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Transportation Enhancements |
Transportation Enhancements Fact Sheet |
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Overview:
Transportation
Enhancements is an innovative program that has provided primary
support for pedestrian and bicycle facilities and conversion of
unused rail lines to rail-trails. TE has proven to be a successful
and popular community-based program, resulting in over 18,000
small-scale, locally initiated transportation projects that promote
health, safety, economic development and community pride. TE
projects allow communities to make transportation investment
decisions that enhance local quality of life.
The
Transportation Enhancements program remains
a ten-percent
‘set-aside’ out of the major Surface Transportation Program (STP).
Funding for Transportation Enhancements is authorized at $4.4 |
billion
dollars (see state-by-state table below). If spending follows the
pattern from the past two bills, about 55% of this total will go to
bicycle and pedestrian projects, for spending in the range of $2.5
billion. But state funding decisions for Transportation Enhancements
vary widely.
The best
all-around source of information on this program is the National
Transportation Enhancements Clearinghouse (NTEC),
and the
Rails to Trails Conservancy.
FHWA fact sheet
Location in
law:
1113, 1122, 6003
What’s New:
Federal Program Guidance
A couple of new
types of Transportation Enhancements projects were added in SAFETEA-LU,
such as historic battlefields, but none directly affect bicycling or
walking. No new guidance is expected.
Who distributes
the money?
Transportation
Enhancements funds are distributed by the state DOTs. Usually, TE
projects require a 20 percent local match, and the funds are distributed
through reimbursement of expenses. For the basics of how TE works, see
http://www.enhancements.org/TE_basics.asp. State application
requirements, and their record on spending these funds, vary widely.
Be sure to visit the
state profile pages of the Transportation Enhancements Clearinghouse
for detailed information. Watch your state’s obligation rate – that’s
the rate at which they actually spend the money. Some states have
failed to obligate Enhancements dollars, preferring to prioritize
spending in other categories. Also look at the portion of these funds
that go to bicycle and pedestrian projects in your state.
Where can I
learn more?
State by state funding
details
SAFETEA-LU
authorized these annual funding levels for Transportation Enhancements:
2005 - $686 million; 2006 - $627 million; 2007 - $637 million; 2008 -
$647 million; 2009 - $658 million. The funding table [hyperlink] gives
annual average funding levels expected to go to each state for
Transportation Enhancements.
The funding
actually distributed as a result of SAFETEA-LU will be higher than the
authorized level in most states because of the distribution of an
‘equity bonus,’ formerly known as the ‘Minimum Guarantee.’ The
Equity Bonus program is meant to ensure that each state receives a
minimum rate of return on contributions to the Highway Trust Fund, among
other considerations. Most of the funds from the Equity Bonus program
are distributed among many existing programs, and this distribution is
reflected in the funding table.
Funding
note:
TE was originally calculated as a 10 percent set-aside of the Surface
Transportation Program, which used to also include the safety program.
To prevent TE funding from falling because of the removal of the safety
funds, its share is now the greater of either: 1. 10 percent of funds
apportioned the state under the STP, or 2. the amount set aside for
fiscal year 2005. |
