Transportation reauthorization legislation is one of the issues of high importance for the American Council of the Blind (ACB) this year. Individuals with visual impairments as a rule are more reliant on walking and public transportation than the general public. There are 7 to 10 million blind and visually impaired persons in the United States. By age 65, one in nine individuals will be legally blind and by age 80, that ratio increases to one in four. With the aging of the baby-boomer generation, the population of legally blind Americans is expected to increase by fifty percent by the year 2015.
It is critical that transportation legislation ensures that people with disabilities, in particular, those with visual impairments have safe, affordable and accessible transportation to fully participate in community life. Since 1993, an average of 5,000 pedestrians a year have died on our nation’s streets and another 70,000 more injured. Although only 8.6 percent of all trips are made on foot, 11.4 percent of all traffic deaths are pedestrians. These statistics make walking the most dangerous mode of travel per mile.
Unfortunately, few federal transportation dollars are being invested in the maintenance and improvement of pedestrian safety and accessible public rights-of-way. At the same time, transit agencies across the country are facing revenue shortfalls because state and local governments cannot afford adequate funding to maintain, let alone improve, public transit. In fact, less than one percent (0.9 percent) of federal transportation construction, operations, and maintenance funds are spent to ensure a safe and accessible walking environment.
The latest extension of the current transportation bill (TEA-21) expires on May 31 so Congress is moving quickly to pass legislation for a new transportation bill. The House introduced its bill, H.R. 3, on February 9 and the Senate also will soon submit a bill. The following issues must be addressed in any new transportation legislation:
NEW FREEDOM INITIATIVE: The New Freedom Initiative (NFI) is a program intended to remove barriers and provide services to people with disabilities beyond that required by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Examples include installation of accessible pedestrian signals and detectable warnings, accessible taxi, van-pooling and ridesharing programs, voucher and volunteer driver programs and mobility management programs. It encourages integrated rather than segregated services. The NFI has a distinctly different purpose than Section 5310. Although NFI projects must be coordinated with 5310 services, it is not intended exclusively for 5310-type segregated transportation services.
H.R. 3 maintains the NFI as a program separate and apart from Section 5310. ACB supports the NFI as a separate and distinct program and encourages the Senate to adopt language maintaining that separation. In addition, ACB supports the President’s request for $158.4 million in funding for this critical new initiative.
SECTION 5310: Funds authorized under Section 5310 of TEA-21 provide critical transportation services for people with disabilities and senior citizens. The current funding level of $91 million is grossly insufficient to meet current demand and must be greatly increased. To increase flexibility and innovation at the local level, funding from any source, including federal funds, should be eligible to be used as matching funds by the local entity.
Moreover, much § 5310 money is used simply to replace aging vehicles. To best meet local needs, local entities must also have access to operating assistance. ACB asks that Section 5310 funding be consistent with other state operated transportation, i.e., JARC and New Freedom Initiative, and changed to make projects eligible for 80/20 share for capital expenses and a 50/50 share for operating expenses.
PLANNING: ACB supports the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in all aspects of transportation plans and projects. All too often, access for people with disabilities is not considered during the planning and design of transportation projects. Expressly including people with disabilities in the planning process will go a long way toward addressing this critical issue.
MOBILITY MANAGEMENT: Mobility management may provide planning services for improving coordination among public and other transportation providers manage public transportation demand, and focus on customer need. Transit dependent populations, including people with disabilities, often find that transportation is lacking and therefore opportunities for employment, education, and recreation are unnecessarily limited. Mobility management programs are intended to better identify customer needs and plan transportation services to effectively meet those needs. ACB asks that money for mobility management activities be included in reauthorization.
FAIR SHARE FOR SAFETY: Another priority for ACB is improving accessibility to sidewalks, crosswalks and other public rights of way. An accessible public route has the added benefit of being a safe public route. Accessible pedestrian signals at intersections provide information about safe crossing, while detectible warnings at street crossings and platform edges help keep people with vision impairments safe. Also, adequate crossing time allows all pedestrians to cross safely.
TEA-21 reauthorization should provide $250 million from the Surface Transportation Program Safety Set-aside program to support “Safe Access to Transit”. We also support the “Fair Share for Safety”, an allocation from the Highway Safety Improvement program for bicycle and pedestrian safety based on state safety records on pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities.
RIAS MODEL ACCESSIBILITY PROJECT: ACB also endorses amending the proposed transportation bill to include the RIAS Model Accessibility Project. This project is the Remote Infrared Audible Signage Model Accessibility Project. It would establish the nation's first inter-modal transportation system linked by accessible signage, thereby creating the nation’s first transportation system that would be truly accessible to and independently usable by individuals with vision impairments. See the supporting documents for further information about this proposal.
It is critical that transportation legislation ensures that people with disabilities have safe, affordable and accessible transportation and public rights-of-way to fully participate in community life.