[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 218 (Friday, November 13, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58678-58681]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-27240]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
[Docket No. FTA-2009-0052]
Proposed Policy Statement on the Eligibility of Pedestrian and
Bicycle Improvements Under Federal Transit Law
AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of proposed policy statement and request for comment.
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SUMMARY: This notice describes the eligibility of pedestrian and
bicycle improvements for Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funding
and proposes a formal policy on the catchment area for pedestrians and
bicyclists in relationship to public transportation stops and stations.
FTA seeks comment from all interested parties. After consideration of
the comments, FTA will issue a second Federal Register notice
responding to comments and noting any changes made to the policy
statement as a result of comments received.
DATES: Comments must be received by January 12, 2010. Late-filed
comments will be considered to the extent practicable.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by the docket number
(FTA-2009-0052) by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
U.S. Mail: U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations,
West Building, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington,
DC 20590.
Hand Delivery: U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket
Operations, West Building, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE.,
Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays.
Fax: (202) 493-2251.
Instructions: You must include the agency name (Federal Transit
Administration), and Docket number (FTA-2009-0052) for this notice at
the beginning of your comments. All comments received will be posted,
without change and including any personal information provided, to
http://www.regulations.gov where they will be available to internet
users. Please see the Privacy Act for more information.
You should submit two copies of your comments if you submit them by
mail. If you wish to receive confirmation that FTA received your
comments, you must include a self-addressed, stamped postcard. Due to
security procedures in effect since October 2001 regarding mail
deliveries, mail received through the U.S. Postal Service may be
subject to delays. Parties submitting comments should consider using an
express mail firm to ensure the prompt filing of any submissions not
filed electronically or by hand.
For access to the DOT docket to read materials relating to this
notice, please go to http://www.regulations.gov at any time.
Contact Information: For questions, please contact Matthew Lesh at
(202) 366-0953 or [email protected]. For legal questions, please
contact Jayme L. Blakesley at (202) 366-0304 or
[email protected]. The principal office of FTA is located at 1200
New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590. Office hours are from
8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The purpose of this notice is to propose a radius around a public
transportation stop or station within which FTA will consider
pedestrian and bicycle improvements to have a de facto functional
relationship to public transportation.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood has challenged the U.S.
Department of Transportation to improve the livability of our nation's
communities: ``President [Obama] has made livable communities a key
aspect of his agenda. * * * How a community is designed--including the
layout of the roads, transit systems and walkways--has a huge impact on
its residents.'' \1\ Funding bicycle and pedestrian facilities that
provide access to public transportation is an important way for FTA to
foster livable communities.
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\1\ Statement of Ray LaHood, Secretary of Transportation, before
the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, U.S. Senate
Hearing on Greener Communities, Greater Opportunities: New Ideas for
Sustainable Development and Economic Growth (June 16, 2009).
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A livable community is ``a community where if people don't want an
automobile, they don't have to have one; a community where you can walk
to work, your doctor's appointment, pharmacy or grocery store. Or you
could take light rail, a bus, or ride a bike.'' \2\ According to
Secretary LaHood, ``[l]ivable communities are mixed-use neighborhoods
with highly-connected streets promoting mobility for all users, whether
they are children walking or biking to school or commuters riding
transit or driving motor vehicles. Benefits include improved traffic
flow, shorter trip lengths, safer streets for pedestrians and cyclists,
lower greenhouse gas emissions, reduced dependence on fossil fuels,
increased trip-chaining, and independence for those who prefer not to
or are unable to drive. In addition, investing in a ``complete street''
concept stimulates private-sector economic activity by increasing the
viability of street-level retail small businesses and professional
services, creating housing opportunities and extending the usefulness
of school and transit facilities.'' \3\ To illustrate the Secretary's
point, more than half of older adults who described an inhospitable
environment outside their homes would walk, bicycle, or take public
transportation more if their streets were improved.\4\
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\2\ Christie Findlay, Living in a Post-Car World, AARP Bulletin,
October 1, 2009.
\3\ Statement of Ray LaHood, Secretary of Transportation, before
the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, U.S. Senate
Hearing on Greener Communities, Greater Opportunities: New Ideas for
Sustainable Development and Economic Growth (June 16, 2009).
\4\ National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Traffic
Safety Facts: Older Population. 2005.
