Where Cars (Wrongly) Rule
Reprinted from the Chattanooga Times editorial,
Thursday, June 22, 2000
Tension over allocations of federal Surface Transportation Program
funds may rise tonight when the Metropolitan Planning Organization, which divvies up the
federal funds, convenes to approve its 25-year plan. Advocates of public transportation,
bicycle routes and greenways, which fall in the "alternate transportation"
category of the plan, are lobbying hard for a little change. They've got a legitimate
gripe.
They reasonably believe that alternate transportation should get double
the paltry 5 percent share the MPO staff plan would allocate from the federal funds. But
cars rule, says the MPO staff, and the formula that directs most spending to road building
and repaving won't change until that changes.
If the MPO staff and board think the reign of cars and status quo will
change before they change their formula, they're wrong. Their attitude must change first.
Sticking with the status quo just ensures the car will continue to be king. The MPO must
lead for change.
What's at stake tonight -- in a 6 o'clock meeting at the Bicentennial
Library -- is the formula for allocating $145 million in STP funds the MPO expects to
receive and allocate over the next 25 years. That is a substantial sum, but it is just a
fraction of the amount that will be spent on roads here in the next quarter of a century.
Local and state transportation planners expect to spend $1.4 billion by
2025 on regional transportation improvements in the MPO area of Hamilton, Walker, Dade and
Catoosa counties. And even that figure doesn't include local government road projects that
will not receive federal or state funds.
The 5 percent of MPO funds tentatively allotted to alternative
transportation would mean just $7 million for that purpose over 25 years. That's precious
little on its face compared to the need for alternative transportation. Yet it's just half
of one percent of the larger $1.4 billion of projected local road spending in which the
state or local governments will participate. It's less still of the uncalculated total of
all purely local road spending.
In that context, the share of transportation spending that will go to
alternative transportation virtually disappears. Ditto the similar MPO amount for
transportation "enhancements" such as sidewalks and streetscaping. Virtually all
transportation spending will go for building, widening and improving roads. Public
transportation, bike paths, sidewalks, and streetscaping are barely afterthoughts.
Much more attention should be focused on efforts to make roads and
streets pedestrian-friendly, and to draw people out of their cars and provide them with
alternatives. Yet the MPO's position just helps cement the mindset that priority must be
given cars at the expense of public transportation options, pedestrian transportation
rights, neighborhood health, cleaner air and public health.
The MPO formula specifically, and larger transportation spending
generally, does not take into account the larger values of pedestrian-friendly
neighborhoods and alternative transportation venues. But the benefits are manifold.
The availability of sidewalks and bicycle paths encourages people not
just to get out of their cars. It also promotes keener interest in the health and safety
of their neighbors and neighborhoods. And it allows them to combine recreation with
directed activities, improve their health, save gasoline and reduce air pollution and
traffic congestion. These benefits also accrue to improved public transportation.
Yet this community has a stunning paucity of sidewalks, bicycle trails, greenways and
public transportation options. Transportation expenditures instead are excessively tilted
toward building bigger, wider, faster roads -- and encouraging sprawl, air pollution,
drive time, congestion and lower quality of life.
If the MPO doesn't begin changing its mindset and priorities,
car-related problems will just get worse. Alternative transportation and related street
enhancements deserve a much higher priority. The MPO should, for a change, be bold, take a
public leadership role and steer thinking in that direction.
Comments from Chris Gilligan
I thoroughly agree with the pro-alternative transportation editorial
that appeared recently in the Chattanooga Times/Free Press. However, it's unrealistic to
expect that the community leaders who sit on the MPO board would have reacted any other
way than to approve the long range transportation plan.
On the bright side, this is not the end of the road for alternative
transportation and bicycle facilities in Chattanooga. We now have plenty of opportunity to
push for completion of the North/South corridor, and to get the East/West corridor funded
and completed. These projects are both in the long-range plan and they deserve our full
attention. Since they are very "open" projects, we can be very creative in
defining what they will become. Indeed, these projects are completely dependent on our
attention; they won't get built without our active support and guidance, and we can't
expect the city to act on them unless we keep their profile on the political radar screen.
