Supporting Active Transportation: Federal Funds for Bicycle and Pedestrian Projects

Active Transportation – Making the Link from Transportation to Physical Activity and Obesity, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

  • “Neighborhoods and transportation systems that promote regular physical activity—through public transit, sidewalks, bike paths, trails, greenways and traffic-calming devices—are associated with more walking and bicycling, greater physical activity and lower rates of obesity. As Congress considers reauthorization of the surface transportation bill, advocates, planners, researchers and policy-makers have an opportunity to discuss the impact of transportation projects on health and explore changes to the law that could better support healthy communities. New state-specific reports released by the Harvard Prevention Research Center describe how state and local governments spent the more than $3 billion in federal transportation funds awarded for bicycle and pedestrian projects between 1992 and 2004. According to the reports, 62 percent of all U.S. counties implemented at least one such project during that period, such as improving sidewalks or creating a bike lane or multi-use trail. Counties with lower levels of education, higher poverty rates or higher proportions of households with multiple vehicles were significantly less likely to have implemented such projects. The state reports also include recommendations for improving health outcomes.” new Web portal.”
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