FABB Blog

If you ask any CEO where they’d rather open up shop and hire…If you ask any parents where they’d rather raise a family…If you ask any young professional where they want to live and work---you hear the same things time and time again. People want infrastructure that reduces congestion and protects the environment. They want high-speed trains that shuttle between cities and light rail systems that connect to jobs. They want bike paths, bike shares, buses, and streetcars that give them the option to leave the car at home.

The proof is in the numbers. People took a record 10.5 billion trips on public transportation in 2012. Amtrak ridership has grown more than 40% in the last ten years. Over 20 American cities now operate bike shares, and each program has been met with incredible popularity. New York's new CitiBike bike share has sold nearly 52,000 memberships.

This is what Americans want. This is what the future of American transportation looks like.

Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx Photo: Weldon Weaver

As for bicycling, Foxx has actively supported it. He's held an annual "Bike to Breakfast" eventand he hops on a road bike to help launch "Bike Charlotte," an annual cycling promotional campaign. When Charlotte launched their bike share system last summer, Foxx grinned for the local media during the inaugural ride.

Rob Sadowsky, executive director of Portland's Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) said this evening that he's "very excited to have a Secretary that likes to bike, understands the need for a balanced transportation system and understands urban land use."

As a bike town, Charlotte isn't a major bright spot; but they appear to be on the rise. They are currently recognized as a "Bronze" level Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists. The City of Charlotte Bicycle Plan was last updated in 2008. According to the 2012 Benchmarking Report from the Alliance for Biking and Walking, Charlotte ranks 44th (out of 51) in U.S. cities in terms of how many people walk and bike and 23rd in spending per capita on biking and walking projects. The U.S. Census reports that Charlotte has a 0.2% bicycling mode share.

Launch of Charlotte bike share Photo: Weldon Weaver

Tobe [Tobe Holmes, a board member at the Charlotte Area Bicycle Alliance] reports that during his tenure, Mayor Foxx worked to improve multimodal transportation — and recognized the importance of funding positions within the city’s DOT to focus on biking and walking accessibility.

“During his tenure Mayor Foxx has been supportive of initiatives including an expansion the city’s bike route network, green bike lanes, bike boxes, sidewalk construction projects and other projects to meet bicycle and pedestrian needs,” Tobe said.

Perhaps the Mayor’s most memorable active transportation achievement was his leadership during the installation of the city’s bike sharing system by Charlotte Center City Partners. His understanding of its importance to the transportation network was essential to its launch in advance of the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte.

In this case-study, "Estimating the Employment Impacts of Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Road Infrastructure," the Political Economy Research Institute compiled data provided by the city of Baltimore. They found that on-street bike lanes and pedestrian measures created more direct jobs, more indirect jobs, and more induced jobs per dollar than either road upgrades or road resurfacing.

That report was followed last week by a survey released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicating widespread public support--67 percent--in America's cities for street design activities that increase physical activity.

Bicycle and pedestrian activists have been very successful at achieving valuable safety gains for their stakeholders. Now is the time for advocates of cycling and walking to get into gear once again.

Armed with the powerful arguments of energy conservation, environmental and health benefits, public demand, and--now--job creation and economic development, I am confident they will succeed.

We were pleased to see the policy statement's acknowledgment of bicycling and walking as an important part of the transportation system. Bicycling and walking serve as cost-effective solutions to many of the serious issues facing our transportation system, including traffic congestion, funding concerns and air pollution. Moreover, as 40 percent of trips taken in our country are two miles or less, bicycling and walking should play an important role in providing transportation options in our small towns, suburbs and cities.

For example, today DOT gave its employees a new bicycle commuting benefit. We signed it into effect right on our front steps surrounded by the DOTers who participated in today's Bike To Work Day festivities. This program allows bicyclists to receive reimbursement for qualified commuting costs similar to that provided to employees who take public transportation to and from work. And I'm particularly proud that DOT is the first Cabinet-level agency to make this benefit available.

Here at DOT we support the First Lady's efforts wholeheartedly, and we're particularly interested in the report's Chapter V: Increasing Physical Activity, which includes a section on "The Built Environment."

We know that our "all-digital-all-the-time world" doesn't always encourage us to live the healthiest lives we can. That's why we're working hard to make it easier for Americans to walk or bike safely in their communities. And when kids see that more adults are choosing to walk or bike, they are more likely to exercise healthier transportation options.

And walking and biking aren't just good for our health; they're good for our environment, and they're ways of getting around that Americans have said they want.

• That's why, in March, we announced our new bicycle and pedestrian policy initiative.
• That's why, last year, we established our Livability Principles.
• That's why we support Safe Routes to School programs.
• That's why we support Complete Streets .
• That's why we've used TIGER discretionary funds to support projects that benefit their communities.

