Building Safer Streets Act

Key Points

• The bill requires the Department of Transportation to publicly explain why certain street designs or safety devices are banned in the national traffic design manual, giving local engineers more information to justify safer, alternative designs.
• Communities applying for certain federal transportation grants in urbanized areas must show they considered adding sidewalks or bike lanes, and must explain their reasoning if they decide to leave those features out.
• When federal agencies evaluate the costs and benefits of local road projects, they can no longer count higher vehicle speeds as a travel-time benefit on non-freeway roads, shifting the focus toward safety instead of speed.
• At least 10 percent of Safe Streets for All grant funding must go to small communities with projects under $1 million, and the federal government can cover up to 90 percent of costs for those projects, helping small towns compete for safety funding.
• States receiving federal highway funds must set safety targets that do not allow pedestrian and cyclist deaths to rise above the previous period's total, pushing states to actively work toward reducing these fatalities.