Thanks to budget wrangling on Capitol Hill, the threat of federal recissions have reared their ugly head once again. Recissions are when the federal government takes back unspent transportation funds. This time around, it looks like about $2.5 billion is set to go from state coffers back to Washington D.C.
The fear is that when state DOTs decide which funds to send back, they’ll disproportionately grab funds already set aside for biking and walking projects. This threat has caused national biking and walking advocacy groups to send out calls-to-action with messages like, “Your state Department of Transportation is getting ready to take away millions of dollars in pedestrian and bicycle funding” and “Your DOT will likely try to empty out the funds that pay for your sidewalks, bike lanes, trails, and education programs.”
Is Oregon susceptible to such shenanigans? Depends on who you ask.
