Transportation, Land Use, and Community Design – STRATEGY 2

Prioritize resources and provide incentives to increase active transportation and other physical activity through community design, infrastructure projects, systems, policies, and initiatives.

TACTICS

• Support establishment of Federal and State “Offices of Active Transportation” to set standards and goals, dispense funding, monitor results, and administer programs for innovation and research in active transportation designs and policies.
• Develop a national technical assistance resource center for active community design.
• Support and increase incentives for community projects to create safe and accessible active transportation networks, including not just roadways with pedestrian, bicycle, and transit accommodation, but also networks of greenways, trails, and multi-use pathways.
• Support and increase incentives for the adoption of policies that support “complete streets” standards in the planning and development of transportation networks.
• Support and increase incentives for the adoption and expansion of “safe routes” initiatives such as “Safe Routes to School,” “Bike-to-Work,” and other active transportation programs.
• Increase incentives for locating public facilities (e.g., schools, parks, post offices, etc.) within convenient walking distance of major residential areas.
• Support the awarding of transportation funding based on the anticipated positive impact on active transportation levels and related benefits, such as safety improvements, congestion reduction, air quality enhancement, and overall health benefits.
• Create competitive grants or incentives to implement health impact assessments in planning processes as stand alone requirements or woven into existing permitting steps (such as transportation and environmental review).
• Create priority funding to revitalize economies in small and rural communities that integrate land-use, transportation, community design and economic development planning in projects that support increased physical activity and improved health outcomes.
• Institute a recognition and awards process that would create incentives for planning and projects that accommodate desired “standards of practice” that seek to create or enhance activity-friendly environments and systems.

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