YourVoice.Now Summary
Your MoneyCivil LibertiesEnvironmentTransparency & AccountabilityEvery state would spend 5% of its highway money on sidewalks, bike lanes, and safe crossings.
Your Money
Every state would have to put 5 percent of the federal highway money it gets each year into walking, biking, and transit street projects. No new money would be added, so that share comes out of other road work.
The Transportation Department would set national street design rules within 180 days. Large projects on metro roads with bus or rail service would have to meet them within two years, and most other metro projects within five.
Civil Liberties
A 2023 federal rule on sidewalks and street crossings would become an enforceable standard at the Transportation and Justice Departments. The standards would also have to cover vision, hearing, thinking, and language needs.
Environment
When a city or county ranks which street projects to fund first, air quality would be one of ten factors it has to weigh. Safety, walking, biking, transit, and freight are on the same list.
Transparency & Accountability
Every two years, each state would have to publish a list showing which of its roads meet the new design rules. The Transportation Department would also post what these street designs cost.
The guidance that states would use to run these programs would go through a public review and comment period. It would be due within one year of passage.
More about this bill
Sidewalks, crosswalks, and protected bike lanes would get a fixed share of road money in every state. Each state would have to spend 5 percent of its federal highway funds on these projects. The money is not new. It would come out of what states already get for roads. Cities, counties, transit agencies, tribal governments, and nonprofits could apply. The largest grant would be $20 million, or 20 percent of the state's program, whichever is less. States would have to start making grants by the third full budget year after passage. New road work in metro areas would also have to meet national design rules. The Transportation Department would write those rules within 180 days. They would cover protected bike lanes, sidewalks, crosswalks, lighting, and traffic signals. Big projects on roads with bus or rail service would have to follow them two years after passage. Most other metro road projects would follow within five years, sometimes sooner. Limited-access highways are exempt. So are emergency repairs, some industrial streets, and roads shown to have no need. Accessibility rules would get stronger. Federal guidelines for sidewalks and street crossings would become binding standards. They would also have to cover vision, hearing, thinking, and language needs. States would pick projects first where people on foot or on a bike face the most risk. Every two years, each state would have to post a public list showing which roads meet the new rules.
Congressional Summary
This bill supports the development of safe and accessible roads through complete streets design and construction grants, policies, and design standards.Under the bill, a complete street means a public road that provides safe and accessible travel options for multiple travel modes (e.g., walking, cycling, transit, mobility devices, automobiles, and freight) for people of all ages, abilities, and disabilities.In general, each state must establish a competitive grant program that provides a portion of its federal highway funds to eligible entities for complete streets grants and technical assistance. Eligible entities include local and tribal governments, local agencies, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), and nonprofit organizations.An eligible entity must develop a complete streets policy and a prioritization plan. The state or an MPO must approve the policy and plan. The Department of Transportation (DOT) must develop complete streets benchmarks and guidance for states and eligible entities.In addition, DOT and the Department of Justice must update and adopt certain accessibility standards (e.g., by including provisions for cognitive ability and language access).Further, DOT must require each state and MPO to adopt and implement design standards for the safe and adequate accommodation of all surface transportation network users.DOT must also establish complete streets design standards for federal projects and phase in their adoption, with exemptions for certain roadways, facilities, and projects. The standards must include (1) dedicated, protected bike lanes; (2) requirements for sidewalks and crosswalks; and (3) guidelines for lighting and signalization to promote safety.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in House
- Action Date
- 2025-06-04
- Date Added
- 2026-03-30
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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