State Bike Committee to Meet Wednesday

Tomorrow, Wednesday the 12th, the state bicycle advisory commmittee meets to talk about the changing funding environment at the State and Federal levels.

OBPAC in 2011

From the blurb:

SALEM – The Oregon Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee will meet Wed., Dec. 12 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the ODOT Mill Creek Building located at 555 13th St. NE, Mt. McLoughlin Room, in Salem. The agenda includes an update on the upcoming legislative session and a discussion about bicycle/pedestrian investments as they relate to the new Enhance/Fix It framework in the Statewide Transportation Investment Program.

If you're interested in learning more about the way the STIP works for bike/ped stuff, this might be a good meeting to attend.

In years past there was a separate pot of bike/ped funds that OPBAC administered.  This cycle, the OPBAC funds are combined with the Transportation Enhancement funds.  Next cycle (2015-18), there's an even larger pot of Enhancement monies, but no specific set-asides for bike/ped projects.  So the question is, what's going to be the funded reality behind the rhetoric for active transportation.  We'll know what the real priorities are soon enough.

(Salem is applying for one project only in the TE/OBPAC round, for sidewalks and bikelanes on Brown Road.  Salem is also applying for one project only in the 2015-18 Enhance-it round, for the Minto Bridge and Path.  Other jurisdictions have taken to heart the admonition to apply early and often.  For the Enhance-it round, here's a crazy (or wonderful!) slate of 16 projects totalling $39 million by the City of Portland.)