[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4722 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4722
To direct the Secretary of Transportation to carry out an active
transportation investment program to encourage a mode shift to active
transportation within selected communities by providing safe and
convenient options to bicycle and walk for routine travel, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 2, 2010
Mr. Blumenauer (for himself, Mr. Capuano, Mr. Carnahan, Mr. Cohen, Mr.
Filner, Mr. Lipinski, and Mr. Moran of Virginia) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Transportation to carry out an active
transportation investment program to encourage a mode shift to active
transportation within selected communities by providing safe and
convenient options to bicycle and walk for routine travel, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Active Community Transportation Act
of 2010''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Nearly half of the trips taken in the United States are
within a 20-minute bicycle ride, and a quarter of such trips
are within a 20-minute walk.
(2) Approximately 90 percent of public transportation trips
are accessed by walking or bicycling.
(3) More than 100 communities across the Nation have
adopted complete streets policies, thereby proving the
commitment of these communities to creating streets that are
safe and convenient for users of all ages and abilities,
including those who are walking, bicycling, taking public
transportation, or driving.
(4) Communities that invest in active transportation
infrastructure experience significant increases in bicycling
and walking rates over time, and such investments are in strong
demand because they enhance the livability of communities.
(5) The communities that perform best in encouraging active
transportation create interconnected systems that make it
convenient and safe to travel on foot or by bicycle to
destinations on a routine basis.
(6) Achieving a mode shift to active transportation within
a community requires intensive, concentrated funding of active
transportation systems rather than discrete, piecemeal
projects.
(7) Increased use of active transportation leads to
reductions in traffic congestion, greenhouse gas emissions,
vehicle miles traveled, oil dependence, air pollution, and
obesity and diseases associated with physical inactivity.
(8) Given the contribution that active transportation makes
to these national policy goals, and the opportunity active
transportation provides to accommodate short trips at the least
cost to the public and individuals, funding of active
transportation is one of the most strategic and cost effective
Federal transportation investments available.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act, the following definitions apply:
(1) Active transportation.--The term ``active
transportation'' means mobility options powered solely by human
energy, such as bicycling and walking.
(2) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian tribe'' has the
meaning given that term in section 4(e) of Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(e)).
(3) Program.--The term ``program'' means the active
transportation investment program established under section 4.
SEC. 4. ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Transportation shall carry out an
active transportation investment program in accordance with the
requirements of this section.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of the program shall be to encourage a
mode shift to active transportation within selected communities by
providing safe and convenient opportunities to bicycle and walk for
routine travel.
(c) Selection of Communities.--
(1) Applications.--A community seeking to participate in
the program shall submit to the Secretary an application that
is in such form and contains such information as the Secretary
may require.
(2) Initial and additional selections.--
(A) Initial selections.--The Secretary shall select
initial communities to participate in the program. Such
communities shall participate in the program in each of
fiscal years 2011 through 2015.
(B) Additional selections.--Following the initial
selections under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall
select additional communities to participate in the
program. Such communities shall participate in the
program in each of fiscal years 2013 through 2015.
(3) Criteria.--
(A) In general.--In selecting communities to
participate in the program, the Secretary shall
consider, at a minimum, the extent to which a
community--
(i) provides a plan for development of
walking and bicycling infrastructure that is
likely to contribute to a significant
transportation mode shift to walking and
bicycling;
(ii) demonstrates broad community support
that will facilitate successful and expeditious
implementation;
(iii) demonstrates a cohesive plan in which
noninfrastructure elements, where proposed,
reinforce achievement of the purpose of the
program;
(iv) provides evidence of regulatory or
financial incentives or community design
policies that facilitate significant increases
in bicycling or walking; and
(v) commits State, local, or eligible
Federal matching funds, in addition to Federal
funds made available under this section, to
projects eligible for assistance under this
section.
(B) Strategic priorities that facilitate success.--
For purposes of subparagraph (A)(i), strategic
priorities that facilitate success in increasing
walking and bicycling include effective plans--
(i) to create a network of active
transportation facilities connecting
neighborhoods with destinations such as
workplaces, schools, residences, businesses,
recreation areas, and other community activity
centers;
(ii) to integrate active transportation
facilities with transit services, where
available, to improve access to public
transportation; and
(iii) to deliver safe, convenient, cost-
effective mobility via walking and bicycling.
(C) Indicators of community support.--For purposes
of subparagraph (A)(ii), indicators of community
support include--
(i) the use of public input in the
development of transportation plans; and
(ii) the commitment of community leaders to
the success and timely implementation of
projects eligible for assistance under this
section.
(d) Grants.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall make grants to each
community selected to participate in the program.
(2) Recipients.--A recipient of a grant representing a
community under the program shall be a local or regional
governmental organization, multi-county special district, or
Indian tribe that the Secretary determines is suitably equipped
and organized to carry out the objectives and requirements of
this section. Such organizations include metropolitan planning
organizations and other regional planning organizations.
(3) Subrecipients.--A recipient of a grant under the
program may suballocate funds from the grant to a nonprofit
organization to carry out the purposes of the program.
(4) Inclusion of certain communities.--To fulfill the
Nation's need to achieve and document mode shift to bicycling
and walking over time, the 4 communities that received pilot
funding under section 1807 of SAFETEA-LU (119 Stat. 1460) may
be among the communities selected by the Secretary under
subsection (c).
