COMMENTS ON THE COMPLETE STREETS AMENDMENT (from the Congressional Record) Surface Transportation Policy Project, Washington, DC, May 9, 2005. Hon. Tom Harkin, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. Dear Senator Harkin: On behalf of the Surface Transportation Policy Project, I am writing to indicate our strong support for the ``Complete Streets Amendment'' you will offer during Senate debate on the SAFETEA legislation. Your amendment proposes important, albeit modest, improvements to prompt the federal, state, regional and local partnership to embrace policy actions that will help expand travel options in the U.S., focusing specifically on improving safety for pedestrians and bicyclists. The simple policy adjustments you are proposing are complementary to the other important provisions in the bill, notably the renewal of the Surface Transportation Program and its Transportation Enhancements Program as well as the inclusion of new initiatives to promote ``fair share'' expenditures under the Safety program and the Safe Routes to School program. These programs bolster state and local efforts to retrofit transportation facilities now in place and help ``complete our streets'' in communities throughout the nation. Importantly, your amendment, with its emphasis on the adoption of ``Complete Streets'' policies by state transportation departments and the largest metropolitan planning organizations, will help ensure that, going forward, all users--transit users and other pedestrians of all ages, including those with disabilities, as well as bicyclists--are given full consideration in how we design new and modernize existing facilities with the federal dollars SAFETEA makes available. It also calls upon the U.S. Transportation Department to report on how research funds are deployed to facilitate walking and bicycling and prompts the Secretary to exert more leadership to make these trips safer and more frequent. Finally, it rightly focuses on the planning process in our largest metropolitan areas where a substantial majority of Americans live and work, insisting that more attention be given to plans and investments that promote broader travel options in these areas. We strongly support this amendment and urge your colleagues to incorporate these provisions during full Senate action on SAFETEA. Sincerely, Anne P. Canby, President. ____ American Association of Retired Persons, Washington, DC. May 11, 2005. Hon. Tom Harkin, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. Dear Senator Harkin: AARP commends you for your leadership in offering the ``Complete Streets Amendment'' during Senate debate on the SAFETEA legislation. Safe mobility options are essential to the independence and well-being of older Americans. Over one-fifth of persons age 65 and over do not drive. A growing number of older Americans are looking for other mobility choices, either because they have stopped driving, want to reduce their driving, or because they want to be more physically active. Walking is an important travel option for older persons and, under the proper conditions, can provide a safe, healthy transportation alternative for carrying out daily activities. In fact, walking is the most common mode of travel for older persons after the private vehicle A recent AARP survey, however, found that one-fifth of persons age 75 and above perceived poor sidewalks, dangerous intersections, and lack of places to rest as barriers to walking. Older persons also have the highest rate of pedestrian fatalities of any age group. We believe it is important that communities provide infrastructure that allows people of all ages to have safe mobility choices, including walking and bicycling. The Safe and Complete Streets Act of 2005 would help accomplish this goal by: Requiring that state transportation departments adopt ``Complete Streets'' policies when constructing new transportation facilities with federal funds, using the Federal Highway Administration's policy statement on accommodating pedestrians and bicyclists as its basis; Directing the U.S. Secretary of Transportation to promote a goal of increasing the number of pedestrian and bicycle trips, while seeking to reduce accidents involving pedestrians and bicyclists; Focusing research on the safety of nonmotorized travel; and Requiring metropolitan planning organizations serving a population of 200,000 or more to designate bicycle/pedestrian coordinators and include the safety needs of pedestrians and bicyclists in their long-range transportation plans. AARP appreciates your commitment and dedication to providing mobility options for all Americans and we look forward to working with you towards accomplishment of this important goal. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me, or have your staff contact Debra Alvarez in Federal Affairs Department at (202) 434-3814. Sincerely, David Certner, Director, Federal Affairs. ____ America Walks, Boston, MA, May 10, 2005. Hon. Tom Harkin, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. Dear Senator Harkin: I'm writing on behalf of America Walks, a national coalition of more than 60 pedestrian advocacy organizations located throughout the nation, to express our support for your Complete Streets amendment to the federal transportation bill. Andy Hamilton, President of America Walks, is out of town and asked me to let you know of our organization's support for your efforts. Communities with sidewalks will encourage people to walk more, which will improve public health while at the same time reducing traffic congestion, particularly around schools. Complete streets will improve safety. For decades, our roads have been designed with a single-minded focus on moving as many cars as possible as fast as possible. Your amendment will encourage communities to provide resources that enable the roads to also become safe for pedestrians, cyclists, seniors, transit users, and people with disabilities. Completing the streets is the right thing to do. And especially as our population ages and increases in girth and Safe Routes to School programs increase in popularity, this is the right time to do it! America Walks appreciates your focus on this very important issue. Your amendment, if passed, will increase transportation choices and safety for all users. Sincerely, Sally