PHASE Act of 2025

This bill focuses on making streets safer for people walking and other vulnerable road users. It tells the National Institute of Standards and Technology to share tech ideas with the Department of Transportation (DOT) to improve signs, signals, and other traffic control devices—without distracting drivers, cyclists, or pedestrians—and to follow federal rules. DOT must also study where pedestrian crashes happen most in cities, test physical street changes that can prevent them, and look at how tools like intelligent speed assistance and blind spot detection affect safety. Overall, it sets up studies and grants to help communities add proven safety upgrades for people on foot and other vulnerable road users.

The bill creates a grant program so cities, Indian Tribes, and municipalities can pay for upgrades like better crosswalk technology, more pedestrian space, wider buffer zones, added crossings, safer bridges, upgraded and accessible signals, accessible sidewalks and curb ramps, clearer signs, and brighter or adaptive lighting. Projects must meet federal rules and the Americans with Disabilities Act. It authorizes $5 million per year for these grants.

• Who is affected: Pedestrians and other vulnerable road users; cities, Indian Tribes, and municipalities seeking safety funds.
• What changes: NIST proposes tech improvements; DOT studies crash patterns and safety tech; DOT awards grants for specific street upgrades.
• When: DOT must brief Congress on the study within two years of the law taking effect.