Editor's Note: This story first appeared in Transportation Issues Daily. Reprinted with permission.
Bike-ped funding advocacy takes on new importance now that state Departments of Transportation now have authority to allocate a portion of federal “bike-ped” funds. A new report is designed to help bike-ped stakeholders be successful advocates.
Improving the Process: How Statewide Advocacy Organizations Are Winning Federal Dollars for Bicycle and Pedestrian Projects was produced by Advocacy Advance. This group describes itself as “a dynamic partnership of the Alliance for Biking & Walking and the League of American Bicyclists to boost local and state bicycle and pedestrian advocacy efforts.”
This report lists seven steps that statewide organizations have taken that resulted in improving the project selection processes for federal funding programs. Here are the steps, but we encourage you to read the report for the details:
1. Promote best policies within Metropolitan Planning Organizations and your state Department
of Transportation.
2. Work with MPOs to improve the quality of applications.
3. Get involved in committees. That’s where the decisions take place.
4. Raise public awareness and support.
5. Fight for proportional rescissions.
6. Work with local funding decision-makers.
7. Prioritize projects.