Flocks, Vice-President. ____ National Center for Bicycling & Walking, Bethesda, MD, May 10, 2005. Hon. Tom Harkin, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. Dear Senator Harkin: I am writing on behalf of the National Center for Bicycling & Walking to express our appreciation and support for your proposed Complete Streets amendment to the transportation bill. The actions called for in your amendment are the next logical step in a process going back more than 30 years, whereby the Congress has recognized progressive trends related to bicycling and walking emerging at the state, regional, and local levels and incorporated them into our national transportation policy. The policy actions detailed in your amendment will help improve the efficiency and effectiveness of transportation plans, programs, and projects at all levels of government, and provide the American people--people of all ages--with better roads and safer communities. Our country needs this kind of leadership and support. We are beset by a host of public health challenges such as obesity, physical inactivity, and motor vehicle-related injuries and fatalities. We know we need to be more active and the public health experts have identified walking and bicycling as two of the best opportunities available to improve and maintain our health. Sadly, the streets in many of our communities are not yet inviting places to take a walk or ride a bike. However, we know how to make them better. Your proposed amendment will ensure that we do what needs to be done, for our health and for the health and well-being of our children and grandchildren. Thank you. Sincerely, Bill Wilkinson, AICP, Executive Director. ____ Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations, Washington, DC, May 10, 2005. Hon. Tom Harkin, U.S. Senate, Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC. Dear Senator Harkin: On behalf of the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations, we write in support of your amendment to improve the safety of nonmotorized transportation, including bicycle and pedestrian safety. Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) are charged with planning for the nation's transportation needs and they work to protect and improve regions throughout the United States. MPOs [[Page S4926]] provide a locational nexus for representatives from various modes of transportation to come together in support of a more complete regional transportation system. We believe that your amendment will further the goal of ``Complete Streets'' and will provide much needed safety improvements for bicyclists and pedestrians, while alleviating congestion on our nation's roads. We are pleased to see that this amendment targets MPOs in urban areas with populations greater than 200,000. While we recognize the importance of this amendment, we believe that requiring all MPOs to designate a bicycle/pedestrian coordinator would place an undue burden on our smallest members. Those MPOs that represent populations of greater than 200,000 are capable of these additional requirements, assuming that the PL increase to 1.5% that is currently in the Senate bill is realized. We are concerned, however, that if these requirements are imposed without a corresponding funding increase, we may not be able to meet these added expectations. The 2000 census designated 46 new MPOs but no additional funding was provided for these MPOs. As a result, over 350 MPOs are now sharing a pot of money that was established for approximately 300 MPOs. We believe that ``Complete Streets'' is an important goal of a regional transportation system. We are pleased to see that you are offering this amendment as part of the transportation reauthorization bill. Please feel free to contact Debbie Singer at 202-296-7051 or dsinger@ampo.org if you have any further questions. Sincerely, Mayor Rae Rupp Srch, AMPO President. ____ League of American Bicyclists, Washington, DC, May 11, 2005. Hon. Tom Harkin, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. Dear Senator Harkin: On behalf of the 300,000 affiliated members of the League of American Bicyclists and the nation's 57 million adult bicyclists, I am writing to support the inclusion of the ``Complete Streets Amendment'' as part of SAFETEA. In ISTEA and TEA-21, Congress established the principle that new road projects and reconstructions should provide safe accommodation of bicycling and walking. While some states are beginning to make progress in this area, federal guidance on this issue has been overlooked by many state and local transportation agencies. The Complete Streets Amendment seeks to address this issue by simply directing all states to adopt a ``Complete Streets Policy'' to ensure that states build streets and highways that adequately accommodate all transportation users-- including bicyclists, pedestrians, and people with disabilities. In addition, the amendment encourages local action on bike/ped safety, sets goals for nonmotorized transportation, and focuses research on nonmotorized travel safety. These are all important issues to the bicycling community and beyond. Other important issues that we are pleased that the bill managers have already recognized include: Strengthening our core programs (Enhancements, Recreational Trails, CMAQ, etc.); Establishing a Fair Share for Safety Provision, which ties safety spending to fatality crash rates by transportation mode; and Providing a National Safe Routes to Schools Program, which provides funding to improve infrastructure and education to make it safer for our nation's children to bike and walk to school. We applaud you for your leadership on this issue. Likewise, we applaud the bill managers for their commitment to completing action on a reauthorization bill that includes good investments that will give all Americans safer places to bike and walk. The adoption of the ``Complete Streets Amendment'' does not add to the cost of the overall bill and is, in fact, complementary to the bicycling provisions already included. As such, we support its inclusion in SAFETEA. Sincerely, Mele Williams, Director of Government Relations. ____ Natural Resources Defense Council, Washington, DC, May 9, 2005. Hon. Tom Harkin, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. Dear Senator Harkin, On behalf of NRDC and our 600,000 