Bad bill alert! Don’t shift local bicycling, walking and Safe Routes to School funding to recreational uses

All across the country, the Transportation Alternatives Program is the leading source of federal formula funding for walking, bicycling, and Safe Routes to School projects that help us achieve that vision. It funds sidewalks, bike lanes, and Safe Routes to School programs. It invests in projects that improve safety, create walkable Main Streets, and make it easier for kids to walk and bike to school. This program is under threat by a bill introduced late last month: the Recreational Trails Full Funding Act of 2025. 

As written, this bill calls for growing the Recreational Trails Program by pulling funding from the transportation “side” of the Transportation Alternatives Program (see final paragraph). This bill would shift much needed funding for walking, bicycling, and Safe Routes to School transportation projects to recreational projects, including for off-road motorized uses like snowmobiles and ATVs. Using FY24 funding levels, in some states, over 81 percent of TAP funds would be shifted to recreational projects!

To be clear, the Safe Routes Partnership likes the Recreational Trails Program. In fact, we support its growth, and in prior years, we have worked with Members of Congress to write bills that grow the Recreational Trails Program without harming the portion of Transportation Alternatives available to local communities for transportation projects. But when a bill is introduced that threatens to plunder the transportation side of Transportation Alternatives for recreational projects, we cannot support it and must defend the funding for transportation safety projects.

Let’s talk about why this bill would be harmful for states all across the country.

States and communities like TAP – and demand already exceeds available funding

• TAP is massively popular in every state. Communities want this funding for walking, bicycling, and Safe Routes to School projects.
• In the first two years of IIJA, communities across the country requested over $6.6 billion in projects that support bicycle and pedestrian facilities and Safe Routes to School. In that same period of time, states were apportioned $2.6 billion for bicycle and pedestrian facilities and Safe Routes to School over those two years. As is, demand exceeds available funds by 2.5 times.
   

This bill would shift money from local safety and mobility projects to recreational projects

• The RTP Bill would move an average of 30% of states’ TAP apportionments to recreational projects. 
• This bill would be particularly harmful to states with lower populations, shifting more than half of TAP funds away from transportation projects.
   

This bill would impede planning and building connected transportation networks

• In nearly every state, the Recreational Trails Program is administered not by the state department of transportation but by the state department of natural resources. This breaks the connection to local, MPO and state transportation plans, making it harder to build connected transportation networks.
   

This bill would move funding that can keep people bicycling and walking safe into off-road, motorized recreational projects

• Importantly, TAP is a program that invests in safety solutions for non-motorized road users. And we are at crisis levels for safety for nonmotorized road users. In 2022, the year we have the most recent data for, more than 20 percent of people killed on our roadways were non-motorists.
• As of 2025, 77 percent of the nation’s population will be covered by a Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Comprehensive Safety Plan.  Requiring an average of 30% of TAP to go to recreational trails will reduce the ability of local governments to implement the safety priorities in those plans.
   

The Safe Routes Partnership has worked with Members of Congress and other national organizations on this issue in the past, and we are confident there is a workable solution to invest in recreation projects while maintaining whole TAP funds for local transportation projects. Until we find that solution, we oppose this bill, and will continue to advocate for funding to create safe, connected, convenient walkable and bikeable communities.