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With respect to bicycle facilities in particular, Secretary LaHood
has committed the Department to ``work toward an America where bikes
are recognized to coexist with other modes and to safely share our
roads and bridges.'' \5\ If we are to create livable communities, ``the
range of transportation choices available to all Americans--including
transit, walking, bicycling, and improved connectivity for various
modes--must be expanded.'' \6\
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\5\ Statement of Ray LaHood, Secretary of Transportation, before
the 2009 National Bike Summit in Washington, DC (March 11, 2009).
\6\ Statement of Ray LaHood, Secretary of Transportation, before
the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, U.S. Senate
Hearing on Greener Communities, Greater Opportunities: New Ideas for
Sustainable Development and Economic Growth (June 16, 2009).
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[[Page 58679]]
Walking, bicycling, and public transportation are complimentary.
Nearly all public transportation riders are pedestrians: Some access
public transportation by walking a short distance; others may arrive by
bicycle or automobile and then walk to a rail platform or bus stop.
Safe walking and bicycling conditions are important inducements to
using public transportation.
The success of public transportation can be limited by the problem
of the ``first and last mile.'' One of ``the best present options for
solving the first and last mile dilemma are * * * bicycles. * * *
Bicycles are the no-brainer of American mobility, one of our great
underutilized resources. There are more bicycles in the United States
than there are households but most of those bikes sit in garages except
for an occasional recreational outing. And yet they are the perfect
transportation choice for a short one- to three-mile trip to and from a
transit station.'' \7\
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\7\ Andrea White-Kjoss, Building Multimodal Transit Facilities:
The One Clear Step Toward the New Transportation Paradigm, Mass
Transit, July/August 2009, at 36-37.
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Whether used for longer trips to access amenities outside the
walkable radius of a public transportation station, or whether they
enable direct access to a public transportation facility, bicycle
amenities play an important role in encouraging public transportation
use by providing riders with greater opportunities, choice, flexibility
and safety for reaching their final destinations.
In order to protect and support current public transportation
riders as well as encourage and grow public transportation use, the
development of safe, secure and appropriate catchment areas is
essential. The users of public transportation require safe, convenient,
and practical access routes as well as appropriate amenities to enhance
the utility of public transportation systems across the country. This
is being demonstrated in public transportation systems across the
nation. In Washington, DC, for example, the Washington Metropolitan
Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has been conducting a planning study to
identify strategies for encouraging more people to walk and ride their
bicycle to and from Metrorail stations. WMATA believes this will result
in recommendations for a range of physical infrastructure improvements
such as more and better bicycle parking facilities, better wayfinding
and signage to and from stations, and better connections to nearby
trails and on-road bicycle lanes. A study commissioned by the Federal
Highway Administration identified examples of increased ridership due
to enhanced bicycle facilities near public transportation. One example
of this was a bike-on-bus demonstration program in Phoenix, Arizona
that led to over 1,400 new public transportation riders per month.\8\
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\8\ Federal Highway Administration. Bicycle and Pedestrian
Connections to Transit: Lesson 9, retrieved from: http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/PED_BIKE/univcourse/pdf/swless09.pdf.
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Walking, bicycling, and public transportation provide low-cost
mobility that places fewer demands on local roads and highways. Studies
suggest that developments that incorporate bicycling and walking
infrastructure in proximity with public transportation can reduce
fiscal outlays of local municipalities towards roads and other
infrastructure expansion by twenty-five percent.\9\ In a recent report
comparing public transportation use by U.S. and German citizens,
researchers found that German household budgets for transportation were
lower than their U.S. counterparts despite smaller government subsidies
for public transportation. These differences are attributed, in part,
to the successful integration of public transportation services with
safe walking and bicycling facilities.\10\ In fact, a recent survey
commissioned by a major real estate franchise indicates that over half
of the firm's clients want access to public transportation and seventy-
five percent agreed that the ability to walk to more destinations made
a location more appealing.\11\
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\9\ TCRP Report 102: Transit-Oriented Development in the United
States: Experiences, Challenges, and Prospects, Transportation
Research Board, 2004.
\10\ R. Buehler and J. Pucher, Sustainable Transport that Works:
Lessons from Germany, World Transport Policy & Practice, V.15, No.1,
April 2009.
\11\ Interest in Urban Homeownership Survey, Coldwell Banker,
June 2008.
