During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama promised to "ensure that more Metropolitan Planning Organizations create policies to incentivize greater bicycle and pedestrian usage of roads and sidewalks."

The administration has taken several steps to advance the the cause of cyclists and pedestrians and, in some cases, has done so in concert with Metropolitan Planning Organizations.

Bicycle and pedestrian projects across the country received more than $141 million in funding through the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (or TIGER) grant program. TIGER grants, which were created by the economic stimulus bill, are designed to boost "multimodal" projects -- those that involve more than one type of transportation -- with a preference for those located in economically distressed areas.

TIGER grants with bicycle and pedestrian components were awarded to a range of projects, including initiatives in Benton and Washington counties, Ark.; greater Oakland, Calif.; Bridgeport, Conn.; New Haven, Conn.; Peach County, Ga.; Hailey, Idaho; Peoria, Ill.; Indianapolis, Ind.; Revere, Mass; Staples, Minn.; Philadelphia, Pa./Camden, N.J.; and Burlington, Vt.

In addition, other highway and intermodal projects that received funding incorporated bicycle and pedestrian paths and accommodations into their designs, said Transportation Department spokeswoman Olivia Alair. 

As for working with Metropolitan Planning Organizations, several such organizations are playing major roles in these projects, Alair said, including projects in Indianapolis, Philadelphia-Camden, Arkansas and, California.

Though MPOs often partner with or defer to states for the actual administration of grants, MPOs have been "heavily involved during the planning and application process" for TIGER grants, Alair said.

Federal funds today are already going toward bicycle and pedestrian projects, and some of those projects were developed in cooperation with Metropolitan Planning Organizations. We rate this a Promise Kept.