Surface Transportation Policy Project

Background

Founded in 1990, the STPP's formation coincided with a growing national interest in how transportation shaped and affected communities. After nearly 40 years of uninterrupted growth in the U.S. [Page 1295]interstate highway system and commercial aviation industry, both of these modes of transportation were nearing the saturation point. As a result, conversations regarding transportation planning and policy took on a new and significant tenor.

Rather than focusing upon how to plan, implement, or fund a given mode of transportation—such as a highway, an air terminal, or a light rail system—planners examined how different forms of transportation could be coordinated to provide communities with the best combination of services possible. The STPP was formed to ensure that these discussions considered how transportation affected the economy, the environment, public health, and social justice. Because the timing was right for such a discussion, although the STPP was a new organization, it quickly became a major player in debates regarding intermodal transportation policy and planning.

STPP played a role in the U.S. Congress' passing the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) in 1991. As the first transportation legislation to follow the completion of the interstate highway system, ISTEA (pronounced “ice tea”) initiated collaborative planning requirements that necessitated the input of municipal, local, state, and federal authorities, as well as that of the general public. ISTEA, which expired in 1997, focused upon the creation of high-priority corridors that became part of the national highway system.

Unlike its predecessors, ISTEA provided funding for automobile, rail, and other forms of transportation. For example, ISTEA provided planning support and funding for Minnesota's Cedar Lake Trail, the first federally funded nonmotorized trail, sometimes referred to as the first “bicycle freeway.” ISTEA also funded 80 high-priority corridors that added to the national highway system, augmenting existing routes in areas of high need. ISTEA also envisioned five high-speed rail corridors, one in the Midwest, one in the southeast, one in Florida, one in California, and one in the Pacific Northwest. Although a great deal of planning and study went into these high-speed rail corridors, funding did not follow, and other than some money allocated for improving grade crossings, nothing came of these plans until $8 billion was allocated for this in 2009 as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Despite this, ISTEA proved widely influential and affected subsequent legislation, such as the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century of 1998 (MAP-21) and the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, (SAFETEA-LU) in 2005.

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