This is what bicycle advocates fear: When Washington State essentially sends back $47.3 million in federal funds to Washington, DC on Friday, most of the money will come from programs that fund bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, while officials hold on to federal money for highway projects. That's what happened last year. And this year—with only three days to go—state officials aren't saying which federally funded programs they intend to sacrifice.

The issue stems from rescissions, a budget-balancing mechanism that requires states to return some unspent federal money that hasn't been allocated to specific projects. This year, the Federal Highway Administration has asked the 50 states to return $2.5 billion. But while the federal government declares how much money it wants back from each state, our state officials get to decide which programs they'll cut.

This is what they did in 2010:

The federal government needed to recoup $37 million from Washington. Of that, state officials siphoned $29 million (78 percent) of the rescission from enhancements to the Surface Transportation Program (STP) and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement program (CMAQ). Along with a recreational trails program, those are the three leading state-run conduits for federal funding to pay for bicycle improvements. But unallocated money for interstate maintenance, national highways, and other high-priced programs each were tapped for less than two percent of the rescission.

That’s got the Cascade Bicycle Club—which has this graphic on last year's cuts—in a full-throated cry to its members today to tell state authorities to take money proportionately from all its programs, including national highway construction and maintenance. The group warns Washington could "be no different this time around."

Cascade Bicycle Club director of policy, planning, and government affairs John Mauro says state officials simply don’t see the bicycle and pedestrian as a priority, when compared to building new highways, even though 37 percent of the population doesn’t drive. He notes that the programs cut in the past rescissions are the same that have previously been allocated to complete the Burke-Gillman Trail and the city’s Bicycle Master Plan.

Mauro warns that maintaining this disproportionate status quo “would be a big hit for the entire bike and ped progress of the state.”

What will the state do this year?

Steve Pierce, communications director of the Washington State Department of Transportation, says already 400 emails from the bicycle club’s members have arrived in Olympia. But Ann Briggs, a spokeswoman in his office, says, “We really don’t know” how much money will come from which programs. She says officials are going to meet tomorrow.

You can read Cascade Bicycle Club’s post on the subject—along with a link to contact state officals—here.