Montana ISTEA2 Enhancements Page

"I've heard about 'enhancements.' What are they?"

In 1991, ISTEA got rid of a number of transportation funding categories and created several new ones. One new category is that of "Transportation Enhancements." States are required to spend 10 percent of the Federal money they get from the Surface Transportation Program (STP) on Enhancements. Since the STP pot of money is only one of several, this 10 percent amounts to 2 percent of total ISTEA spending.

ISTEA lists the following as eligible projects under the Enhancement funding category:

"...provision of facilities for pedestrians and bicycles, acquisition of scenic easements and scenic or historic sites, scenic or historic highway programs, landscaping and other scenic beautification, historic preservation, rehabilitation and operation of historic transportation buildings, structures, or facilities (including historic railroad facilities and canals), preservation of abandoned railway corridors (including the conversion and use thereof for pedestrian or bicycle trails), control and removal of outdoor advertising, archaeological planning and research, and mitigation of water pollution due to highway runoff." (Section 101(a) of Title 23, US Code)

Many of the projects listed in the Enhancement category are things that state DOTs should have been doing before ISTEA. However, many DOTs didn't because they weren't required to do them. All over America, highway projects have routinely cut pedestrian connections between neighborhoods and schools, shops, and parks. In community after community, pedestrians and bicyclists of all ages were left to fend for themselves as DOTs and local transportation agencies served motorists and ignored everyone else.

Consider that in 1990, the year before ISTEA went into effect, federal spending on walkways and bikeways hovered at about $8 million nationwide. In 1995, that figure had jumped to $220 million. While this is still a tiny fraction of the total transportation budget, it's a big improvement. And Enhancement projects are popular with the public, according to a recent national survey.

For a good look at the benefits of Enhancement projects, check out the STPP's book, Five Years of Progress or contact the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's Enhancements Clearinghouse. Their phone number is (888) 388-NTEC. Ask for their booklet, 25 of America's Best Enhancement Projects.