Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program (ATIIP) Letter To Congress
Dear Chairmen Capito and Graves, and Ranking Members Whitehouse and Larsen:
We write in strong support of the Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program (ATIIP), and request that you extend and strengthen this program in the upcoming surface transportation reauthorization. ATIIP was authorized in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) with bipartisan support. It is the only program dedicated to completing gaps in active transportation networks and investing in the larger, multi-segment projects necessary to deliver safe and connected active transportation systems.
We request that the program be provided annual highway trust fund contract authority of $250 million to begin to address the overwhelming demand for this unique investment in connected walking and bicycling infrastructure.
Our millions of members and supporters understand that transportation systems must be connected to function and allow people to safely and conveniently reach their destinations. In fact, approximately half of all trips Americans take are within a 20-minute bicycle ride and more than 20 percent of all trips are within a 20-minute walk.i Unlike highways and railways, however, America’s walking and bicycling infrastructure, including multiuse trails, are typically disconnected.
Across rural, suburban and urban communities, few Americans have access to complete routes to walk, bike or roll to the places they need to go. As a result, fatalities and injuries are too high, and many trips are not taken because they are dangerous. Through ATIIP, the federal government assists states and regions to connect America’s active transportation networks, delivering safety and economic opportunity that will benefit all Americans.
It is unsafe and inconvenient to get around most communities without a car—yet nearly thirty percent of Americans do not drive. Every day, more than twenty Americans lose their life while walking. Across the board, people traveling outside of cars face disproportionate rates of injury and fatalities.ii By making it safer and easier to walk, bike and navigate communities of all sizes, ATIIP enhances the entire transportation system by lowering costs of travel, reducing congestion, and supporting housing and economic development.
Connected and safe active transportation routes also provide critical economic development in communities nationwide and help create livable, healthy communities that have high quality of life. In one study, “every $1 invested in trails, $1.72 is generated annually from local business revenue, sales tax revenue and benefits related to health and transportation.” iii Additionally, the country’s trail system already generates more than $34 billion in economic activity annually iv and can more than quadruple as trail systems are connected.
ATIIP is the only program dedicated to investing at sufficient scale in projects that connect active transportation networks and spines. Authorized in IIJA for $200 million subject to annual appropriations, ATIIP is designed to leverage previous federal, state and local investments in active transportation, providing the large-scale grants necessary to close gaps between infrastructure segments to create seamless transportation routes.
This approach—providing larger grants for planning and construction to connect existing infrastructure within and between states and regions—will accelerate implementation of state, regional and local plans to create safe and convenient walking and biking routes to everyday destinations, which are being pursued in communities of every size and type in all 50 states. With one round of appropriated funding, ATIIP was oversubscribed by applications at a ratio of 40 to 1, with 350 communities requesting $1.8 billion. With only $45 million, the program was able to invest in 14 projects in 13 states and Puerto Rico. These projects will plan and construct transformative infrastructure that is only possible through this unique program.
The next surface transportation law is a historic opportunity to meet the comprehensive and diverse transportation needs of Americans, so they can get where they’re going safely and conveniently. It is time to provide communities with the certainty and scale of investment necessary to plan and invest in the connectivity of active transportation systems, just as we do for roads and rails.
We request that you include an extension and expansion of ATIIP in the upcoming surface transportation reauthorization and commit annual highway trust fund contract authority of $250 million to begin to meet the overwhelming demand for this unique investment in connectivity.
Sincerely,
Rails to Trails Conservancy and the following 260 counter signed organizations
National
American Heart Association
American Hiking Society
American Society of Landscape Architects
American Trails
Appalachian Trail Conservancy
Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals Best Paved Bicycle Trails in the U.S.A.
Bikepacking Roots
City Parks Alliance
Equiticity
High Line Network
Just Strategy: National Campaign for Transit Justice
KABOOM!
