Last Updated on September 13, 2024
States seeking to benefit from Joe Biden’s infrastructure law must prioritize the safety of pedestrians and cyclists in their road expansion projects or risk losing the money. In a report submitted to Congress in early March, the Department of Transportation (DOT) said its priority would be ensuring the safety and health of all users of modern roadways.
According to the report, projects such as bike lanes, roundabouts, transit lanes, bus stops, pedestrian pathways, and enhanced sidewalks will be a priority in funds distribution.
The Focus On Safety
The DOT, led by Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg, aims to change the longstanding tradition where states channeled most of the funds into lane expansions to reduce congestion and increase speeds at the expense of the safety of the non-white minorities living along busy roadways.
The report hailed the Federal Highways Administration’s (FHWA) adoption of the “Complete Streets” approach, which has proved significantly effective in areas where it has been implemented, saying it will positively impact road safety for all road users.
The Racial Factor
This change in priorities comes as good news to states struggling to raise funds to build greener transit options and reduce fatalities and severe injuries by slowing traffic speeds and bringing communities divided across racial lines by highways closer.
According to a DOT report, the average fatality rate on American roads in 2020 was 7 percent, while Black residents saw a 23 percent increase in traffic fatalities. ” Low-income black residents may not have the luxury of choosing where to live based on safety, and you will find many living around crash hotspots,” says car accident attorney Arren Waldrep of the Price Benowitz Accident Injury Lawyers, LLP.
Opposition to the Approach
However, this approach is not without opposition coming from republican lawmakers who feel that the approach seeks to arm-twist the governors into embracing the Biden administration’s liberal causes. Some worry that rural areas may lose out on the infrastructure funds in the process.
According to Missouri Representative Sam Graves, a top member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Americans expect to see real infrastructure needs addressed, not a promotion of the administration’s woke agenda. Even republican house representatives that supported the infrastructure bill, like the Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Shelley Moore Capito, feel that states should have the liberty to choose what infrastructure to prioritize based on their needs.
Buttigieg’s Priorities
At a congressional hearing in early March, Buttigieg said he would prioritize safety and climate when awarding the infrastructure billions. According to Buttigieg, this approach reflects the administration’s priorities and will be his reference point within the parameters of the law when making distribution of funds decisions.
The report said that cities with proposed “cap and stitch” plans geared at building green spaces atop underground roadways would have access to additional funding from the federal government. According to Buttigieg, the “cap and stitch” approach is one way of stitching together communities divided by racially designed highways.
Federal Power Assertion
Last year the FHWA halted the expansion of I-45 in Houston, citing civil rights concerns which are quite a rare assertion of the federal government’s power over projects that raise concerns about potential negative racial impacts. This move is an example of what can happen when infrastructure projects don’t reflect the federal government’s approach.
The agency has given the green light for the expansion as it continues with negotiation to mitigate the potential effects of the expansion on the environment and minority communities.