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Moreover, public transportation riders spend less on transportation
than persons that rely primarily on automobiles. When residents can
walk, bike, and take public transportation, they have more control over
their expenses. For example, public transportation riders in Wisconsin
save almost $7 per trip over driving. These savings result in spending
that, collectively, is responsible for 11,671 new jobs, $163.3 million
in tax revenue, and $1.1 billion in total output.\12\ It is also
documented that a continuous and integrated sidewalk network flanked by
street trees and other amenities directly stimulates public
transportation ridership by providing both a safe and visually
attractive setting between residences and public transportation
nodes.\13\
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\12\ Khalid Bekka, Economic Benefits of Public Transportation,
Wisconsin Department of Transportation, November 2003.
\13\ R. Untermann, Accommodating the Pedestrian: Adapting Towns
and Neighborhoods for Walking and Bicycling, Van Nostrand Reinhold,
New York, 1984.
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Adequate sidewalks, pathways, and roadway crossings in the area
around public transportation access points and amenities such as
benches, shelters, and lighting at stops and stations are important for
pedestrian comfort and safety. The most successful and useful public
transportation systems have safe and convenient pedestrian access and
provide comfortable waiting areas, all of which encourage greater
use.\14\ Well-connected sidewalks should be installed in all areas with
regular public transportation service so that public transportation
patrons will not be forced to walk in the street while traveling to or
from a stop or station. In addition, roadway crossings should be made
safer with an appropriate combination of facilities, such as marked
crosswalks, median crossing islands, warning signs, and pedestrian
signals.\15\
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\14\ Pedestrian Safety Guide for Transit Agencies, Federal
Highway Administration, United States Department of Transportation,
February 2008.
\15\ Pedestrian Safety Guide for Transit Agencies, Federal
Highway Administration, United States Department of Transportation,
February 2008.
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Distances beyond the walkshed of public transportation stops and
stations may in fact be within the range of a short bicycle trip.
Providing secure parking and other amenities for bicycles and cyclists
at public transportation stops or stations can be less expensive than
providing parking for automobiles. Access to public transportation
allows bicyclists the opportunity to make longer trips. Where physical
conditions prevent a continuous bicycle trip, public transportation can
provide a link to previously inaccessible destinations.
Examples of destinations that generate bicycle traffic include
major employment centers, schools, parks, shopping centers,
neighborhoods, recreational facilities, colleges and military bases.
According to a guide published by the American Association of State
Highway and Transportation Officials, convenient access and bicycle
parking should be provided at public transportation stations, ferries
and other intermodal transfer points; all highways as well as
arterials, except those where cyclists are legally prohibited, should
be designed and constructed under the assumption that they will be used
by cyclists; and bicycles should be considered in all phases of
[[Page 58680]]
transportation planning, new roadway design, roadway reconstruction,
and capacity improvement and public transportation projects.\16\
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\16\ American Association of State Highway and Transportation
Officials, Guide for the Development of Bicycle Facilities, 1999.
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II. Planning Requirements
The joint planning regulations of the Federal Transit
Administration and Federal Highway Administration require States and
metropolitan planning organizations to integrate bicycle and pedestrian
facilities into all transportation plans and improvement programs.
Pedestrians and bicyclists must be provided with a reasonable
opportunity to comment on long-range statewide transportation plans and
metropolitan transportation master plans.\17\
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\17\ Federal Transit Law, Title 49, Chapter 53, United States
Code, encourages States and metropolitan areas to develop innovative
transportation plans and programs which better integrate public
transportation, bicycle facilities, pedestrian walkways, and other
modes of travel into the existing transportation system. To this
end, the statewide transportation plan and the transportation
improvement program developed for each state must ``provide for the
development and integrated management and operation of
transportation systems and facilities (including accessible
pedestrian walkways and bicycle transportation facilities) that will
function as an intermodal transportation system.'' 49 U.S.C.
5304(a)(2). Similarly, the plans and transportation improvement
programs (TIP) of all metropolitan areas must ``provide for the
integrated management and operation of transportation systems and
facilities (including accessible pedestrian walkways and bicycle
transportation facilities).'' 49 U.S.C. 5303(c)(2). Moreover, when
preparing long-range statewide transportation plans and
transportation master plan, each state and metropolitan planning
organization (MPO) must provide a reasonable opportunity to comment
to the ``representatives of users of public transportation,
representatives of users of pedestrian walkways and bicycle
transportation facilities,'' among others. 49 U.S.C. 5303(i)(5) and
5304 (f)(3).
