DaytonDailyNews.com

As President-elect Barack Obama travels to the Cleveland area today, Jan. 16, to unveil his economic stimulus package, many are hoping that the greenest of the transportation projects don't get buried under freeway concrete.

David Goldberg, spokesman for Transportation For America, said his organization wants to see a "dramatic rethinking" of transportation policy, both in the stimulus package and the federal transportation bill that will need to be reauthorized this year.

"We've been living with this sort of Eisenhower highway era, 1950s transportation program," Goldberg said. "And there are all kinds of reasons to think we've hit a dramatic turning point, from the worries over oil dependence and volatile gas prices to recognition of the climate change issue."

The recent collapse of the housing market, particularly in the exurbs, is showing the problems with "building places that maximize our driving," he said. Driving and fuel consumption have also dropped over the last several months.

"So all this points to the need to rethink what we've been doing," he said. "The stimulus ought to be starting us on that path instead of a last gasp of a dying system."

Goldberg, who was working to digest the details of the proposal late Thursday afternoon, said one possible bright spot was language requiring part of the highway money to go to "enhancements" such as bike and pedestrian facilities, and to metropolitan planning organizations such as the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission.

While the vast majority of the highway funds would go directly to the states, Goldberg said, a preliminary analysis indicates that $1.35 billion would go to safety projects nationwide, another $1.35 billion to enhancements and $6.75 billion to metropolitan planning organizations. If it happens that way, it would be good news for bike and pedestrian advocates.

Caron Whitaker, campaign director for a coalition of eight major national pedestrian and bicycling groups called America Bikes, said her group is "very pleased" to see money going to enhancements and the local organizations.

"When we went into this battle," Whitaker said, "the original language we were hearing about included none."

Members of America Bikes have identified more than $2.5 billion in bike and pedestrian projects that are ready to build — a major requirement for stimulus package money. Their incomplete list includes $3 million for the Dayton region's Great Miami River Recreation Trail.

"What's great about these projects is that most of them are small," Whitaker said, "so they are things that could be on the ground and getting done before some of the major road projects could even get started."

In addition, she said, they employ local small businesses. And they give people a way to save money while improving their health and reducing carbon emissions.

It's the proverbial win-win-win-win scenario. And, if you ask me, we could use a few wins.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2393 or kmccall@DaytonDaily

News.com.