Sponsors (12)
Official title: To require States to establish complete streets programs, and for other purposes.
Introduced June 4, 2025 by Stephen Cohen · Last progress June 4, 2025
The bill substantially raises safety, accessibility, and multimodal connectivity—especially in urban and underserved communities—through federal design requirements, funding, and accountability, but does so at the cost of higher project expenses, required fund reallocations, added administrative burdens, potential delays, and limited immediate benefits for many rural areas.
Pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, people with disabilities (especially in metropolitan areas) get safer, more accessible multimodal streets through required design elements (protected bike lanes, sidewalks, crosswalks, lighting, ADA-aligned standards) during planning, construction, and operation.
Low-income communities, Tribal communities, and communities of color are prioritized for project selection so federal investments target historically underserved areas.
State departments of transportation and eligible local entities gain federal funding and technical assistance to design and build complete streets, lowering barriers to implementing multimodal projects.
Taxpayers and state/local budgets face higher costs because projects must add protected bike lanes, sidewalks, lighting, and other elements and states must reallocate at least 5% of certain federal formula funds to complete streets, reducing funds available for other highway projects.
Small local governments, nonprofits, and project sponsors will face new administrative burdens—developing certified policies, prioritization plans, biennial inventories, documenting exemptions, and handling appeals—that strain limited staff and capacity.
Rural and low-density communities may be left without multimodal access because flexibility exceptions (low density, parallel corridors, disproportionate cost) and the initial applicability only in MPOs with fixed-route transit limit immediate benefits outside metro areas.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Requires DOT to set federal complete-streets standards and makes many federal-aid projects adopt protected bike lanes, accessible sidewalks, lighting, and signal rules with phased deadlines.
Creates a federal "complete streets" framework requiring states and metropolitan planning organizations to adopt design standards and programs so road projects safely accommodate people walking, biking, using transit, and driving. The Department of Transportation must publish benchmarks within 1 year and complete-streets design standards within 180 days; phased compliance begins 2 years after enactment for specified federal-aid projects and expands statewide within five years or at the State's next transportation improvement program cycle. The law defines eligible entities (including local, tribal, territorial, and nonprofit partners), requires competitive state programs that provide technical assistance and grants, prioritizes equity for underserved communities, establishes appeal and reporting processes, and lists limited exemptions for certain highway types and emergency work.