members, I am writing to express support for your Complete Streets Amendment. This set of commonsense policies would spur new construction and retrofitting of highways and roads that aren't currently accessible to bikers and pedestrians-- i.e., ``completing the streets'' so that all users are welcome, not just drivers. The amendment is particularly timely, as public health experts encourage Americans to walk and bike as a response to the obesity epidemic. Completing our streets can help to meet this goal. In fact, one study found that 43 percent of people with safe places to walk within 10 minutes of home met recommended activity levels, while just 27% of those without safe places to walk were active enough. And another recent study found that residents are 65% more likely to walk in a neighborhood with sidewalks. Benefits include more than increased physical activity. Air quality in our urban areas is poor and linked to increases in asthma and other illnesses. Replacing car trips with biking or walking means less air pollution. And if each resident of an American community of 100,000 replaced just one car trip with one bike trip just once a month, it would cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 3,764 tons per year in the community. In short, I commend you for offering this amendment, which would provide Americans with more transportation choices, improve public health and reduce pollution. Sincerely, Deron Lovaas, Vehicles Campaign Director. ____ American Society of Landscape Architects, Washington, DC, May 9, 2005. Hon. Tom Harkin, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. Dear Senator Harkin: On behalf of the American Society of Landscape Architects, I write to convey our strong support for your proposed ``Complete Streets'' amendment to the SAFTEA legislation in the 109th Congress. In order to provide for safer and more active communities, we must complete our streets and roadways by ensuring that they are designed and operated to enable access for all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists and transit riders of all ages and abilities. In the past, the concerns of non-motorized transportation users have been bypassed all too often, and your amendment takes a critical, common sense step toward a more comprehensive, integrated and effective transportation system. Because of our nation's inherent strengths, continued growth, and boundless potential, we sometimes overlook the obvious as we forge ahead. We have arrived at the point where we have to take measures to better accommodate life outside of our automobiles. This is not a simple task, but, with proper planning, the benefits of a visionary approach will far outpace our initial efforts. Your amendment provides an appropriate and timely framework for those efforts by encouraging planning, prioritizing and research by states and municipalities. If the Complete Streets Amendment is passed by the Senate, protected in conference, and signed into law along with the rest of SAFTEA, we can forecast the results with a great degree of confidence. Complete Streets will lead to improved safety, and promote a more active American lifestyle, with more walking and bicycling for health. Complete Streets will also help ease the transportation woes with which so many of us are increasingly familiar. Roadways that provide varying travel choices will give people the option to avoid traffic jams, reducing congestion and increasing the overall capacity of our transportation network. This amendment also has an important place in the transportation bill because Complete Streets make fiscal sense. Integrating sidewalks, bike lanes, transit amenities, and safe crossings into the initial design of a project spares the costly expenses of retrofits later on ``down the road.'' As practitioners of urban design and revitalization, site planning, land use policy and master planning, landscape architects are continually engaged with public officials, developers and homeowners to design the places in which we live, work, and seek recreational opportunities. The American Society of Landscape Architects heartily encourages creating and improving access to places for physical activity within our communities. It is not asking too much to make Complete Streets a national transportation priority. The Congress has worked long and hard to craft an effective transportation package, and the Complete Streets Amendment will put the country on the same ``planning page,'' providing us with sound footing as we move towards a stronger, safer, and healthier future. It is our hope that the United States Senate will recognize and endorse the wisdom of the Harkin Complete Streets Amendment. We thank you for your exemplary leadership on this critical component to the overall health, wellbeing, and functionality of our communities. Sincerely, Patrick A. Miller, President. ____ Factsheet--National Association of County and City Health Officials understanding the issues Land use, community design, and transportation planning have an impact on the health of communities in relation to diseases and injuries, as well as quality of life and well being. Environmental conditions such as air quality, ground and surface water contamination, and the re-use of brownfields (used lands where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination) affect disadvantaged populations more severely, particularly given the current separation between land use planning and public health. Local public health agencies (LPHAs) can ensure that community health is emphasized throughout the planning process by becoming involved during the early stages of land use planning. In order to ensure a better quality of life and the sustainability of our communities, it is important for planners and public health officials to collaborate on healthy solutions to the environmental health problems that exist where we live, work, and play. Planning and design decisions have a tremendous impact on a wide range of public health issues, including: air quality Asthma and other respiratory diseases are caused, in part, by poor air quality. Poor air [[Page S4927]] quality is tied to pollution emitted from automobiles and other motor vehicles. In the United States, automobiles account for over 49 percent of all nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions, which contribute to smog and lead to serious health matters. Between 1980 and 1994, asthma rates rose by 75 percent. People in sprawling communities drive three to four times more than those who live in efficient, well-planned areas, thus increasing vehicle emissions that contribute to poor air quality. water quality The National Water Quality Inventory: 1996 Report to Congress identified runoff from development as one of the leading sources of water quality impairment, accounting for 46 percent of assessed estuary impairment. In the United States, wetlands are being destroyed at a rate of approximately 300,000 acres per year, much of it for new development. Wastewater also poses a serious threat to water quality. In Florida, it is estimated that onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems discharge 450 million gallons per day of partially treated, non-disinfected wastewater, which can lead to contamination of ground water supplies. traffic safety According to the National Personal Transportation Survey, walking accounts for only five percent of trips taken and less than one percent of miles traveled, due in part to a lack of appropriate and safe options for pedestrians. Approximately 4,882 pedestrians were killed by vehicles and 78,000 injured in 2001. A Texas study found that for three out of five disabled and elderly people, there are no sidewalks between their homes and the closest bus stop. Over 55 percent of all pedestrian deaths occur in neighborhoods, which are often designed with a bias toward cars, with no sidewalks or otherwise inadequate pedestrian accommodations. physical activity Community design often presents barriers to physical activity, contributing to increased risk for obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic diseases. Barriers include, but are not limited to, the absence of sidewalks, heavy traffic, and high levels of crime. Today, nearly one in four Americans is obese, and at least 50 percent are overweight. As access to recreational infrastructure may be limited, people with disabilities often have less opportunity to engage in physical activity. People are more likely to be physically active if they can incorporate activity into their daily routine. A 1996 report from the U.S. Surgeon General determined that each year, as many as 200,000 deaths are attributable to a sedentary lifestyle. mental health According to the Human Environment-Research Lab, studies have shown that exposure to greenspace helps to foster an increased sense of community, and also lessens the effects of chronic mental fatigue, which reduces violence and aggressive behavior. A Cornell University study found that children whose families relocated to areas with more greenspace experienced an increase in cognitive functioning. Lack of accessibility, such as absence of ramps and narrow doorways, can contribute to an increase in isolation for the elderly and people with disabilities. Increased commuting time has been linked with physical and stress-related health problems. It is estimated that for each additional 10 minutes of driving time, there is a 10 percent decline in civic involvement. Hazardous Materials Hazardous materials are transported, stored, manufactured, or disposed of in many communities. Often, zoning and environmental regulations do not provide for the separation of incompatible land uses, like placing housing near areas zoned for use or storage of hazardous materials. In addition, hazardous waste sites continue to be a significant concern. The Environmental Protection Agency determined that one in every four children in the United States lives within one mile of a National Priorities List hazardous waste site. The United Nations Environment Programme links exposure to heavy metals with certain cancers, kidney damage, and developmental retardation. Social Justice Evidence demonstrates that environmental hazards, air pollution, heat-related morbidity and mortality, traffic fatalities, and substandard housing disproportionately affect low-income and minority populations. Environmental Protection Agency data shows that Hispanics are more likely than Whites to live in air pollution non-attainment areas. Asthma mortality is approximately three times higher among Blacks than it is among Whites. As neighborhoods undergo gentrification, people of a lower socioeconomic status are pushed to the fringes, limiting their access to social services. A lack of public transportation options often exacerbates the problem and leaves minority populations disproportionately affected by less access to quality housing, healthy air, good quality water, and adequate transportation. Role of LPHAs Because most land use planning occurs at the local level, it is essential that LPHAs become more integrated in the planning process in order to address and prevent unfavoravble outcomes for public health. LPHAs must assume a diverse and proactive approach in order to be successful in this role, including: Forging partnerships between LPHAs and local planning and transportation officials in order to bring health to the planning table. Using data to arm and inform stakeholders and decision makers, substituting national data if local data is unavailable. Expanding the role of LPHAs in commenting on development plans. Electing health officials to planning boards and other community positions. Attending planning meetings regularly. Serving as information conduits, keeping abreast of current processes and policies, and disseminating information to community members. Adopting local resolutions on health and land use/ transportation planning. naccho's role NACCHO's goal is to integrate public health practice more effectively into the land use planning process by enhancing the capacity of LPHAs to be involved in land use decision making. Through the development of tools and resources, NACCHO strives to promote the involvement of LPHAs with elected officials, planners, and community representatives in regard to health issues and land use planning. Focus groups conducted by NACCHO during the past year explored strategies for integrating public health and land use planning. To learn more, visit www.naccho.org/project84.cfm, or call (202) 783- 5550 and ask to speak with a member of NACCHO's environmental health staff.