(5) Grants amounts.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary may make a grant as
low as $5,000,000 and as high as $15,000,000 per fiscal
year for a community participating in the program. The
Secretary shall ensure that grant awards under the
program are sufficiently high to enable a mode shift to
active transportation.
(B) Justification for larger grants.--Subject to
the $15,000,000 per fiscal year limit set forth in
subparagraph (A), the Secretary may justify a grant in
a higher amount for a community under the program based
on the population served, greater opportunities to
shift trips to bicycling and walking, or use of
innovative design features.
(e) Eligible Projects.--Grants made to communities under this
section shall be used for one or more of the following purposes:
(1) To carry out projects to construct networks of active
transportation infrastructure facilities, including sidewalks,
bikeways, and pedestrian and bicycle trails, that connect
people with public transportation, workplaces, schools,
residences, businesses, recreation areas, and other community
activity centers.
(2) To carry out projects to provide for bicycle boxes,
cycle tracks, bicycle boulevards, dual traffic signals, and
bicycle sharing stations.
(3) To carry out projects to restore and upgrade current
active transportation infrastructure facilities.
(4) To carry out projects to support educational
activities, safety-oriented activities, and technical
assistance to further the purpose of the program.
(f) Program Measures.--In carrying out the program, the Secretary
shall develop statistical information on changes in motor vehicle,
active transportation, and public transportation usage in communities
participating in the program and assess how the changes impact
congestion and energy usage, impact the frequency of bicycling and
walking, and impact health, safety, and the environment. In addition,
the Secretary shall develop interim measures of progress, which may
include indicators of public engagement, educational outcomes, and
project advancement into planning and development.
(g) Deadlines.--
(1) Request for applications.--Not later than 60 days after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall publish
in the Federal Register a request for applications pursuant to
subsection (c)(1).
(2) Selection of initial communities.--Not later than 180
days after such date of enactment, the Secretary shall select
initial communities to participate in the program under
subsection (c)(2)(A).
(3) Selection of additional communities.--Not later than
September 30, 2012, the Secretary shall select additional
communities to participate in the program under subsection
(c)(2)(B).
(4) Grants.--The Secretary shall make grants to selected to
participate in the program under subsection (c)--
(A) for fiscal year 2011, not later than the later
of--
(i) the 60th day after the date of the
selection of communities under subsection
(c)(2)(A); and
(ii) the 30th day of the fiscal year; and
(B) for each of fiscal years 2012 through 2015, not
later than 30th day of the fiscal year.
(h) Reports.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall submit to Congress--
(A) an interim report on progress made under the
program not later than September 30, 2014; and
(B) a final report on progress made under the
program not later than September 30, 2016.
(2) Contents.--Each report submitted under paragraph (1)
shall include the Secretary's findings concerning the best
practices of communities participating in the program and the
impediments experienced by such communities relating to program
development and achieving a mode shift to active
transportation.
(i) Funding.--
(1) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated out of the Highway Trust Fund (other than
the Mass Transit Account) to carry out this section--
(A) $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2011;
(B) $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2012;
(C) $466,666,666 for fiscal year 2013;
(D) $466,666,666 for fiscal year 2014; and
(E) $466,666,668 for fiscal year 2015.
(2) Contract authority.--Funds authorized to be
appropriated by this section shall be available for obligation
and administered in the same manner as if the funds were
apportioned under chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code,
except that the Federal share of the cost of a project carried
out using the funds shall be 100 percent, and the funds shall
remain available until expended and shall not be transferable.
(3) Administrative costs.--
(A) Set aside.--Each fiscal year, the Secretary
shall set aside not more than 1.5 percent of the funds
made available to carry out this section to cover the
costs of administrative, research, technical
assistance, communications, and training activities
under the program.
(B) Contracts and other agreements.--The Secretary
may enter into contracts with for-profit organizations,
or contracts, partnerships, or cooperative agreements
with other government agencies, institutions of higher
learning, or nonprofit organizations, to perform
activities with amounts set aside under subparagraph
(A). The Federal share of the cost of such activities
may be up to 100 percent.
(C) Limitation on statutory construction.--Nothing
in this paragraph may be construed to prohibit a
community from receiving research or other funds under
title 23 or 49, United States Code.
(j) Treatment of Projects.--
(1) Noninfrastructure projects.--Noninfrastructure projects
and infrastructure projects that do not involve or lead
directly to construction assisted under this subsection shall
not be treated as projects on a Federal-aid system under
chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code.
(2) Infrastructure projects.--Not later than one year after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall develop
regulations or guidance (or both) for Federal-aid projects
under this section that encourages the use of the programmatic
categorical exclusion, expedited procurement techniques, and
other best practices to facilitate productive and timely
expenditure for projects that are small, low impact, and
constructed within an existing built environment.
(3) State processes.--The Secretary shall work with State
departments of transportation to ensure that any guidance or
regulation developed under paragraph (2) is being implemented
by States and the Federal Highway Administration consistently
to avoid unnecessary delays in implementing projects and to
ensure the effective use of Federal dollars.
(k) Assistance to Indian Tribes.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, the Secretary may enter into grants agreements, self-
determination contracts, and self-governance compacts under the
authority of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act
(25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.) with eligible Indian tribes to carry out the
purposes of this Act, and such grant agreements, self-determination
contracts, and self-governance compacts shall be administered in
accordance with that Act.
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