Sponsors (12)
This legislation boosts federal support and flexibility to accelerate bicycle/pedestrian safety projects (including greater tribal access), but does so at the risk of higher federal/local fiscal costs and shifting resources in ways that may favor better-resourced jurisdictions and divert funding from other priorities.
Pedestrians and bicyclists — including people in rural communities — will see more safety projects and countermeasures funded, reducing injuries and fatalities.
State and local governments and MPOs can build and connect bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure more easily because qualifying projects can receive up to 100% federal share and agencies may calculate non‑Federal shares across projects/programs, easing budgeting and enabling bundling of small projects.
Tribes gain clearer eligibility and the ability to use Tribal transportation safety plans to qualify for credits and higher federal participation, improving tribal access to funding and planning flexibility.
Allowing section 148 funds as non‑Federal match and increasing federal focus on bike/ped projects could reduce or redirect funds away from other state/local safety programs, highway or transit priorities, and change local project choices.
Taxpayers and the federal budget may face higher outlays because federal participation can increase up to 100% for some projects, raising overall federal spending or requiring reallocation of limited highway funds.
Broad eligibility and flexible crediting may disproportionately benefit jurisdictions with stronger planning capacity, leaving under-resourced, rural, and low-income communities with fewer funded projects.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Expands eligible highway safety projects to include bicycle/pedestrian connections and vulnerable‑user countermeasures and permits up to 100% Federal funding and flexible match/crediting rules.
Introduced March 11, 2025 by Christopher Van Hollen · Last progress March 11, 2025
Expands which highway safety improvement projects qualify for Federal funding to explicitly include connecting segments of existing bicyclist and pedestrian infrastructure and projects that reduce risks to vulnerable road users. Allows certain bicycle/pedestrian projects to receive up to 100% Federal share, gives states and sponsors flexibility to calculate non‑Federal matches on a project or program basis, and permits using approved highway safety program funds to count toward non‑Federal match when projects meet specified planning or countermeasure criteria.