California Could Cut $600 Million From Active Transportation

After California Governor Gavin Newsom proposed cutting $600 million from the state’s Active Transportation Program, road safety advocates are urging the governor to replace the funding from the State Highway Account, according to an article by Alex Nieves in Politico.

This, lawmakers like state Senator Catherine Blakespear argue, would underscore the state’s commitment to building more multimodal transportation infrastructure rather than support the car-centric status quo. “It’s a rerun of last year’s debate, when Newsom proposed cutting active transportation by $300 million — after setting aside $1 billion for it in his 2022 budget — but ultimately tapped the highway account to fully fund it. His Finance Department is so far holding firm with lawmakers, arguing that two years of highway maintenance cuts will start to show.”

Proponents of shifting the funds say the $200 million per year is a negligible portion of the state’s $5.2 billion highway fund.