Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) has been very active of late, defending a number of legislative efforts to reduce or eliminate the federal Transportation Enhancements (TE) program, the largest dedicated source of funding for trails, biking and walking infrastructure.

One of these efforts, which RTC and our partners were successful in preventing, sought to prohibit investment in, among other things, the rehabilitation of historical transportation buildings. U.S. Senator John McCain's (Ariz.) proposed amendment to House appropriations bill 2112 sought to prohibit any spending of federal money on transportation projects considered by him to be a "low priority." 

Among the categories Sen. McCain and other TE opponents have mislabeled as frivolous is the restoration of historic transportation buildings. Critics inaccurately say such spending on "museums" has nothing to do with transportation, but a proper examination of these projects reveals these funds have reconnected cities all across America to passenger and freight rail service, and reenergized once contracting community centers.

In convincing senators that McCain's amendment would have wide-reaching negative impacts, RTC staff pointed out a list of more than 100 projects in 36 states where TE funds have been used to rebuild dilapidated and abandoned railway stations, in both large cities and small townships. The stories of these restoration projects capture the transformative--and by no means frivolous--potential of TE investment. 

Built in 1912, Union Station in Tampa, Fla., was closed to the public in 1984, as federal investment in highways and air travel reduced support for rail facilities during the preceding decades. Boarded up and uninhabited, water leaked from the roof and plaster fell from the ceiling inside this once iconic building. Nearby businesses had suffered or moved away, with the loss of Amtrak service decimating what was once a busy center of community.

Thanks to a $2.5 million TE grant, the heritage-listed Union Station was restored in 1998, not only renovating an important part of Florida's architectural history but, significantly, reconnecting Amtrak service and then adding bus, taxi and trolley service. The station now serves more than 100,000 Amtrak passengers each year, and the TE-funded restoration has spurred redevelopment in surrounding areas--and contributed richly to the transportation landscape of the region. 

In Williamsburg, Va., a TE grant of $550,000 spurred matching investment of more than $760,000 to renovate the railway station once owned by Colonial Williamsburg, transforming it into a dynamic, bustling hub of transportation and tourism.

The Williamsburg Transportation Center is the only full-service transportation center in the state of Virginia, servicing Amtrak, Greyhound and Trailways Bus Lines, Williamsburg Area Transport, Colonial Rent-a-Car, Yellow Cab of Williamsburg, Colonial Cabs of Williamsburg and Williamsburg Taxi Service.

In the city of Wharton, Texas, a TE grant of just over $1 million has transformed an old depot-which had been closed to passenger service since 1948-into a transit authority administrative center. The success of the project has sparked a local effort to re-activate the passenger and freight line, saving railroad operators a several hundred-mile detour on journeys to Houston and Galveston.

"For only $125 million over 20 years, literally hundreds of working rail stations have been rehabilitated and kept operational," wrote RTC President Keith Laughlin in a letter to senators. "Communities nationwide have relied on less than 10 percent of TE funds to recycle valuable yet unused transportation infrastructure to serve functional public transportation needs, thereby boosting local economic development and mobility."

Want to help RTC and our partners across the country maintain funding for walking, biking and active transportation? It's easy to get involved! Just visit our Action Alert page to find out how you can support a sustainable transportation future in your community.

Photos of Tampa Union Station before and after its TE-funded restoration, courtesy of Friends of Tampa Union Station.