September 2012 - Parks & Recreation - 26

ADVOCACY UPDATE continued from page 23

or to enhance biker and walker safety.
This was a hot-button issue during the
debate of the bill, and since its enactment, various Members of Congress
have stressed that states will have discretion over the use of 50 percent of
the TA funds. The language for this
particular section of the bill, however,
makes it difficult to determine whether
that is, indeed, what was written and
ultimately enacted into law. US DOT
program and legal staff are currently analyzing the language of the bill,
and will provide interpretation and
guidance on this and other programs.
NRPA is in discussion with DOT staff
and will share information with our
members as it becomes available.

MAP-21 and Recreational Trails
RTP provides money to the states to develop and maintain recreational trails and
trail-related facilities for both non-motorized and motorized recreational uses,

including hiking. To date, RTP has funded more than 13,000 projects, awarding
$900 million in matching federal grants
to states for walking and biking activities.
It's important to recognize that RTP
has a unique history as well as dedicated funding source. It was created in the
early 1990s and its funding comes from
a portion of gas tax revenues to the Highway Trust Fund from off-road motorized
recreational vehicles such as snowmobiles and ATVs. This is often referred to
as a " user fee, " since direct beneficiaries of the program help pay for it.
The law has always had two requirements for state participants:
1. They must form RTP trails advisory
committees to guide the program. The
committee is composed of both motorized and non-motorized stakeholders.
These advisory groups are now recognized as the leaders, who play a
critical role in the development of our
local and regional trails networks.

2. State f u nd i ng must be awarded
through a competitive process with
grant funds obligated for specific
trail uses-30 percent for motorized,
30 percent for non-motorized, and 40
percent for multi-use trail projects
which cover a wide variety of uses.
Due in large part to the outstanding
advocacy of trails activists across the
country, MAP-21 preserves dedicated
funding for RTP, basically " cutting them
off the top " of state TA allocations. Funding is locked in at the FY 2009 levels-
those found under the expiring law, or
approximately $85 million per year.
In short, the program remains basically unchanged-with one potential roadblock to the continuation of the
RTP at the state level: a provision allowing state governors to opt out of the
program on an annual basis with these
funds returning to their general TA allocation. Governors must notify the U.S.
Secretary of Transportation of their decisions no later than 30 days before the
funds are apportioned. Since the funds
are typically apportioned on October
1st, any opt-out decisions must be sent
to US DOT by September 1st.
The key take-away is that funding for
walking and biking is no longer guaranteed as the dedicated funds and standalone programs that primarily funded
these projects have now been consolidated and cut significantly. While these
projects remain eligible for funding,
much advocacy needs to be done within state departments of transportation as
well as the governors' offices.
This article represents NRPA Public
Policy's best understanding of the new
surface transportation law based on
conversations and initial guidance provided by US DOT officials. DOT stresses that the process of analyzing this
complex measure is not complete and
to expect changes in fi nal guidance as
they seek to determine how the law will
ultimately be implemented.
DAVE TYAHLA is NRPA's Senior

Government Affairs Manager.

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September 2012 - Parks & Recreation

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