Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU)

SAFETEA-LU is the 2005 federal legislation authorizing transportation spending through September 30, 2009.  The bill essentially continues transportation spending along the same trajectory that it has followed since the Eisenhower administration:  build and maintain highways and other car-oriented infrastructure.  Its predecessor, known as TEA-21, was enacted in 1998 and expired in 2003 [2].

It eventually passed Congress by large majorities (89 to 11 in the Senate; 417 to 9 in the House) and was signed by President George W. Bush on August 10, 2005. The $244.1 billion investment was the largest in the nation's history.  (However, the next bill is expected to be much larger, perhaps double the funding.)  The funding source for most SAFETEA-LU programs is the Highway Trust Fund [1], which draws its revenue from the federal gas tax. 

SAFETEA-LU's was promoted as a bill for safety, namely highway safety, although it also had  provisions for pedestrian safety, including the Safe Routes to School Program that was won by Rep. James Oberstar .

 

Problems with SAFETEA-LU

One of the key problems with the 2005 legislation is its 1950's-era focus on motor vehicle transportation, allocating funds to state DOT's for road expansion and repair [3].  It provided no vision for a multi-modal transportation system involving rail, mass transit, bicycling and pedestrians.  $40 billion was directed to highways, "most of which was used to expand and upgrade the Interstate highway system"  and $10 billion was directed to transit [3].  Interestingly, more than $8 billion of the highway funding was permitted to be used on non-highway projects (through the Surface Transportation Program and the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program) but city governments do not have direct access to federal dollars.   That discretion falls to state DOT's which overwhelmingly favor motor vehicles over other modes. 

 

The next bill will need to remove these roadblocks and streamline funding for transit, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.  it should also consider an alternative to the federal gas tax, which loses revenue when American's purchase less fuel.

ALSO ON THE LIVABLE STREETS NETWORK

• Streetsblog on SAFETEA-LU
  

• Streetsblog:  What’s Wrong With SAFETEA-LU — and Why the Next Bill Must Be Better.  April 27, 2009.
  

FURTHER READING

• US DOT
  
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REFERENCES

Each source is referred to by the same number every time it is cited. Please keep citation style consistent.

[1] SAFETEA-LU - Summary Information.  Federal Highway Administration.  US Department of Transportation.

[2] FHWA Reauthorization of TEA-21.  Federal Highway Administration.  US Department of Transportation.

[3] Freemark, Yonah.  What’s Wrong With SAFETEA-LU — and Why the Next Bill Must Be Better.  Streetsblog, April 27, 2009.

 

PICTURE REFERENCES

[1] Postcard of Harbor Freeway, Downtown Los Angeles.  Photo from I like via Flickr.

KEYWORDS

legislation, federal legislation, government, highways, rail, transit, bicycles, pedestrians, infrastructure