’s the single
largest federal funding source for trails in
the U.S. The current pot stands at $835
million dollars per year, making up only
about 1.5 percent of federal transportation
spending.
How it’s currently distributed:
Fifty
percent is allocated to each state’s depart-
ment of transportation who can choose
priority projects. The other 50 percent is
split proportionally to: urban areas of more
than 200,000 people via metropolitan
planning organizations (who decide prior-
ity projects for themselves); urban areas of
5,001 to 200,000 people; and areas with
5,000 or less people.
Background:
RTC helped ensure the
inclusion of the program in the 1991 fed-
eral transportation bill as “Transportation
Show Me the (Trail) $$
ADRIAN CABRERO