The next infrastructure package might bring some of sustainable transportation advocates’ most long-sought bills back to life — and establish new pots of money for bike lanes, sidewalks, and more.
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) recently co-introduced a package of progressive transportation legislation ahead of Biden’s upcoming infrastructure bill, which could collectively help loosen car dependency’s grip on American cities if they make the final cut. Among the four bills in the bundle is the Complete Streets Act, which is the product of more than a decade of work by groups like Smart Growth America; the legislation would require states to set aside 5 percent of federal highway funds specifically to walking, biking and transit connectivity improvements — and even more critically, require municipalities to prioritize multimodal road user safety over speed across the board in order to access that funding.