BIKE: Fw: Action Alert from America Bikes on High Priority Projects

[Joe Mitchell/Diversified Media Applications]

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Sent: Friday, January 28, 2005 10:31 AM
Subject: Action Alert from America Bikes on High Priority Projects


> America Bikes Supporters,
>
> The attached action alert from the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy deserves
> immediate action if you had a stake in any High Priority Projects
> submitted as part of TEA-LU, the House reauthorization of TEA-21. As the
> reauthorization process begins anew in the 109th Congress, the House is
> requiring that all High Priority projects be resubmitted by Monday,
> February 7th in order to be considered in the next bill.
>
> Read on for details and helpful information from RTC.
>
>
>    Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2005 16:29:07 -0500
>     ACTION ALERT - Deadline for High Priority Projects
>
> Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Action Alert
>
> "High Priority" Process Reopened; Projects Must Be Resubmitted by February
> 7
>
> This is an urgent update from Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) on the
> status of High Priority Projects.  As you will recall, as part of the
> reauthorization of TEA-21, the six-year federal surface transportation
> legislation, Congress is submitting a wish-list of projects for the "High
> Priority Projects" program that allows Members of Congress to identify and
> fund specific transportation projects in their home districts.  Both ISTEA
> (1991) and TEA-21 (1998) included variations of this program, though the
> projects nominated - and the ensuing funds - have traditionally been
> allocated for highways and interstates.
>
> As the 109th Congress convenes, TEA-21 renewal is on the horizon, and
> bike/ped/trail advocates have a narrow window to nominate or re-nominate
> their projects for High Priority Projects funding status.
>
> Early in 2003, the year TEA-21 was scheduled to expire, each House Member
> was asked to submit projects for the House reauthorization bill known as
> TEA-LU.  Rails-to-Trails Conservancy immediately set out to ensure that
> bicycle/pedestrian/trail projects would finally receive their fair share
> of this funding source.  The resulting "Green Pig" campaign was a great
> success.  However, the 108th Congress never agreed on a new law, and with
> the end of the session the TEA-LU bill no longer exists. TEA-21 is
> currently operating under an extension through May, and efforts are
> underway once again to reauthorize TEA-21.
>
> Proposed High Priority Projects which were successfully inserted into
> TEA-LU are in jeopardy, and a new list is now being assembled from
> scratch.
>
> The House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee recently issued a new
> "Dear Colleague" letter asking House Members to submit proposed projects
> by February 7, 2005. The letter stresses "any information that
> was submitted in the 108th Congress must be resubmitted ..."
>
> * If you submitted a project through your Congressperson in 2003, please
> contact that office again as soon as possible to ensure that it is
> resubmitted.  (There is only one difference between the new questionnaire
> and the 2003 version: a new question #22 which asks for a very brief
> project description as it would appear in the bill.)
> * If you didn't submit previously but wish to, you have an
> extremely narrow window of opportunity to fill out a questionnaire, get it
> to your Representative, and convince that office to submit on your behalf.
>
> Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's Yahoo listserve, nicknamed "Green Pig," is
> still active and now contains the new Dear Colleague letter and
> questionnaire, along with tips for submitting.  Please visit:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/greenpig/
> <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/greenpig/>
>
> In ISTEA, a negligible number of these projects were for trails or other
> bicycle/pedestrian facilities.  In TEA-21, 110 of the 1,850 High Priority
> Projects (5.9%) were for bike/ped/trails, accounting for $188.5 million of
> the $9.3 billion set aside for this program.  In 2003, RTC's "Green Pig"
> campaign to increase bike/ped/trail projects was incredibly successful,
> based on the number of projects which made it into the House TEA-LU bill.
> By our calculation, bike/ped/trail projects accounted for 449 of the 2838
> High Priority projects in the bill, or 15.8%.  In dollars, this was $719
> million of the total $11.1 billion.
>
> This funding source - which has overwhelmingly favored highways and
> interstates - is available only once every six years. Right now is the
> time to turn the tide in favor of bicycle, pedestrian and trail projects.
>
> If you have any questions, please contact Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's
> Marianne Fowler (202-974-5104; Marianne
> <mailto:Marianne> ) or Ken Rosenfeld (202-974-5121;
> KenR <mailto:KenR> ).
> KEN ROSENFELD
> National Advocacy Director
> Conference Director, TrailLink 2005
>
> Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
> 1100 17th Street NW, 10th Floor
> Washington, DC  20036
> 202-974-5121 or 202-331-9696
> KenR
> www.railtrails.org <http://www.railtrails.org/>
>
>
>
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