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Tiger II projects include bicycling and walking

The US Department of Transportation has announced the 73 winners in 40 states who will share the $600 million dollars from the second round of TIGER grants. Of the total, 42 grants were designated for capital construction projects and 33 grants went to planning projects. The official press release says that bicycle and pedestrian projects made up four percent of the total. However, because the application criteria stress multi-modal transportation, 44 of the 73 projects will include bicycle and/or walking components. This proportion, 60 percent, is a more accurate measure of the presence of biking and walking in TIGER II – and a further example that communities are recognizing that “multi-modal” means biking and walking ought to be included.

The League worked with America Bikes to put together lists of TIGER II projects that include bicycling and walking. See the capital projects and the planning projects with biking and walking components.

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Here are just some of the projects in which bicycling is prominent:

East Bay Pedestrian and Bicycle Network

The East Bay Pedestrian and Bicycle Network will close several critical gaps in the nearly 200-mile bicycle and pedestrian trail system serving the 2.5 million residents of Contra Costa and Alameda counties in California. The project will separate bicycle and pedestrian traffic from automobile traffic, and connect to transit facilities. TIGER II funds will alleviate congested roads and highways by providing access to alternative commuting options, including local and commuter buses and the Bay Area Rapid Transit system.

Woodside Boulevard Complete Streets Initiative, Hailey, ID

The Woodside Boulevard Complete Street Initiative will rebuild a 35-year-old, 2.44 mile collector street, and add sidewalks, bike lanes, bus shelters, bike parking, a landscape buffer zone, and install a roundabout at a congested and unsafe intersection. A signal light will also be added at a second congested and unsafe intersection. The project will also add transit pull-out lanes and bus shelters to 17 of the 18 existing transit stops on Woodside Boulevard.

Pueblo of Laguna Bike and Pedestrian Trail

The project will pursue planning and design of approximately 40 miles of trails on Pueblo of Laguna Native American reservation to connect six distinct communities with a focus on their traditional village cores. The project will support revitalization through the development of a comprehensive bike/pedestrian route plan for Pueblo of Laguna villages and complete engineering designs, including related surveys, studies, and environmental (NEPA) and archaeological clearances, to make top-priority routes “shovel-ready.”

Allegheny Riverfront Green Boulevard

The project will include the development of a plan to convert an existing six-mile stretch of rail right-of-way into a green riverfront rail and trail corridor extending from downtown Pittsburgh to the eastern edge of the city. An engineering study will determine how to best transform the corridor into a multi-modal transportation network that includes time-segregated passenger and freight rail operations and a parallel bicycle and pedestrian trail. The study will build on a recently completed community master plan, which includes strategies for housing and ecological restoration along the corridor.

The presence of biking and walking in most of the successful applicants is promising news given that TIGER grants are potentially a model for future transportation funding, one that would be merit-based, using a competitive application process, and emphasize multi-modal transportation. This round also made a point of funding rural transportation projects, setting aside $140 million, and projects that incorporated housing components, in collaboration with the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s $40 million in HUD Sustainable Community Challenge Grants.

For advocates in communities receiving these funds, here are some tips from America Bikes on hosting an event and inviting a member of Congress to celebrate the opening of a project.

See summaries of TIGER II results here, here, and here.

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