Bicycle & Pedestrian Funding
A number of programs are available to fund pedestrian, bicycle and related projects. (Appendix D of the CBPP contains an extensive list of potential sources for funding pedestrian or bicycle projects.) The Authority has some role in several of these programs.
- The Authority helps select projects for two Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) programs. The Regional Bicycle and Pedestrian Program is intended to fund facilities that will improve air quality by encouraging more people to bicycle or walk instead of driving. The Transportation for Livable Communities (TLC) Program is intended to support projects that "bring new vibrancy to downtown areas, commercial cores, neighborhoods, and transit corridors, enhancing their amenities and ambiance and making them places where people want to live, work and visit." Most projects funded through the TLC program include bicycle and pedestrian facilities.
- The Safe Routes to Transit program is intended to promote bicycling and walking to transit stations by making these important feeder trips easier, faster, and safer. The program is funded through Regional Measure 2 bridge tolls and is administered by the Transportation Land Use Coalition and the East Bay Bicycle Club. The program is in the middle of the second of five $4 million funding cycles.
- To help fund projects that reduce motor vehicle emissions and thus improve air quality, the Transportation Fund for Clean Air funds a variety of projects, including bicycle improvements included in the Countywide Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan and congestion management program.
- Finally, the new Measure J expenditure plan includes several programs that can be used to fund bicycle and pedestrian improvements. The Pedestrian, Bicycle and Trail Facilities program sets aside sales tax funds specifically for bicycle and pedestrian projects. In addition, Measure J can fund such improvements through other categories, especially the Contra Costa TLC, local streets and roads, safe transportation for children, and major streets programs.