The next couple of years are critical: we must strengthen the
attendance at our Bicycle Task Force meetings in order to push for bike-friendly
development. Realistically, we are in danger of losing our seat on the MPO board if we
don't rebuild the Bicycle Task Force; we need to have an active and vocal group of
citizens attending our meetings. We got very strong support from the city of Chattanooga
when we had strong attendance at meetings and regular reporting of our activities. I urge
you to attend our monthly meetings if you can spare the hour.
URGENT!
TO: Current Resident
FROM: Karen Rhodes
DATE: May 10, 2000
SUBJECT: Long Range Transportation Plan
The Chattanooga Area Metropolitan Organization (MPO) has developed a
draft Long Range Transportation Plan (TRANSPLAN 25). This plan details how transportation
dollars will be spent locally. Area citizens have an opportunity to influence how and
where these dollars will be spent — sidewalks, intersection
improvements, bike lanes, street lighting, transit, road widening, etc.
As required by federal law, the Chattanoooga Area MPO must update its
Long-Range Transportation Plan by June, 2000. Public participation must be an early and
integral part of that plan; therefore, a draft of the TRANSPLAN 25 will be available for
public comment at the following locations (See Page 14).
All written comments must be submitted no later than Monday June 12,
2000. Comments can be mailed, faxed, or e-mailed to Karen V. Rhodes at the Regional
Planning, 200 City Hall Annex, Chattanooga, TN 37402; fax (423)757-5532;
rhodes_k@mail.chattanooga.gov . Comments will be incorporated into the plan document.
For any questions and concerns, contact Karen V. Rhodes at 423-757-5216.
Several public meetings were held during the early part of the year.
Attendance was low, but the overwhelming interest was for alternative transportation
— sidewalks, bike lanes, transit, lighting — any alternative to our dependency
upon cars and more roads. The proposal was made to increase the proportion of total
transportation money spent on alternative transportation. Yet the powers that be are
trying to say that the public meetings didn’t really represent the public, so they
should be ignored. We have one more chance to speak up and support alternative
transportation — specifically biker friendly improvements. Please don’t pass
this by. We need your help. The recent trip Hugh & I just completed has made it all
too very clear what an Interstate – Big Franchise country we have become. Roads are
"improved" by adding rumble strips to what little shoulder there is to help the
big trucks stay on the road — heaven forbid that they slow down a bit. Mom & Pop
stores and restaurants are fast becoming a thing of the past. Motels are only along the
interstate and then you are expected to drive a couple of miles to get something to eat.
We have so many wonderful areas to ride in, but we will lose them slowly but surely it we
don’t get our officials to change their total emphasis on more and faster roads!
Daisy Blanton
To Make the World a Better Place
to Cycle in…..
USDOT Releases Bike-Friendly Policy — Use it at the Local Level
and Tell FHWA Not to Back Down
TO: All Bicyclists
FROM: League of American Bicyclists
DATE: May 01, 2000
ACTION ALERT
The US Department of Transportation recently released "Accommodating
Bicycle and Pedestrian Travel: A Recommended Approach". The
League of American Bicyclists encourages you to take a copy of this very positive policy
statement to your city, county and state government and ask them to adopt it. You
can download the document at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/bikeped/Design.htm.
The first line of the document reads: "Accommodating Bicycle and
Pedestrian Travel: A Recommended Approach" is a policy statement adopted by the
United States Department of Transportation. USDOT hopes that public agencies, professional
associations, advocacy groups, and others adopt this approach as a way of committing
themselves to integrating bicycling and walking into the transportation mainstream."
Bicyclists all around the country need to work together to make this
statement a reality. Your help is important because some local
authorities are pressuring FHWA to back away from its own policy.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
As a first step, please write to Administrator Wykle of the Federal
Highway Administration and tell him that you think the new policy is an excellent vision
for future of transportation. Please send copies of your letter to League of American
Bicyclists and our friend on Capitol Hill Congressman James L. Oberstar.
Then, make this document work for you. Show it to local officials, push
your projects and start new ones. And please tell the League about your successes and any
set-backs at bikeleague@bikeleague.org. Let’s show the FHWA and your local government
that bicyclists care!
Write to:
FHWA Administrator Kenneth Wykle
400 7th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20590
Send a copy of your letter to:
League of American Bicyclists
1612 K Street, NW
Suite 401 2366
Washington, DC 20006-2802
And another copy to:
US Rep. James L. Oberstar
US House of Representatives
Rayburn House Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20515
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