June 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 32

ADVOCACY

crease in cycling. The federal government needs to recognize these trends
and partner with communities that
are leading the way.
Currently, federal investment in
public transportation and other alternative methods is woefully inadequate. In 2011, the Federal Highway
Administration estimated that more
than $71 billion worth of repairs were
needed merely to maintain safe bridges, and the American Society of Civil
Engineers estimates that we need to
invest $2 trillion in surface transportation by 2020. Delaying this investment
isn't free. Congestion alone cost the

In the version of MAP-21 that became law in 2012,
funding for alternative transportation choices was
cut by almost a third.
American economy more than $100
billion last year, and it costs every
American family $1,060 a year.
The federal bill that provides the
majority of funding for our roads,
highways and bridges, known as
MAP-21, expires October 1. MAP-21
also supports the programs that make
our communities more livable - programs like Safe Routes to School,
Recreational Trails and Transportation Enhancements. States are already
cutting back projects, and, without
meaningful Congressional action by
October 1, will receive almost no new
federal money for transportation.
In the version of MAP-21 that
became law in 2012, funding for alternative transportation choices was
cut by almost a third. Instead of supporting the broad-based coalition
that the National Recreation and

Parks & Recreation

Park Association is a part of, Congress executed a U turn, stripping
out programs that were the most
popular and needed at the local level. We must not allow this to happen
again.
So far, there has been little serious effort in Congress to address the
critical lack of funding, and time is
running out. The leaders of the Senate Environment and Public Works
Committee and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee have pledged to have a sixyear transportation bill on the floor
this summer, but they have reached
no consensus on how to pay for it.
The Congressional Budget Office
estimates that a six-year bill would
require $100 billion in additional
revenue to make up for a dying gas
tax, just to continue current funding.

| J U N E 2 0 1 4 | W W W. N R PA . O R G

While the question we are facing
now in Congress is specifically about
renewing our transportation funding,
it is also symbolic of the path that we
want to head down as a nation. If
states can't even find the money to repair major roads, how likely are they
to pay for new parks, bike paths and
sidewalks? From hundreds of conversations I have had with thousands of
people as a member of the Oregon state
legislature, Portland city commissioner
and founder of the Congressional Bike
Caucus, I know that these are issues
that individuals care deeply about and
think about on a day-to-day basis.
Making these investments in our
transportation system now will save
us money in the long run - there's no
doubt about that. But the choices we
make before October will also determine the types of lives that our families
have over the next months and years
as we shape the communities around
us and allow more Americans to live
in places that are healthier, safer, more
active and more economically secure.
I've been joined by a large coalition
of groups, including AAA, the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce, the League
of American Bicyclists, 17 governors
and 31 state chambers of commerce,
in urging Congress to find a stable,
long-term source of funding for a sixyear transportation bill. Only then
can we move forward with a federal
policy that is right for the times, that
extracts full value for the taxpayer
and enhances livability.
Please visit www.nrpa.org/advocacyre
sources for more information on NRPA's Federal Transportation Legislative
Platform.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer represents Oregon's
3rd District in the U.S. House of
Representatives.

June 2014 - Parks & Recreation

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