Sponsors (5)
The bill shifts federal policy and funding toward safer, more accessible, and more equitable complete-streets design—benefiting pedestrians, cyclists, transit users, and disadvantaged communities—but it also raises costs, redirects highway dollars, increases administrative requirements, and risks uneven adoption in smaller and resource-constrained jurisdictions.
People who walk, bike, ride transit, and those with disabilities and older adults will get safer, more accessible sidewalks, crosswalks, protected bike lanes, and multimodal connections because projects must meet new design and accessibility standards.
State and local governments and project sponsors will have access to federal grants and technical assistance (including planning and construction funds and per-project grants up to $20M) to design and build complete-streets projects, enabling larger safety investments.
Low-income communities, communities of color, Tribal areas, and many rural communities are prioritized for funding to address safety and mobility gaps, directing resources toward historically underserved areas.
State governments and highway programs will have at least 5% of certain federal highway formula funds redirected annually to complete-streets, reducing funds available for other highway projects and priorities.
States, MPOs, and local project sponsors will likely face higher planning, design, construction, and compliance costs (including updates to DOT/DOJ accessibility rules), increasing project budgets and fiscal pressure on agencies and taxpayers.
Local governments, State DOTs, and MPOs will face added administrative burdens—new certification, inventories, biennial reporting, plan adoption, and appeals processes—which increases staff workload and upfront planning costs.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Requires states to set up competitive complete-streets programs, adopt federal design standards, and phase in compliance for federally funded projects to improve safe, accessible travel for all users.
Requires states to create competitive "complete streets" programs and directs the Department of Transportation to issue national benchmarks and design standards that require safe, accessible travel for pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders, and motorists. It phases in compliance for federally funded surface-transportation projects (including a 2-year and up-to-5-year schedule), sets design requirements (protected bike lanes, accessible sidewalks/crosswalks, lighting/signals), creates grant and technical-assistance priorities, and establishes reporting, inventory, and appeals procedures.
Introduced June 4, 2025 by Edward John Markey · Last progress June 4, 2025