By Charles Pekow — State and local initiatives added $1 billion for bicycle infrastructure funding last year, according to data compiled by People for Bikes (PFB). Voters showed they don’t have to wait for legislative action – they can approve resolutions directly.
PFB counted 48 state and local initiatives that might help bicycling voted on last year across the country, and 42 of them passed, often as part of general park, conservation or transportation initiatives. Not all specified funding for bike projects, though. Denver, for instance, passed a Climate Sales Tax to fund an Office of Climate Action. Overall, few of the initiatives passed in Mountain West states.
And will 2020 be better? “States and municipalities across the country are advancing ballot measures that, if passed, would make investments in expanded bicycle infrastructure and improved quality and accessibility of places to ride,” PFB says. See https://action.peopleforbikes.org/2021ballottracker/.
But so far this year, PFB says it knows only of four initiatives to be decided at the polls this year, including a statewide Colorado Transportation Bond on the ballot Nov. 2. If it passes, the Colorado Department of Transportation could issue $1.337 billion in bonds, with 15 percent of the money earmarked for a Multimodal Transportation Options Fund, which could fund bike projects {https://ballotpedia.org/Colorado_Transportation_Bond_Issue_(2021)}.
