Dear Editor:
On behalf of Herkimer County HealthNet, Inc., I would like to stress the importance of the current transportation appropriations bill for bicycle and pedestrian transportation enhancements.
On November 1, the Senate will finalize the transportation appropriations bill, which sets funding levels for the fiscal year 2012.
There is a current proposal to amend this bill that would shift all current Transportation Enhancements funding to bridge repair.
This amendment, if approved, will be detrimental to the health and safety of those who live, work, play, and learn in our communities.
The Transportation Enhancements program represents less than two percent of federal transportation funds for projects that help alleviate traffic congestion, improve safety, get people active, and create more jobs per dollar than highway-only projects.
Last year, the states gave more than $530 million of bridge repair money back to the federal government.
States are leaving bridge repair funds on the table, unspent, year after year; these funds should be spent first.
Herkimer County HealthNet, Inc., along with other agencies in NY State, administers the Creating Healthy Places Grant to Live, Work, & Play grant, funded by the NY State Department of Health to prevent obesity and Type 2 diabetes by increasing the availability of places to be physically active and increasing healthy eating.
One of the many projects that HealthNet is working on in this effort is improving land use policies, roadway design standards, zoning regulations, and other governmental policies and practices that lead to environmental changes that promote and facilitate physical activity in Herkimer County communities.
Adam Hutchinson, Executive Director Herkimer Cnty. HealthNet, Inc.
