Like many transportation practitioners, I’m clear on my priorities for a successful transportation system. It should be safe, affordable, reliable, equitable, sustainable and easily accessible for all users. This statement should not be controversial or partisan, yet somehow in this current political climate, it is.

The Trump administration made numerous policy choices to defund and dissolve these goals for our nation’s transportation systems. They cancelled pedestrian and bike-lane projects that are considered “hostile” to cars, removed equity priorities from grant programs and department-wide decision-making, told grant recipients that they need to cooperate with immigration to receive federal funding, and misconstrued the importance of transportation system safety by weaponizing “safety” arguments against rail transit providers.

Moving forward, they will continue to implement a series of changes that will solidify their pro-car, anti-environment and anti-equity priorities. And with threats to federal funding, the lifeblood of many states’, cities’ and private companies’ transportation efforts, the transportation landscape is at a pivotal moment. States are responding differently based on their policy options. Some cities are fighting back to protect their funding and push back on federal priorities, while other cities are updating their priorities to align with the administration. Some companies are walking back their diversity, equity and inclusion commitments.

Like many transportation planners across the country, I disagree with our federal government’s decisions and believe capitulating to their desires will do lasting damage to our communities, our environment and our infrastructure.

Transportation practitioners have a duty to create a future transportation system that serves all users without causing harm. So, how can we continue to advance our priorities when there is a direct attack on them?

Convince your organization to act

Though difficult, it is possible for one individual to influence organizational action to support transportation priorities. Taking action requires the courage to stand up and say that these goals are important. If your organization chooses to challenge federal priorities, there may be a window of opportunity to act.

Standing up for what feels right can result in innovative and nuanced solutions that solidify organizational priority setting. For example, Transport for London (TfL) ended its relationship with consulting company Accenture in response to Accenture’s decision to scale back its diversity, equity and inclusion goals to align with the Trump administration’s priorities. While TfL set a model for how organizations can protect their equity priorities, not all American organizations have the same willingness or ability to do the same.

If you live, work or advocate in an area that is complying with the administration’s priorities, you may feel like your vision of a transportation system is no longer compatible with your day-to-day work. In that moment, it is then important to decide how to take individual action to protect your goals.

Be true to yourself

When your priorities and beliefs are challenged from all angles, it is important to be clear on your values. For example, when the administration says something like “bike lanes cause congestion,” I can immediately recognize that I disagree. Because my career goals are based on helping implement what I believe is important for an effective transportation system, it is easy to filter out conflicting guidance. This allows me to pay attention, be alert and respond to what matters to me.

When you are clear on your priorities, it becomes easier to act. For example, when the Trump administration cancelled funding for projects “hostile” to cars, a coalition of 46 advocates from across the country were quick to write a letter to ask Congress to challenge the administration’s decision. Their letter made it clear that removing existing funding that is allocated for capital projects that do not align with the administration’s priorities is unacceptable.

One of the letter signatories is Todd Scott, executive director of the Detroit Greenways Coalition. Having the Detroit Greenways Coalition sign the letter made perfect sense to him: One of the Coalition’s key priorities is safety for non-motorized users, and being clear on the importance of safety made it easy for him to act. He asks, “Why should safety for some people be more important than the safety of others?”

To be true to yourself, take the time to figure out your priorities. Ask yourself questions like: What matters the most to me in a transportation system? What is the most important and equitable way to invest my time to support my priorities? How do I balance what my priorities are against everything else? How would I address the misalignment between what I care about and what my employer may care about?

Surround yourself with community

Once you are clear on what your priorities are, it is time to align yourself with people who fight the same fight. Being in community with people who share your dreams and vision of a transportation system gives a space to strategize how, where, and how you can challenge ideas that you disagree with. It also gives you a space to empathize with people and share your frustrations when you feel like your priorities are no longer important to others.

Finding community could be as simple as joining a nonprofit or advocacy organization that is working to improve your local transportation system, taking time with your coworkers to vent and strategize, or engaging your friends and neighbors to share what your priorities are and why they should matter. As you find community, remember that your skills and contacts as a practitioner can be extremely valuable to under-resourced nonprofits.

Advocacy organizations are working to maintain transportation priorities in communities as they are challenged. Transportation Alternatives is a New York City-based advocacy group organizing for safe and equitable streets. They work with communities across the city and within boroughs to improve the transportation system for all residents. They have an organizer in each borough that supports bottom-up, community-driven advocacy and provides communities with the resources to help launch campaigns like Better Bedford & Beyond. Community is at the core of their advocacy work, Transportation Alternatives tells me, because ultimately, “politics are local.”

Once you are clear on your priorities and have the support of your community around you, it is time to consider if you want to speak up.

Disagree with someone more powerful than you

It is normal to feel fear when you disagree with someone more powerful than you. However, ask yourself: What are the risks of not saying something? The Harvard Business Review argues that once you are clear on the risks and your decision to engage, you should find an appropriate place to talk, seek to find common ground, and stay curious.

In our litigious society, disagreeing with the priorities and actions of someone more powerful than you may sometimes require legal action. For example, when Trump fired Surface Transportation Board Member Robert Primus without explanation in the midst of a railway merger decision, he filed a lawsuit to protect his position.

And indeed, the past several months have shown that lawsuits can be an effective way to retain federal funding that is being clawed back, if cities and states are willing to take on the Trump administration. However, for your average person, legal action against the administration may not be an option.

There are few moments when the Trump administration requests feedback from the general public on transportation priorities. Because of this, disagreements often occur not through a challenge to federal decisions, but rather through a challenge to how to interpret the federal decisions in your workplace or community.

For federal employees caught in the crossfire of the administration’s choices, speaking up in your workplace may not be an option. This reaffirms the importance of organizations asking the hard questions, standing up for their own priorities, and disagreeing when that is not the default.

Duty does not need to mean giving in

While there may be considerable pressure to give in to the administration’s priorities, this is a moment that calls for creativity and innovative thinking.

You can find a way to conduct planning studies with non-federal funding so you can still prioritize equity, or you can coordinate with other organizations to pool funding opportunities.

You could also decenter federal funding and look for new funding sources or opportunities to raise revenue that is unconstrained by the administration’s priorities, like a tax, millage or levy. For example, the 2024 Seattle Transportation Levy is an eight-year, $1.55 billion investment that Seattle residents approved, granting the Seattle Department of Transportation local control of its funding and goals. Because of this, SDOT is still able to prioritize equity in its levy-funded project planning, design, and implementation.

It is essential to continue fighting for safe, sustainable, accessible transportation and mobility solutions, regardless of those who disagree. We can’t predict what the future holds for federal transportation system priorities, but being clear on where your values are and how you can continue to stand up for them can make dealing with that future a bit easier.

This post was originally published on Next City.