New House Infrastructure Bill Cuts Transit And Isn't Great on Active Transportation: Advocates - Streetsblog USA

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee released a 1,005-page draft of BUILD America 250 to replace the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law after Sept. 30. The bill totals $580 billion, down from the prior $1.2 trillion package. Formula transit programs face a 20% reduction, totaling about $43 billion over five years, while highway funding increases 8%, totaling about $28 billion. Advocates say the draft is still better than a Trump administration proposal that would eliminate mass transit funding entirely. Active transportation impacts are described as less severe than feared after warnings about spending on bike and walking paths. Some advocates argue the bill’s limited positive provisions could be removed without stronger protections.

"The $580-billion Building Unrivaled Infrastructure and Long-Term Development for America's 250th Act - or BUILD America 250 for short - clocked in at 1,005 pages, a slim offering compared to its predecessor's $1.2-trillion haul.Many of those cuts came from formula transit programs, which the Union of Concerned Scientists noted would take a 20-percent ($43 billion) hit across the bill's five years. Highway funding, meanwhile, would increase 8 percent ($28 billion) over the same period - a move which Kevin X. Shen compared to " a highway contractor's wishlist.""

"As dire as that sounds, some advocates noted it's better than the Trump administration's proposal for the bill, which recommended zeroing out the mass transit account completely. The damage to active transportation programs, meanwhile, was also less bad than some feared after committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.) warned in November that the bill was "not going to be spending money on ... bike paths or walking paths.""

"Still, some say that absent a more radical overhaul, even BUILD 250's few bright spots could be too easily snuffed out - and the already-devastating impacts of mass car dependency could get even worse. "We thank the committee for their work, but before any planned markup, we challenge them to dream bigger than re-upping an approach that has failed to move the needle on what matters"

Read at Streetsblog USA