Latino Outdoors
League of American Bicyclists
Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)
Main Street America
National Association of Realtors
National Recreation and Park Association
Out There Social Club
PeopleForBikes
Rails to Trails Conservancy
Safe Routes Partnership
Sierra Club
The Action Foundation
Trailsnet, LLC
Trust for Public Land
Vvolt Ebikes
Regional
Appalachian Mountain Club
East Coast Greenway Alliance
Environmental Law & Policy Center
Ohio River Way
Southern Environmental Law Center
Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association
Washington Area Bicyclist Association
Alabama
Mayor Randall L. Woodfin, City of Birmingham
Alaska
Alaska State Representative Zack Fields
Alaska Trails
Anchorage Park Foundation
Bike Anchorage
Fairbanks Cycle Club
Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance
Interior Alaska Trails Association
Interior Alaska Trails Newsletter
Mat-Su Trails and Parks Foundation
Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage
Northern Hospitality Group
Renewable Juneau
Running Club North
Salted Roots Basecamp
Sitka Trail Works
The Trek Bicycle Store of Anchorage
Arizona
Arizona Alliance for Livable Communities
Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals – Arizona Chapter
Bisbee Bikeways
Maricopa Trail and Park Foundation
Mayor Joseph C. Winfield, Oro Valley
Pinnacle Prevention
Sun Corridor Trail Alliance
Arkansas
City of Pea Ridge
City of Prairie Grove
Frontier MPO
Mayor Ernie L. Penn, Farmington
Southeast Arkansas Regional Planning Commission
California
107.one
BikeLA
California Bicycle Coalition
EcoRing – Ecotourism and Green Travel
Hayward Area Recreation and Park District
Marin County Bicycle Coalition
Sacramento Trailnet
Town of Truckee
Transbay Coalition
Colorado
Every Body Outside Consulting
Great Plains Trail Alliance
Mayor, Town of Ridgway Snowy River Investments LLC.
Connecticut
Newtown Parks and Recreation
Delaware
Bike Delaware
Dover Kent MPO
Florida
Groundwork Jacksonville, Inc.
Naples Pathways Coalition
Tallahassee Mountain Bike Association
Georgia
Councilwoman Catherine Lautenbacher
Councilwoman Dr. Catherine Foster Rowell, City of South Fulton, GA – District 1
Go Georgia (formerly Georgia Bikes)
Hawaii
Hawai’i Bicycling League Kauai Path, Inc.
Maui Bicycling League
The Friends of Kamalani & Lydgate Park
Idaho
DV Groberg CO.
Idaho Walk Bike Alliance
Illinois
Bike/Walk Kewanee
RAT Ride Illinois
Indiana
Friends of the Veterans Memorial Parkway Commission Lagrange County Trails Inc.
Pumpkinvine Trails Coalition
Iowa
Dickinson County Trails Board
Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation
Kansas
Kansas Trails Inc.
Rossville Community Foundation
Top City Trails Alliance (TCTA)
Kentucky
Cincinnati Off-Road Alliance, Incorporated
Louisiana
Mayor Michael Harris, DeRidder
Maine
Friends Of The Mountain Division Trail
Maryland
Bicycle Advocates for Annapolis & Anne Arundel County (BikeAAA)
Councilmember Zac Blanchard
Massachusetts
Friends of the Manhan Rail Trail
Holden Safe Cycling Group
Michigan
Detroit Greenways Coalition
Iosco Exploration Trail
Mayor Jim Gardner, City of Luna Pier
Supervisor Fred Lewis, Plainfield Township
Treasurer Michael McDonald, Addison Township
The Treeline Conservancy
Top of Michigan Mountain Bike Association
Transportation Riders United
Minnesota
City of La Crescent
Conservation Minnesota
Mississippi
City of Starkville
Gulf Coast Bicycle Club
Heritage Trails Partnership of the Mississippi Gulf Coast
The Meeting Place
Missouri
Kevin Guffey, American Realty and Development, LLC
Local Motion
LSRT Associates LLC
Missouri State Representative Willard Haley
Missourians for Responsible Transportation
Trailnet
Montana
Bike Walk Montana, Inc.
Headwaters Trail System
Mineral County MT Rails-to-Trails
Outdoor Community Partners
Nebraska
Columbus Area Recreational Trails
Nevada
Trail Access Project
New Hampshire
Bike-Walk Alliance of New Hampshire
Central New Hampshire Bicycle Coalition
Cross New Hampshire Adventure Trail
Friends of Seabrook Rail Trail, Diana Chapman, VP
Friends of the Concord-Lake Sunapee Rail Trail
Friends of the Salem Rail Trail
Monadnock Region Rail Trail Collaborative
NH Rail Trails Coalition Patrick’s Pub & Eatery
Pelham Pathways, Inc.
