2021 Adopted Resolutions

Supporting Federal Pilot Program for Community Engagement in Transportation Planning

Resolution Number: 89

WHEREAS, most current policy and procedures regarding transportation planning were passed into law in the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991; and

WHEREAS, decisions regarding infrastructure investment around the United States have historically been made without the engagement or support of the communities and neighborhoods in which the infrastructure would be built, resulting in displacement and significant harm to local communities; and

WHEREAS, these projects have led to a devastating and enduring impact in many communities, predominantly low-income communities and communities of color, continued segregation and lasting disparities in resources and wealth; and

WHEREAS, modern technology provides new opportunities for stronger engagement with communities and residents that might be impacted by transportation investments; and

WHEREAS, use of digital and remote engagement strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted new ways to increase community engagement, but also demonstrated the risk that these technologies might leave behind people who lack critical resources such as access to broadband; and

WHEREAS, local transportation planning agencies around the country, including municipal transportation departments and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO's) are engaging in innovative strategies to promote community engagement in the transportation planning process; and

WHEREAS, the Community-Driven Decisionmaking Pilot Program Act of 2021 (S. 1717) would provide resources to up to 10 selected communities to support partnerships between local transportation planning agencies and community-based organizations to ensure a seat for impacted communities in the transportation planning process; and

WHEREAS, this pilot program would equip community organization partners with the capacity to better understand and more thoroughly engage with the transportation planning process; and

WHEREAS, pilot program participants would receive support to pursue new models for community engagement and establish best practices that could be adopted in other communities across the country,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of Mayors supports the establishment of a federal pilot program through the United States Department of Transportation that would fund partnerships between local transportation planning agencies and community-based organizations, such as that proposed by S.1717, the Community-Driven Decisionmaking Pilot Program Act of 2021.