President Bush's Proposed FY 2007 DOT Budget

The proposed budget for FY 2007 by President Bush provides highest priority to transportation safety. The budget prioritizes improving Aviation Safety, Highway Safety and transportation mobility. To meet these priorities the 2007 budget:

• Supports an interagency effort to develop the Next Generation Air Transportation System to meet growing demand for airspace capacity;
• Funds intercity passenger rail at a level that will encourage Amtrak to undertake meaningful reforms and control spending;
• Increases funding for critical highway safety programs in support of changes made by the recently-enacted surface transportation reauthorization law; and
• Proposes a $100 million pilot program to demonstrate the benefits of innovative methods of financing highway construction and managing congestion.

The 2007 transportation budget is for $65.6 billion with around $50 billion for transit, highways and safety programs. The budget provides $13.7 billion for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and $8.9 billion for the Federal Transit Administration. The funding also includes $900 million for Amtrak, a reduction of 400 million from the $1.3 billion funding in 2006.

While the administration adheres to the SAFETEA-LU programs in most respects, the transit funding was set at $8.87 billion in FY 2007, 100 million dollars below the authorized and guaranteed level of $8.97 billion in the SAFETEA-LU budget. Under the President’s budget, aviation capital programs would receive $5.25 billion, which is $1.6 billion or 23 percent less than the level guaranteed by the Vision 100 - Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act.

Sources:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2007/budget.html

http://www.apta.com/media/releases/060206dot_response.cfm

http://www.dot.gov/affairs/mineteasp020606.htm

Energy Policy Act of 2005 - Traffic Signal and Pedestrian Modules

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-58) facilitates the deployment of light emitting diode (LED) traffic signal and pedestrian modules for the purpose of energy conservation. Summary points of the legislation include:

• The legislative provisions went into effect on January 1, 2006, and applies specifically to manufacturers;
• The legislation requires that signal modules manufactured or imported after January 1, 2006, must meet or exceed the energy efficiency requirements specified in the legislation;
• The legislation adopts the energy efficiency criteria in the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program for traffic signal and pedestrian modules, (http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=bulk_purchasing.bus_purchasing) which in turn reference the ITE “Interim LED Purchase Specification, Vehicle Traffic Control Signal Heads, Part 2: Light Emitting Diode (LED) Vehicle Traffic Signal Modules” (VTCSH Part 2);
• The legislation does not impact existing stock of product on hand by either suppliers or agencies if that stock was manufactured or imported prior to January 1, 2006; and
• Replacement parts are not covered by the legislation

The implications for public agencies are:

• The legislation does not require agencies to retrofit their traffic signals;
• Many agencies are actively converting to LED signal modules, primarily to reduce energy costs (based on survey information from AASHTO and ITE);
• The upfront capital cost of funding the conversion appears to be the most significant hurdle;
• There do not appear to be any significant technical issues;
• Replacement parts for incandescent traffic signal modules should be available initially but may diminish over time;
• The Department of Energy issued a final rule in the Federal Register on October 18, 2005, adopting the legislated standards; and
• The Department of Energy expects to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in Spring 2006 covering test procedures and other administrative matters.

To obtain further information on the legislation:

• FHWA is sponsoring a NTOC web cast on February 23, 2006 on the implications of the 2005 Energy Policy Act on Owners and Operators of Traffic and Pedestrian Signals (http://www.ntoctalks.com/web_casts.php).
• ITE, AASHTO and APWA will provide information to its members as it becomes available, particularly regarding the upcoming NPRM
• ITE will sponsor a discussion forum on the legislative requirements and implications as part of the 2006 Technical Conference and Annual Meeting. For meeting information, refer to the ITE web site at http://www.ite.org/.

Sources:

• http://energycommerce.house.gov/108/energy_pdfs_2.htm
• http://www.floridasectionite.org/Announcements/LED_signals_only.pdf

Safety in SAFETEA-LU

SAFETEA-LU provides special emphasis on Safety by provisioning $6.3 billion for highway safety programs over the five year period of this legislation. The bill establishes a Highway Safely Improvement Program (HSIP), which includes $880 million for the railway-highway grade crossing program and $90 million for construction and operational improvements on high-risk rural roads. The remainder of the money is distributed by formula. Highway safety investment through SAFETEA-LU is provided by funding the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). The safety funding by fiscal year is as follows:

Guaranteed Funding for Highway Safety (in millions of dollars)

	FY 2004	FY 2005	FY 2006	FY 2007	FY 2008	FY 2009	Total
FMCA	$364	$443	$495	$517	$528	$541	$2,888
NHTSA	$298	$299	$694	$700	$711	$729	$3,430
Total	$662	$742	$1,189	$1,217	$1,239	$1,270	$6,318

NHTSA safety program allocates funding for the Highway Safety Research and Outreach Program. Required studies from this program will focus on crash data, distracted drivers, pedestrian safety and alcohol-impaired driving. The bill creates a new five-year, $34.5-billion State Traffic Safety Information System Improvements Incentives Grant program to provide additional funding to states that initiate programs that improve safety data collection and sharing.

To obtain “core” safety funds a State must have in effect an HSIP under which the State:

• develops and implements a Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) that identifies and analyzes highway safety problems and opportunities
• produces a program of projects or strategies to reduce identified safety problems
• evaluates the plan regularly
• submits an annual report to the Secretary

States that do not develop a strategic plan by October 2007 will have their HSIP apportionment frozen at the FY07 funding level. SHSP will help identify key safety needs of the State and guide investment decisions to achieve significant reductions in fatalities and injuries on all public roads.

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is leading the effort to develop the statewide Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) to identify safety projects and strategies that address the key safety needs of the State of California. Through SHSP, California plans on providing a comprehensive framework for data-driven decision-making, utilizing the four E’s – engineering, education, enforcement, and emergency medical services. The California SHSP will establish statewide goals, objectives, and key emphasis areas in consultation with federal, state, local, and private sector safety stakeholders. There are two SHSP summits planned for March 7, 2006 in Sacramento, California; and March 9, 2006 in Ontario, California. Further information on the California SHSP program is available at http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/traffops/survey/SHSP.

Sources:

• http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/safetealu/
• http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3734/is_200510/ai_n15715910
• http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/traffops/survey/SHSP/
• American Road & Transportation Builders Association, “SAFETEA-LU - An Analysis”, September 2005.