Twin States Rail Trail Project
New Jersey
New Jersey Bike & Walk Coalition
West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance
New Mexico
Albuquerque Bike Club
Enchanted Circle Trails Association
New York
Adirondack Rail Trail Association
Donald Doornbos LCSW
Erie Cattaraugus Rail Trail, Inc.
Friends of the Genesee Valley Greenway
Friends of the High Line/The High Line Network
Greene County Soil & Water Conservation District
Kingston Land Trust
Mode Choice Engineering, PLLC
Parks & Trails New York
Thomas Holmes, Chenango Heritage Rail Trail Lead, Chenango Greenway Conservancy
North Carolina
Black Diamond Designs Inc
Bladen County
Camp Grier/G5 Trail Collective
Carolina Climbers Coalition
Connect Buncombe
Conserving Carolina
Dan River Basin Association
Eno River Association
Friends of Panthertown
Friends of the Oklawaha Greenway
McDowell Trails Association
Piedmont Legacy Trails
Rutherford County Tourism Development Authority
Three Oaks Engineering
Town of Kure Beach
Ohio
BHJ Metropolitan Planning Commission
Bike Buckeye Lake
Cincinnati Off-Road Alliance
Five Rivers MetroParks
Friends of Madison County Parks & Trails
Heart of Ohio Trail
Kokosing Gap Trail
Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission
Ohio Bicycle Federation
Ohio to Erie Trail
Ohio to Erie Trail Fund
OHM Advisors
Tri-State Trails
Oregon
Better Eugene-Springfield Transportation (BEST)
Lesley Orr, Rogue River Greenway Foundation Chair
National Coast Trail Association
Northwest Trail Alliance
Oregon Trails Coalition
Outdoor Education Adventures
The Intertwine Alliance
Pennsylvania
Brookville Trail Hub
Friends of the Corry Junction Greenway Trail
Friends of the Riverfront
SAMBA
Schuylkill River Development Corporation
Rhode Island
Bike Tiverton
Grow Smart Rhode Island
Peter Trafton, MD, Environment Council of RI
RI Bicycle Coalition
South Carolina
PAL: Play. Advocate. Live Well.
Palmetto Trail
Rock Hill – Fort Mill Area Transportation Study
South Carolina Trails Coalition
Upstate Forever
Tennessee
Memphis Hightailers Bicycle Club
Mid-South Trails Association
Texas
BikeDFW
BikeTexas
Creating Common Ground
George Cofer Conservation Consulting
Reconnect Austin
Red Line Parkway Initiative
Safe Streets Austin
Utah
Bike Utah
BikeWalk Provo
Cedar City Hikers, Bikers, and Pickleball Players
Centerville City Parks
Cottonwood Heights City Council District 4
Council Member Melanie Paxton, Elk Ridge HEAL Utah
Iron Trailcraft Inc.
Mayor Dirk Burton, West Jordan
Mountainland Association of Governments
Sweet Streets
Utah Rail Passengers Association
Vermont
Mad River Path
Virginia
Alliance for the Shenandoah Valley
Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail
Friends of the Shenandoah Rail Trail
Grassroots Alexandria
Shenandoah Valley Bicycle Coalition
Sports Backers
Virginia Bicycling Federation
Washington
350 Yakima Climate Action
Access Hound, LLC
Bainbridge Island Parks & Trails Foundation
BIKES Club of Snohomish County
BikeWhidbey
Cascade Bicycle Club
Cascade Volcanoes Chapter Great Old Broads for Wilderness
ForeverGreen Trails
Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust
Recreation Northwest Trails Coalition
ULORA
Urbanist Shoreline
Washington Bikes
William O. Douglas Trail Foundation Yakima Bikes and Walks!
West Virginia
Panhandle Trail WV
West Virginia Rivers Coalition
WV TRAIL
Wisconsin
Bike Fitchburg, Inc.
Friends of the North Pikes Creek Wetlands
Neillsville Improvement Corporation
Shifting Gears Bike Shop
The Wisconsin Bike Fed
Wyoming
Platte River Trails Trust
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