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III. Pedestrian and Bicycle Improvements Under Federal Transit Law
Most grant programs administered by the Federal Transit
Administration (FTA) may be used to fund the design, construction, and
maintenance of bicycle and pedestrian projects that enhance or are
related to public transportation facilities. Improvements made
expressly eligible by statute include capital projects like pedestrian
and bicycle access to a public transportation facility \18\; and
transit enhancements like pedestrian access, walkways, and bicycle
access, including bicycle storage facilities and equipment for
transporting bicycles on public transportation vehicles.\19\ In
addition, certain funding programs administered by the Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA), including the Surface Transportation Program and
the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Program, may be used for
public transportation purposes. Once transferred to FTA for a public
transportation purpose, these ``flexible'' funds are administered as
FTA funds and take on all the eligibility and requirements of the FTA
program to which they are transferred, except for the Federal share,
which remains that required under the FHWA program.\20\ The following
is a description of the eligibility requirements for pedestrian and
bicycle improvements under Federal Transit Law.
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\18\ 49 U.S.C. 5302(a)(1)(G)
\19\ 49 U.S.C. 5302(a)(15)(f).
\20\ 49 U.S.C. 5334(i).
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a. Capital Projects
FTA grantees may use any of the following programs to fund capital
projects for pedestrian and bicycle access to a public transportation
facility:
Section 5307 Urbanized Area Formula Program
Section 5309 New Starts and Small Starts Major Capital Investment
Programs
Section 5309 Fixed Guideway Modernization Program
Section 5309 Bus and Bus Facilities Discretionary Program
Section 5310 Elderly Individuals and Individuals with Disabilities
Formula Program
Section 5311 Non-Urbanized Area Formula Program
Section 5311 Public Transportation on Indian Reservations
Section 5316 Job Access and Reverse Commute Formula Program
Section 5317 New Freedom Program
Section 5320 Paul S. Sarbanes Alternative Transportation in Parks and
Public Lands
Federal Transit Law defines the term ``capital project'' to mean,
among other things, ``a public transportation improvement that enhances
economic development or incorporates private investment, including * *
* pedestrian and bicycle access to a [public] transportation
facility.'' \21\
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\21\ 49 U.S.C. 5302(a)(1)(G).
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This eligibility is not without restrictions, however.\22\ Bicycle
and pedestrian projects made eligible under the aforementioned
definition of capital project must satisfy additional statutory
criteria, including requirements to enhance economic development or
incorporate private investment; to enhance the effectiveness of public
transportation project and relate physically or functionally to that
project, or to establish new or enhanced coordination between public
transportation and other transportation; and to provide a fair share of
revenue for public transportation.\23\
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\22\ Note: The restrictions described in this paragraph do not
apply to projects funded under 49 U.S.C. 5320, Paul S. Sarbanes
Alternative Transportation in Parks and Public Lands. Alternative
transportation expressly includes activities that provide ``a
nonmotorized transportation system (including the provision of
facilities for pedestrians, bicycles, and nonmotorized
watercraft).''
\23\ For more information, see FTA's February 7, 2007, guidance
on the Eligibility of Joint Development Projects under Federal
Transit Law at 72 FR 5788.
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b. Transit Enhancement Activities
One percent of Urbanized Area Formula program funds apportioned to
urbanized areas with populations of at least 200,000 are set aside for
transit enhancements. Eligible transit enhancement projects include
pedestrian access and walkways, bicycle access, including bicycle
storage facilities and installing equipment for transporting bicycles
on public transportation vehicles.\24\ As an added incentive, the
Federal share of transit enhancement grants covers 90 percent of the
cost of the project.\25\ If the project involves providing bicycle
access to public transportation, the grant or portion of that grant may
be at a Federal share of 95 percent.\26\
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\24\ 49 U.S.C. 5302(a)(15).
\25\ 49 U.S.C. 5319.
\26\ 49 U.S.C. 5319.
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IV. Proposed Policy
a. Background
FTA encourages the use of its funds for the type of well-designed
pedestrian and bicycle amenities that attract new public transportation
riders by expanding the catchment area and utility of public
transportation stations. Therefore, FTA has decided to issue this
statement of proposed policy on the eligibility of pedestrian and
bicycle improvements for FTA funding. In particular, this notice
proposes and seeks comment on threshold catchment areas for pedestrian
and bicycle improvements near public transportation stops and stations.
