I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1824

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

APRIL 22, 1993

Mr. KENNEDY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Public Works and Transportation

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 1993’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:

8 (1) The United States transportation system

9 requires greater diversification in order for the coun-
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1 try to retain and improve its economic competitive2 ness in relation with other nations.

3 (2) Bicycling and walking have been overlooked

4 as modes of transportation by policymakers.

5 (3) It is possible and desirable to dramatically

6 increase the number of persons who commute by bi7 cycle or foot; since 54 percent of Americans live

8 within 5 miles of their workplace and 75 percent live

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

10 100,000,000 bicycles owned by Americans, only 1 in

11 40 is used to commute to and from the workplace.

12 (4) A transportation system that includes facili13 ties for bicycle and pedestrian transportation pro14 vides numerous advantages for commuters and the

15 Nation as a whole, including reduced traffic conges16 tion, reduced air pollution, reduced dependence on

17 imported oil, increased conservation of nonrenewable

18 resources of energy, reduced deaths and injuries due

19 to accidents between pedestrians and cyclists on the

20 one hand and motorized travelers on the other, in21 creased health for those who travel by bicycle or

22 foot, and improved preservation of natural habitats,

23 particularly environmentally sensitive areas such as

24 wetlands.
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1 (5) Traffic congestion is a serious threat to our

2 Nation’s economic wellbeing. In 1989, traffic conges3 tion in 39 of the Nation’s large urban areas cost the

4 country $41,000,000,000 in travel delays, increased

5 fuel consumption, and increased auto insurance pre6 miums. Traffic congestion currently causes over

7 2,000,000,000 hours in delays per year. Over the

8 next 14 years, congestion on highways will rise by

9 400 percent and on urban thoroughfares by 120 per10 cent.

11 (6) The transportation needs of many parts of

12 the country cannot be met simply by expanding the

13 size and number of roadways. In urban areas, one14 half of all urban space is devoted to roads, parking

15 spaces, and other motor vehicle facilities. Through16 out the country, it is infeasible to meet increased

17 travel demands by expanding existing roadways. For

18 example, Interstate Route 95 between Miami and

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

20 40-lane highway to meet expected traffic flows by

21 the year 2005.

22 (7) Motor vehicles contribute significantly to air

23 pollution. Cars and trucks generate 80 percent of

24 carbon dioxide emissions. The average automobile

25 emits 9 pounds of hydrocarbons and 62.5 pounds of
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1 carbon dioxide each year. Accordingly, reduced reli2 ance on cars and trucks can contribute significantly

3 to meeting the goals of the Clean Air Act.

4 (8) Diminished reliance on motor vehicles re5 duces America’s reliance on foreign oil. Currently,

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

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

8 transportation.

9 (9) Nationwide, 20 percent of fatalities on road10 ways involve pedestrians or bicyclists, and in cities,

11 the figure is 50 percent.

12 (10) Constructing bicycle and pedestrian facili13 ties is far less expensive than building new road14 ways. A one-mile stretch of bicycle and pedestrian

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

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

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

18 follows:

19 (1) To diversify the Nation’s transportation

20 system to enable it to remain efficient into the next

21 century and to improve our Nation’s ability to com22 pete economically with other nations.

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

24 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 adding at the end the following new sub7 section:

8 ‘‘(h) 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

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

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