Last week, the Bicycle Coalition attended the 2024 National Bike Summit for programming and the opportunity to meet with New Jersey and Pennsylvania elected officials for Hill Day. We’d like to thank all who participated and advocated for a better, safer, more accessible future for bicycling in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Constituents throughout the region met with their State Senators and Members of Congress requesting they co-sponsor the following bills: The Complete Streets Act, the Sarah Debbink Langenkamp Active Transportation Safety Act, and the B.I.K.E. Act. Here’s more information on what we covered:
Capitol Hill Day
The Complete Streets Act – H.R. 7082 / S 3670: The Complete Streets Act of 2024
What it is:
Complete Streets are roads designed to accommodate all road users, for all ages, abilities, and choices of transportation. Rather than solely prioritizing the efficiency of automobiles, the Complete Streets approach encourages engineers to enable safe access for people using means other than cars to get around, such as walking, biking, or using public transit.
This is often accomplished through initiatives like wider sidewalks, shared-use pathways such as the Circuit Trails and East Coast Greenway, bike lanes, bus lanes, accessible sidewalks and transit stops, and safe street crossings.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) created a 2.5 percent set aside of planning dollars for Complete Streets policies and prioritization plans at the state and metropolitan planning organization level. After five years of planning, the state and our regional MPO, the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) will have project lists prioritized for funding.
What it does:
- Directs the state to set aside five percent (5%) of highway funding to create and implement a Complete Streets grant program, for which local governments will be eligible to apply.
- Requires the Federal Highway Administration to provide guidance to states on creating Complete Streets standards for local projects.
- Phases in a requirement for states to incorporate Complete Streets elements into all new construction and reconstruction, and includes funding for technical assistance to local governments.
- To apply for the grant program, the local governments would need
- A complete streets policy
- A prioritization plan (list of priority projects)
The ask made on Hill Day: Co-sponsor this bill and support the complete streets act of 2024 to enable safe access for all road users. The Complete Streets Act is sponsored by Senators Ed Markey (D-MA), Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Representatives Steve Cohen and Jake Auchicloss.
Sarah Debbink Langenkamp Active Transportation Safety Act — (H.R. 1668 / S. 3964)
What it is:
Sarah Debbink Langenkamp was a U.S. diplomat and mother of two boys who had been evacuated from Ukraine in the summer of 2022 only to be killed weeks later while riding her bike at home on a road in Bethesda, Maryland. This bill is named after Sarah in the hope that remembrance of her life, service, and tragic death will prevent further unnecessary fatalities on our streets.
This bill highlights the need to fill gaps in biking and walking networks and makes it easier for states and local governments to use Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) dollars as a “local match” to build safe bicycling and pedestrian infrastructure through HSIP and the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP).
The TAP was created in 2012 to give local governments access to a small percentage of federal transportation funds for local priorities. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) included a new policy meant to give the state the opportunity to use safety funds as local matches for TAP projects that address local safety concerns. However, the IIJA language requires the state to identify every specific project that would be eligible. The Langenkamp Safety Act would clarify language to make it easier for the state to take advantage of this flexibility by allowing the state to match local government-identified projects while also ensuring the funds are used only on safety-oriented projects.
What it does:
While it does not spend any new money or create any new mandates on states, it does:
- help reduce the disconnect between state-identified and locally-identified priorities by giving the state the flexibility to spend safety dollars on local priorities.
- give states flexibility to fund bicycle and walking safety projects with 100% federal funds, including for locally identified safety priorities.
- make it easier for states and local governments to fund the safety projects identified in IIJA- funded safety plans.
- highlight the need to fill gaps in biking and walking networks, and will allow projects to be eligible for funding under HSIP.
The ask made on Hill Day: Co-sponsor this bill. The Bipartisan House bill is sponsored by Reps. Blumenauer (D-OR) and Raskin(D-MD). The Senate bill is sponsored by Senators Cardin (D-MD), Van Hollen (D-MD) and Baldwin (D-WI).
Bicycling In Kids’ Education (B.I.K.E) Act
What is is:
The Bicycling In Kids’ Education (B.I.K.E) Act would make in-school bike education programs eligible for Sections 405 of State Highway Safety Program grant funding.
The State Highway Safety Program, established under the Highway Safety Act of 1966, was designed to fund education and enforcement programs aimed at reducing traffic crashes and resulting deaths and injuries. As vulnerable road user deaths rise across the country, it is pertinent this crucial grant funding is expanded to include vulnerable children on bikes.
What it does:
Specifies in-school, on bicycle education programs in elementary and secondary schools as eligible for Highway Safety Grants targeted to decreasing non-motorized road user fatalities involving motor vehicles.
Directs the Secretary of Transportation to update and disseminate curriculum for in school on bike education.
The ask made on Hill Day: Co-sponsor this bill. The B.I.K.E Act is sponsored by Representative Magaziner.
What’s next? Those who joined us for lobby day are in the process of following up with the legislative staffers who set aside the time to discuss the issues in the districts that make up the Greater Philadelphia area. A big thanks to The League of American Bicyclists for hosting the event and giving us the space to discuss these issues. Interested in participating in next year’s lobby day? Contact the Bicycle Coalition’s Regional Organizer at patrick@bicyclecoalition.org for more information.
Washington DC Infrastructure Tours:
The District has some of the best bicycle infrastructure in the country (although it is still not fully connected). If you are in Washington anytime soon you should rent a bike from Capital BikeShare and explore any of these 7-11 mile tours:
Exploring District Trails – https://ridewithgps.com/routes/45777691
DC Protected Bike Lane Ride – https://ridewithgps.com/routes/45777404
Neighborhood Bikeways Route – https://ridewithgps.com/routes/45777490
The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia leads the movement to make every bicycle ride safe, to empower youth and adults to ride, and to foster a ridership that reflects the diversity of the region. Join or renew to continue that advocacy and education work throughout the region. More info here.