I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1539

To amend title 23, United States Code, to provide a minimum level of

funding for bicycle transportation facilities and pedestrian walkways,

and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 2, 1995

Mr. KENNEDY of Massachusetts (for himself, Mr. FROST, Mr. DELLUMS, Mr.

MOAKLEY, Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island, Mr. BEILENSON, Mr.

FATTAH, Mr. SABO, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. SKAGGS, Mr. GEJDENSON, and

Mr. SERRANO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

A BILL

To amend title 23, United States Code, to provide a minimum level of funding for bicycle transportation facilities

and pedestrian walkways, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bicycle and Pedestrian

5 Transportation Improvement Act of 1995’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:
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1 (1) The United States transportation system

2 requires greater diversification in order for the coun3 try to retain and improve its economic competitive4 ness in relation with other nations.

5 (2) Bicycling and walking have been overlooked

6 as modes of transportation by policymakers.

7 (3) It is possible and desirable to dramatically

8 increase the number of persons who commute by bi9 cycle or foot; since 54 percent of Americans live

10 within 5 miles of their workplace and 75 percent live

11 within 10 miles of their workplace and, of the over

12 100,000,000 bicycles owned by Americans, only 1 in

13 40 is used to commute to and from the workplace.

14 (4) A transportation system that includes facili15 ties for bicycle and pedestrian transportation pro16 vides numerous advantages for commuters and the

17 Nation as a whole, including reduced traffic conges18 tion, reduced air pollution, reduced dependence on

19 imported oil, increased conservation of nonrenewable

20 resources of energy, reduced deaths and injuries due

21 to accidents between pedestrians and cyclists on the

22 one hand and motorized travelers on the other, in23 creased health for those who travel by bicycle or

24 foot, and improved preservation of natural habitats,
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1 particularly environmentally sensitive areas such as

2 wetlands.

3 (5) Traffic congestion is a serious threat to our

4 Nation’s economic well-being. In 1994, traffic in the

5 10 largest urban areas of the United States cost mo6 torists $28,000,000,000 in wasted time and motor

7 fuel. Traffic congestion currently causes over

8 2,000,000,000 hours in delays per year. Over the

9 next 14 years, congestion will rise on highways by

10 400 percent and on urban thoroughfares by 120 per11 cent.

12 (6) The transportation needs of many parts of

13 the country cannot be met simply by expanding the

14 size and number of roadways. In urban areas, one15 half of all urban space is devoted to roads, parking

16 spaces, and other motor vehicle facilities. Through17 out the country, it is infeasible to meet increased

18 travel demands by expanding existing roadways. For

19 example, Interstate Route 95 between Miami and

20 Orlando, Florida, would have to be expanded to a

21 40-lane highway to meet expected traffic flows by

22 the year 2005.

23 (7) Motor vehicles contribute significantly to air

24 pollution. Cars and trucks generate 80 percent of

25 carbon dioxide emissions. The average automobile
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1 emits 9 pounds of hydrocarbons and 62.5 pounds of

2 carbon dioxide each year. Accordingly, reduced reli3 ance on cars and trucks can contribute significantly

4 to meeting the goals of the Clean Air Act.

5 (8) Diminished reliance on motor vehicles re6 duces America’s reliance on foreign oil. Currently,

7 approximately one-half of all oil used in the country

8 is imported. Of that amount, 63 percent is used for

9 transportation.

10 (9) Nationwide, 20 percent of fatalities on road11 ways involve pedestrians or bicyclists, and in cities,

12 the figure is 50 percent.

13 (10) Constructing bicycle and pedestrian facili14 ties is far less expensive than building new road15 ways. A one-mile stretch of bicycle and pedestrian

16 path costs approximately $46,000. One mile of a 4-

17 lane highway costs approximately $1,000,000.

18 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as

19 follows:

20 (1) To diversify the Nation’s transportation

21 system to enable it to remain efficient into the next

22 century and to improve our Nation’s ability to com23 pete economically with other nations.

24 (2) To reduce deaths of and injuries to bicycle

25 and pedestrian commuters.
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1 (3) To reduce traffic congestion, air pollution,

2 dependence on foreign oil, and development of natu3 ral environments.

4 SEC. 3. MINIMUM FUNDING LEVEL.

5 Section 217 of title 23, United States Code, is

6 amended by redesignating subsection (j) as subsection (k)

7 and by inserting after subsection (i) the following:

8 ‘‘(j) MINIMUM OBLIGATION REQUIREMENT.—Each

9 State shall obligate in a fiscal year—

10 ‘‘(1) not less than 3 percent of the funds appor11 tioned to the State in such fiscal year under sections

12 104(b)(2) and 104(b)(3) of this title for projects au13 thorized by subsection (a);

14 ‘‘(2) not less than 3 percent of the funds appor15 tioned to the State in such fiscal year under section

16 104(b)(1) of this title for projects authorized by sub17 section (b); and

18 ‘‘(3) not less than 3 percent of the funds made

19 available to the State in such fiscal year for forest

20 highways, forest development roads and trails, public

21 lands development roads and trails, park roads,

22 parkways, Indian reservation roads, and public lands

23 highways for projects authorized by subsection (c).’’.
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1 SEC. 4. RIGHT-OF-WAY ACQUISITION.

2 Section 109(f) of title 23, United States Code, is

3 amended by striking ‘‘bikeways’’ and inserting ‘‘bicycle

4 and pedestrian facilities’’.

5 SEC. 5. PROTECTION OF EXISTING BICYCLE AND PEDES6 TRIAN TRAFFIC.

7 Section 109(n) of title 23, United States Code, is

8 amended—

9 (1) by inserting ‘‘, including bridge projects,’’

10 after ‘‘title’’;

11 (2) by inserting ‘‘, reduction,’’ after ‘‘sever12 ance’’; and

13 (3) by striking ‘‘major’’ and inserting ‘‘or po14 tential’’.

15 SEC. 6. HAZARD ELIMINATION.

16 Section 152(a) of title 23, United States Code, is

17 amended by inserting after ‘‘motorists’’ the following: ‘‘,

18 bicyclists,’’.

19 SEC. 7. OTHER USES.

20 Section 217(h)(3) of title 23, United States Code, is

21 amended by inserting ‘‘and electric golf carts’’ after ‘‘mo22 torized wheelchairs’’.
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1 SEC. 8. NATIONAL HIGHWAY SAFETY ADVISORY COMMIT2 TEE.

3 The third sentence of section 404(a)(1) of title 23,

4 United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘of bicyclists

5 and pedestrians,’’ after ‘‘owners,’’.

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