Committee directs draft to temporarily raise Transportation Alternatives awards, preserve bike/ped priority and expand agency discretion

A legislative committee on March 11 reviewed proposed changes to the Transportation Alternatives (TA) grant program and directed staff to draft statutory language to give the administering agency greater flexibility in awarding federal TA funds.

The committee asked staff to prepare a bill amendment that would temporarily raise the program's maximum award to $1.2 million for one year, then set the long-term maximum at $600,000 (the program's current post-2027 level). Members also agreed to remove an explicit 50% set-aside for water-quality projects so awards may be allocated among all federally eligible TA activities, while retaining a preferential weighting for projects with bicycle and pedestrian facilities as the primary feature.

"We are not minimizing water quality projects in any way, shape, or form," the Chair said, emphasizing the intent was to speed distribution of federal funds while keeping water-quality projects eligible. "Our intent here is to make sure the federal money gets out."

Michelle Bloomhower of the Agency of Transportation said the agency is setting up a safe-routes-to-school initiative funded through the Highway Safety…