Why devote resources to a transportation mode that fewer than 10% of the nation is using? Well, bike infrastructure is relatively inexpensive--particularly if you compare it to, say, adding a lane to an existing roadway. Now, imagine if those people who do bike around chose instead to make all of their trips in single-occupancy vehicles. Our already congested roadways would be brought to a halt.

So, even for those folks who have no interest in bicycling, this relatively low investment actually pays dividends for those who still choose to drive. Everybody wins.

Bike Commuters And the fact is, as Washington, DC, DOT Director Gabe Klein noted on NPR, "We see a direct correlation between our investment in bike infrastructure and an uptick in usage. When you make it hassle-free and inexpensive for people to use a certain mode, they will use it."

I'll say it again--because I want my online friends in commercial trucking and the people who make their living behind the wheel, to know--we are not out to make their jobs any harder than they already are.

I know they're paying a lot of taxes to use the roads, and I appreciate that fact. But we're talking about making their jobs easier by taking vehicles off those roadways and easing congestion so the trucking community and bus and taxi drivers can deliver their goods and passengers more smoothly.

Look, in the 54 years since President Eisenhower launched the interstate system that connects America, we've committed almost all of our transportation resources to highways. Part of our commitment now should be to create alternatives to congestion.

We know that making biking and walking safer creates more livable communities. It makes Americans healthier at a time when the US military has indicated that 27% of recruits are too overweight to qualify for service. It lowers greenhouse gas emissions. It reduces our dependence on foreign oil.

And it's what Americans have said they want.

LaHood is also floating the idea of a nationwide interstate biking system - the two-wheel equivalent of Eisenhower's highway system.

Some advocates for drivers and truckers are worried that this new focus on biking could divert resources from roads. But LaHood says the Department of Transportation isn't looking to take away anyone’s turf - just to provide alternatives.

"We know that 90 percent of the people aren't going to be cycling to work," he says. "But that opportunity and that option and that kind of alternative is something we think people want."

I want to announce a sea change. People across America who value bicycling should have a voice when it comes to transportation planning. This is the end of favoring motorized transportation at the expense of non-motorized.

We are integrating the needs of bicyclists in federally-funded road projects. We are discouraging transportation investments that negatively affect cyclists and pedestrians. And we are encouraging investments that go beyond the minimum requirements and provide facilities for bicyclists and pedestrians of all ages and abilities.

To set this approach in motion, we have formulated key recommendations for state DOTs and communities:

* Treat walking and bicycling as equals with other transportation modes.
* Ensure convenient access for people of all ages and abilities.
* Go beyond minimum design standards.
* Collect data on walking and biking trips.
* Set a mode share target for walking and bicycling.
* Protect sidewalks and shared-use paths the same way roadways are protected (for example, snow removal)
* Improve nonmotorized facilities during maintenance projects.

Now, this is a start, but it's an important start. These initial steps forward will help us move forward even further.

Look, everywhere I go, people tell me they want better transportation in their communities. They want the opportunity to leave their cars behind. To live near work and schools and good hospitals. And to enjoy clean, green neighborhoods. The old way of doing things just doesn't value what people want.

Now, the Recovery Act discretionary TIGER grants we announce soon will help some communities achieve these broader goals.

But if we’re serious--really serious--about creating livable communities built around good transportation, then our Federal Transit Administration needs to consider key livability factors when evaluating non-Recovery Act transit proposals. Factors like enivronmental benefits and economic development opportunities.

Unfortunately, FTA's flagship programs use cost and performance requirements that are too narrow to allow for weighing these livability factors.

So we are opening them up to a broader set of six performance criteria:

• Economic development
• Mobility improvements
• Environmental benefits
• Operating efficiencies
• Cost effectiveness
• Land use

"We've worked hard this year to get our Recover Act dollars out to the states quickly and effectively. Yes, some of those projects include bike paths, a key ingredient in our livability initiative to allow people to live, work, and get around without a car.

We don't call that waste; we call it progress."

President Obama has talked about his desire to wean Americans off automobiles.What we've talked about is getting to a concept that we call livable communities, where people don't have to get in a car every day. You can use light rail, you can use buses, you can use walking paths, you can use your bike.

The upcoming reauthorization of DOT's surface transportation programs provides an opportunity for us to feature bicycling as part of a new American mobility within livable communities. As I said today in testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, this includes fostering communities where bicyclists feel both safe and welcome on the roadways. Bike-friendly development also has the potential to contribute significantly to the revitalization of downtown districts and offer an alternative to sprawl and automobile-focused commuting.

Earth Day is today, but we'll need the sustained engagement of bicycle commuters and their advocates in the weeks and months to come to help keep the wheels of bicycle-friendly legislation on the road. [Emphasis added].