Oregon’s bike-obsessed congressman is at it again. Earl Blumenauer, a Democrat, is petitioning his colleagues to ask the Obama administration to handicap state and local transportation planning decisions to encourage… you guessed it, bicycle use.
He doesn’t say it outright, but does he need to? The man wears a bicycle pin on the lapel of his suit on the floor of the House of Representatives! In a letter to his House colleagues, Blumenauer writes:
While strong fuel efficiency standards for trucks and cars are mitigating the effects of increased travel, state and local transportation planning often gives little or no consideration to the outcome of projects on emissions. Fortunately, MAP-21 rulemaking provides a critical opportunity to correct this by requiring state DOTs and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) to evaluate GHG emissions in transportation planning and project selection. Please join me in the below letter to Secretary Foxx, urging the establishment of a GHG emission performance measure during ongoing MAP-21 rulemaking.
Blumenauer wants the U.S. Department of Transportation to force states and localities to set green house gas emissions standards for their transportation projects, requiring them to factor car and truck emissions into their decision making.
In the letter Blumenauer proposes sending Secretary Foxx, he writes:
The transportation sector is one of the largest and fastest growing sources of US GHG emissions, responsible for nearly one third of our country’s total emissions. On road vehicles account for over 80% of transportation emissions, and we can only expect this share to increase—US drivers traveled a record 3 trillion miles in 2015, an increase of 2.5% to 5% each month over 2014. As we plan for a transportation system that can meet the demands of 70 million more people and nearly 50% more freight volume by 2045, a GHG performance standard for state and local transportation projects will help ensure the sustainable growth of our transportation network, avoiding costly projects that waste taxpayer money and time but don’t move commuters any faster. The proposed rule should require states and regions to set standards for GHG emissions, which would apply to a wide range of projects and guide sustainable transportation planning. Implementing a uniform GHG performance standard nationwide will ensure that state DOTs and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) not only consider the environmental repercussions of long term transportation plans and projects, but act accordingly. Using existing emissions inventories, state DOTs and MPOs will be responsible for tracking on-road vehicle emissions and setting targets for improvement. Such an approach would encourage states to choose more environmentally-friendly policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. (emphasis added)
And there you have it. Short of shutting down roads once emissions goals are met, what’s a state or locality to do? Build bike lanes you say?
Of course, forcing state and regional entities to factor green house gas emissions standards into their transportation plans causes a lot more (intentional) havoc.
