U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
U.S. Rep. Don Young, Chairman

Contact:  Steve Hansen (Director of Communications)  (202) 225-7749
 Email: Steve.Hansen@mail.house.gov
     Justin Harclerode (Deputy Director of Communications)  (202) 226-8767
  Email: Justin.Harclerod@mail.house.gov
To:  National Desk/Transportation Reporter
July 23, 2002

“Quality Of Life” Community Transportation Programs To Be Focus Of Congressional Hearing On TEA 21 Reauthorization

        Washington, D.C. - A wide variety of witnesses will testify before a Congressional subcommittee on Thursday on a number of non-traditional transportation programs included within the scope of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA 21).

        The hearing by the U.S. House Highways and Transit Subcommittee, chaired by U.S. Rep. Tom Petri (R-WI), is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. on Thursday, July 25th in 2167 Rayburn House Office Building.  Live audio and video broadcasts of the hearing will be available at the Committee’s website:

www.house.gov/transportation

Thursday’s Tentative Witness List

- Mary Jane O’Gara, Member, Board of Directors, AARP
- Bryna Helfer, Director, Easter Seals Project ACTION
- James C. Fell, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, on behalf of Transportation Research Board/National Research Council
- Richard E. Killingsworth, Director, Active Living by Design National Program Office, The University of North Carolina-School of Public Health
- John Shaffer, Travel Industry Association
- Jacky Grimshaw, Chair, Steering Committee, Surface Transportation Policy Project
- Elissa Margolin, Executive Director, League of American Bicyclists
- Meg Maguire, President, Scenic America
- Keith Laughlin, President, Rails to Trails Conservancy
- Derrick Crandall, President, American Recreation Coalition
- Ed Moreland, Vice President, Government Relations, American Motorcycle Association
- Tom Wyld, Vice President, Government Relations, Motorcycle Riders Foundation

Background Information

        This year, the Subcommittee has held 11 hearings in preparation for reauthorizing TEA 21 next year.  The purpose of this hearing is to explore how transportation systems affect the quality of life in all segments of the community.

        The witnesses represent a gamut of interests, ranging from the very broad to the very specific. The transportation needs of older Americans, people with disabilities, school children, leisure travelers, bicyclists, recreational trail users, and motorcyclists will be explored. There are a number of TEA 21 authorized programs that support these needs, often with considerable overlapping between programs and interest groups.

        While this hearing will address many non-highway and enhancement programs, it is important to remember that public roads carry over 90 percent of all passenger trips, whether these trips are commuter, school transportation, travel and leisure, or everyday errands. Without adequate and safe roads, quality of life is dramatically reduced on every level.

        Some likely topics for Thursday’s hearing include:

Transportation Needs Of Older Americans
        Transportation provides the link between home and community and serves as the bridge to the goods, services, and opportunities for social engagements important to the elderly.  Most older Americans strongly prefer to continue driving for as long as possible.  The hearing will explore ways to help older drivers drive safely longer, through improved road design and by tailoring driver education to their needs.  At some point, many aging drivers do need to transition to alternative transportation, and the strengths and shortfalls of those alternatives will be explored..

Transportation Needs Of Persons With Disabilities
        America is home to more that 54 million people with disabilities. In 1990, Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the civil-rights law that ensures individuals with disabilities access to employment, education, state and local government programs and services, businesses, telecommunications, and public transportation.

        The Easter Seals Project ACTION was authorized in both ISTEA and TEA 21, and receives funding through the Federal Transit Administration. The group’s primary activities are to assess the transportation needs of people with disabilities in local communities, provide outreach and marketing strategies to transportation providers, and research technologies that eliminate barriers to transportation accessibility.

School Transportation Safety
        TEA 21 mandated a Transportation Research Board (TRB) study on the relative risks of school travel, comparing modes of travel. The study, which was released in June 2002, found that the safest mode of school travel, by far, was by school or transit bus. Each year approximately 800 school-aged children are killed in motor vehicle crashes during normal school hours. A disproportionate share of passenger vehicle-related deaths occur when a teenager is driving. Walking or bicycling to school is also more risky than expected on the basis of exposure data - 22 percent of fatalities for children traveling to and from school between 1991 and 2001 occurred when children were bicycling or walking.

Infrastructure Programs
        Many infrastructure programs other than the core highway apportionments to States will be addressed by witnesses at the hearing.

        Trails: Two witnesses will testify on trails programs - both recreational trails that are funded by fuel taxes and are available for both motorized and non-motorized recreational users, and bike and pedestrian trails that are funded through Transportation Enhancements and other funds.

        National Scenic Byways: The National Scenic Byways Program provides for the designation of and improvements to roads that have outstanding scenic, historic, cultural, natural, recreational, and archaeological qualities as All-American Roads or National Scenic Byways.

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