A key requirement for determining the eligibility of a pedestrian
or bicycle improvement is whether it has a functional relationship to a
public transportation facility. FTA grantees have been left without
adequate guidance, however, because FTA has made no determination of
the specific distances pedestrians or bicyclists can be expected to
travel to access a public transportation stop or station. The
[[Page 58681]]
purpose of this notice is to propose a radius around a public
transportation stop or station within which FTA will consider
pedestrian and bicycle improvements to have a de facto functional
relationship to public transportation.
FTA's existing guidance on the eligibility of joint development
improvements serves as the foundation for this proposed policy.
According to that guidance, ``the functional relationship test of
activity and use permits the use of FTA funds for joint development
improvements [including pedestrian and bicycle improvements] located
outside the structural envelope of a public transportation project, and
may extend across an intervening street, major thoroughfare or
unrelated property, [but] should not extend beyond the distance most
people can be expected to safely and conveniently walk to use the
transit service.'' \27\
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\27\ FTA guidance on the Eligibility of Joint Development
Improvements under Federal Transit Law, 72 FR 5790 (Feb. 7, 2007).
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Relying on this guidance, in most circumstances FTA has considered
pedestrian improvements within about 1,500 feet of a public
transportation stop or station to be functionally related. Improvements
beyond a 1,500 foot radius were considered functionally related to
public transportation only if they satisfied a test of activity and
use.
The distance stated in FTA's existing guidance is too short.
``While distance is very important for pedestrians, on average they
will walk further than the anecdotal rule of thumb of 400 meters used
in many planning applications.'' \28\ Research indicates that
pedestrians are willing to walk at least one-half mile to train
stations or other forms of reliable public transportation when the
environment surrounding the station is safe and well-designed.\29\ That
equals a fifteen minute walk at a pace of two miles per hour. A one-
half mile catchment area is a conservative estimate of the distance a
pedestrian is willing to travel to a public transportation stop or
station. FTA has reason to believe that pedestrians are willing to
spend more than fifteen minutes walking to public transportation stops
and stations: A study published in the American Journal of Preventative
Medicine concluded that Americans who use public transportation spend a
median of nineteen minutes daily walking to and from public
transportation; and people in high-density urban areas were more likely
to spend approximately thirty minutes walking to and from public
transportation daily.\30\
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\28\ Kevin J. Krizek, Ann Forsyth and Laura Baum, Walking and
Cycling International Literature Review, Victoria Department of
Transport, 2009, at 29.
\29\ Schlossberg, M. et al., How Far, By Which Route, and Why? A
Spatial Analysis of Pedestrian Reference, Mineta Transportation
Institute, June 2007.
\30\ L.M. Besser and A.L. Dannenberg, Walking to Public Transit:
Steps to Help Meet Physical Activity Recommendations, Am. J. Prev.
Med., November 2005, at 273.
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Applying the same timeframes to bicyclists yields at least a three
mile catchment area. Bicycle paths would extend further than a
pedestrian facility and still be functionally related because
``bicyclists are willing to travel much longer distances than
pedestrians, largely due to higher average speeds attainable by
bicycle.'' \31\ Inasmuch as the average bicycle commuter travels at ten
miles per hour,\32\ FTA proposes a bicycle catchment area of three
miles from public transportation stops and stations.
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\31\ Kevin J. Krizek, Ann Forsyth and Laura Baum, Walking and
Cycling International Literature Review, Victoria Department of
Transport, 2009, at 18.
\32\ League of American Bicyclists. Retrieved From: http://www.bikeleague.org/resources/better/commuters.php.
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b. Proposed Policy
For purposes of determining whether a pedestrian or bicycle
improvement has a physical or functional relationship to public
transportation, regardless of whether it is funded as a capital project
or public transportation enhancement, all pedestrian improvements
located within one-half mile and all bicycle improvements located
within three miles of a public transportation stop or station shall
have a de facto physical and functional relationship to public
transportation. According to a test of activity and use, pedestrian and
bicycle improvements beyond these threshold distances may be eligible
for FTA funding if the improvement is within the distance most people
can be expected to safely and conveniently walk or bicycle to use that
particular transit service.
FTA seeks comment from all interested parties. After consideration
of the comments, FTA will issue a second Federal Register notice
responding to comments received and noting any changes made to the
policy statement as a result of comments received.
Issued this 6th day of November 2009.
Peter M. Rogoff,
Administrator, Federal Transit Administration.
[FR Doc. E9-27240 Filed 11-12-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-57-P