If they had greater control over federal dollars, U.S. mayors would have far different transportation priorities than the states that now hold the power of the purse.

In a survey of 176 mayors, 60 percent said lack of funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects was a key urban problem, compared to 20 percent citing the need for more highway building.

The shortfall of investment in walking and biking translates into lost economic opportunity as well as unwanted congestion, said Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, who released the survey report sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Mayors yesterday.

“These aren’t gimmicks anymore,” he said. “They’re part of having a high quality of life in the cities where we live.”

The surveyed mayors, including Baltimore’s Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, said maintaining existing roads and bridges was another major priority, followed by improving public transit to meet the escalating demand for alternatives to driving.

The mayors said the new surface transportation bill under consideration by Congress (replacing the expired SAFETEA-LU legislation that has been temporarily extended seven times) should allot more federal funds directly to cities to spur economic recovery and growth.

The current practice is to distribute money raised by the 18.4-cent-per-gallon federal gas tax through the states.

Various studies have shown that state legislatures and agencies dole out more money per capita to rural areas and finance new or expanded highways at the expense of transit, roadway maintenance and pedestrian projects.

To underline the importance of investing in metropolitan transportation, the report cited a survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the research arm of The Economist magazine, of urban professionals living and working in cities around the world.

Asked what should be the main priority of their mayor to make their city more competitive, 61 percent put improved transportation at the top of their list – far ahead of education, cultural and sporting events, better policing and other issues.