II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2004 

To ensure the safety of all users of the transportation system, including 

pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, children, older individuals, and individuals with disabilities, as they travel on and across federally funded 

streets and highways. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 6, 2014 

Mr. BEGICH (for himself and Mr. SCHATZ) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public 

Works 

A BILL 

To ensure the safety of all users of the transportation system, including pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, children, older individuals, and individuals with disabilities, 

as they travel on and across federally funded streets 

and highways. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safe Streets Act of 

5 2014’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) COMPLETE STREET.—The term ‘‘complete 

2 street’’ means a roadway that safely accommodates 

3 all travelers, particularly public transit users, 

4 bicyclists, pedestrians (including individuals of all 

5 ages and individuals with mobility, sensory, neuro6 logical, or hidden disabilities), motorists and freight 

7 vehicles, to enable all travelers to use the roadway 

8 safely and efficiently. 

9 (2) COMPLETE STREETS POLICY; COMPLETE

10 STREETS PRINCIPLE.—The terms ‘‘complete streets 

11 policy’’ and ‘‘complete streets principle’’ mean a 

12 transportation law, policy, or principle at the local, 

13 State, regional, or Federal level that ensures— 

14 (A) the safe and adequate accommodation, 

15 in all phases of project planning and develop16 ment, of all users of the transportation system, 

17 including pedestrians, bicyclists, public transit 

18 users, children, older individuals, individuals 

19 with disabilities, motorists, and freight vehicles; 

20 and 

21 (B) the consideration of the safety and 

22 convenience of all users in all phases of project 

23 planning and development. 

24 (3) LOCAL JURISDICTION.—The term ‘‘local ju25 risdiction’’ means any unit of local government. 


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1 (4) METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZA2 TION.—The term ‘‘metropolitan planning organiza3 tion’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

4 134(b) of title 23, United States Code. 

5 (5) ROADWAY.—The term ‘‘roadway’’ means— 

6 (A) the defined Federal functional classi7 fication roadway system; and 

8 (B) each bridge structure providing a con9 nection for such a roadway system. 

10 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

11 the Secretary of Transportation. 

12 (7) SENIOR MANAGER.—The term ‘‘senior man13 ager’’ means— 

14 (A) the director of a State department of 

15 transportation (or a designee); 

16 (B) the director of a metropolitan planning 

17 organization (or a designee); and 

18 (C) the director of a regional, county, or 

19 city transportation agency that is primarily re20 sponsible for planning and approval of trans21 portation projects (or a designee). 

22 (8) TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PRO23 GRAM.—The term ‘‘transportation improvement pro24 gram’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘TIP’’ in 

25 section 134(b) of title 23, United States Code. 


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1 SEC. 3. COMPLETE STREETS POLICY. 

2 (a) LAW OR POLICY.—Not later than October 1 of 

3 the fiscal year that begins 2 years after the date of enact4 ment of this Act each State and metropolitan planning 

5 organization shall have in effect— 

6 (1) in the case of a State— 

7 (A) a law requiring that, beginning on the 

8 effective date of the State law, all transpor9 tation projects in the State shall accommodate 

10 the safety and convenience of all users in ac11 cordance with complete streets principles; or 

12 (B) an explicit State department of trans13 portation policy that, beginning on the effective 

14 date of the policy, all transportation projects in 

15 the State shall accommodate the safety and 

16 convenience of all users in accordance with com17 plete streets principles; and 

18 (2) in the case of a metropolitan planning orga19 nization, an explicit statement of policy that, begin20 ning on the effective date of the policy, all transpor21 tation projects under the jurisdiction of the metro22 politan planning organization shall accommodate the 

23 safety and convenience of all users in accordance 

24 with complete streets principles. 

25 (b) INCLUSIONS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—A law or policy described in 

2 subsection (a) shall— 

3 (A) apply to each federally funded project 

4 of each State department of transportation or 

5 metropolitan planning organization transpor6 tation improvement program; 

7 (B) include a statement that each project 

8 under the transportation improvement program 

9 makes streets or affected rights-of-way acces10 sible to the expected users of that facility, of all 

11 ages and abilities, including pedestrians, bicy12 clists, transit vehicles and users, freight vehi13 cles, and motorists; 

14 (C) except as provided in paragraph (2), 

15 apply to new road construction and road modi16 fication projects, including design, planning, 

17 construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, 

18 maintenance, and operations, for the entire 

19 right-of-way; 

20 (D) indicate that improvements for the 

21 safe and convenient travel by pedestrians or 

22 bicyclists of all ages and abilities on or across 

23 streets shall be fully assessed, considered, and 

24 documented as a routine element of pavement 

25 resurfacing projects; 


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1 (E) delineate a clear procedure by which 

2 transportation improvement projects may be ex3 empted from complying with complete streets 

4 principles, which shall require— 

5 (i) approval by the appropriate senior 

6 manager, in accordance with subsection 

7 (d)(2); and 

8 (ii) documentation, with supporting 

9 data, that indicates the basis for such an 

10 exemption; 

11 (F) comply with up-to-date design stand12 ards, particularly standards relating to pro13 viding access for individuals with disabilities; 

14 (G) require that complete streets principles 

15 be applied in due consideration of the urban, 

16 suburban, or rural context in which a project is 

17 located; 

18 (H) include a list of performance stand19 ards with measurable outcomes to ensure that 

20 the transportation improvement program ad21 heres to complete streets principles; and 

22 (I) directs agency staff to create an imple23 mentation plan. 

