Last week the Senate voted down an attack on one of the few dedicated sources of funding for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, but now Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul is readying what could potentially be an even more damaging plan that would hijack millions of dollars set aside for such projects and divert the money to a fund for bridges.
Paul's plan targets Transportation Enhancements, a government program that encourages states to use a small portion of their highway funds on a range of non-highway projects that enhance the transportation system such as streetscapes, bicycle paths, and the preservation of historically significant transportation sites. Paul's bill would divert all funding for the Transportation Enhancements program to a fund for bridges, a change that would essentially destroy the program.
Though about half of the approximately $9.87 billion that the Transportation Enhancements program has provided to states since 1992 has gone to pedestrian and bicycling projects, Paul has not been upfront about the major impact his plan would have on the country's bicycle infrastructure. In fact, the two statements his office has released about his plan have said nothing about the detrimental effects it would have on non-motorists.
In one release, Paul claimed the legislation targets "beautification projects" and in another he says the bill would free up funding that is used for "optional projects" such as transportation museums. It's true some money goes to beautification and museums, but what Paul fails to mention is what makes the press releases deceptive -- that both beautification projects and transportation museums make up just a sliver of the overall Transportation Enhancements program budget. Since 2002, in fact, just 1.5 percent of the program’s funds have gone to transportation museum projects and just 12.8 percent have gone to scenic improvements. Meanwhile, about 50 percent -- about $5 billion have gone to pedestrian and bicycle projects.
Paul's bill is a direct attack on pedestrians and cyclists, and he should be honest about it. Whether voters support bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure or not, they ought to have little patience for a politician who seems perfectly comfortable spreading half-truths.
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