Did You Know?
Transportation Enhancement grants efficiently create jobs
A study recently released by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation officials, and the Transportation Research Board, cites Transportation Enhancement (TE) initiatives as the top job-producer out of all American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) projects.
Transportation Enhancements are federally funded grants that support community-based projects such as bike paths, sidewalks, trails and historic preservation sites. These activities generate far more full-time employment opportunities in planning and construction fields than other ARRA categories, such as road resurfacing or pavement-widening.
Despite these results, TE projects make up only 4 percent of the ARRA spending budget.
Officials in Congress and the Senate are currently proposing to eliminate the TE program completely. Contact your legislators to let them know the value of TE projects and other sources of funding that make our streets and sidewalks safer and more inviting for active transportation users.
Transportation Enhancements not only provide much needed jobs, but the projects also improve communities and promote active lifestyles by increasing options for non-motorized vehicle transportation.
For more information regarding the role TE grants play in job-creation, check out this blog post from the Rails to Trails Conservancy.
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