24 (2) EXCEPTION.—A law or policy described in 

25 subsection (a) shall not apply to a new road conVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:53 Feb 07, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2004.IS S2004

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1 struction or modification project for which, as of the 

2 effective date of the law or policy, at least 30 per3 cent of the design phase is completed. 

4 (c) EXEMPTION REQUIREMENTS AND PROCE5 DURES.—A law or policy described in subsection (a) shall 

6 allow for a project-specific exemption from an applicable 

7 complete streets policy if— 

8 (1)(A) an affected roadway prohibits, by law, 

9 use of the roadway by specified users, in which case 

10 a greater effort shall be made to accommodate those 

11 specified users elsewhere, including on roadways that 

12 cross or otherwise intersect with the affected road13 way; 

14 (B) the cost to the exempted project in achiev15 ing compliance with the applicable complete streets 

16 policy would be excessively disproportionate (as de17 fined in the 2001 Department of Transportation 

18 Guidance on Accommodating Bicycle and Pedestrian 

19 Travel), as compared to the need or probable use of 

20 a particular complete street; or 

21 (C) the existing and planned population, em22 ployment densities, traffic volumes, or level of tran23 sit service around a particular roadway is so low, 

24 that the expected users of the roadway will not inVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:53 Feb 07, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2004.IS S2004

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1 clude pedestrians, public transportation, freight vehi2 cles, or bicyclists; and 

3 (2) the project-specific exemption is approved 

4 by— 

5 (A) a senior manager of the metropolitan 

6 planning organization that approved the trans7 portation improvement program containing the 

8 exempted project; 

9 (B) a senior manager of the relevant State 

10 department of transportation; or 

11 (C) in the case of a project for which nei12 ther the metropolitan planning organization nor 

13 the State department of transportation is the 

14 agency with primary transportation planning 

15 authority, a senior manager of the regional, 

16 county, or city agency responsible for planning 

17 and approval of the project. 

18 (d) INTEGRATION.—Each State department of trans19 portation and metropolitan planning organization imple20 menting a complete streets policy shall incorporate com21 plete streets principles into all aspects of the transpor22 tation project development, programming, and delivery 

23 process, including project planning and identification, 

24 scoping procedures, design approvals, design manuals, and 

25 performance measures. 


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1 (e) REPORTS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each State department of 

3 transportation shall submit to the Secretary a report 

4 describing the implementation by the State of meas5 ures to achieve compliance with the requirements of 

6 this section, at such time, in such manner, and con7 taining such information as the Secretary may re8 quire. 

9 (2) DETERMINATION BY SECRETARY.—On re10 ceipt of a report under paragraph (1), the Secretary 

11 shall determine whether the applicable State has 

12 achieved compliance with the requirements of this 

13 section. 

14 SEC. 4. CERTIFICATION. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

16 enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a 

17 method of evaluating compliance by State departments of 

18 transportation and metropolitan planning organizations 

19 with the requirements of this Act, including a requirement 

20 that each State department of transportation and metro21 politan planning organization shall submit to the Sec22 retary a report describing— 

23 (1) each complete streets policy adopted by the 

24 State department of transportation or metropolitan 

25 planning organization; 


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1 (2) the means of implementation by the State 

2 department of transportation or metropolitan plan3 ning organization of the complete streets policy; and 

4 (3) the process for providing an exemption, 

5 from the requirements of the complete streets policy 

6 of the State department of transportation or metro7 politan planning organization. 

8 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the date 

9 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 

10 Congress a report describing— 

11 (1) the method established under subsection 

12 (a); 

13 (2) the status of activities for adoption and im14 plementation by State departments of transportation 

15 and metropolitan planning organizations of complete 

16 streets policies; 

17 (3) the tools and resources provided by the Sec18 retary to State departments of transportation and 

19 metropolitan planning organizations to assist with 

20 that adoption and implementation; and 

21 (4) other measures carried out by the Secretary 

22 to encourage the adoption of complete streets poli23 cies by local jurisdictions. 


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1 SEC. 5. ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS. 

2 (a) FINAL STANDARDS.—Not later than 1 year after 

3 the date of enactment of this Act, the Architectural and 

4 Transportation Barriers Compliance Board established by 

5 section 502(a)(1) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 

6 U.S.C. 792(a)(1)) shall promulgate final standards for ac7 cessibility of new construction and alteration of pedestrian 

8 facilities for public rights-of-way. 

9 (b) TEMPORARY STANDARDS.—During the period be10 ginning on the date of enactment of this Act and ending 

11 on the date on which the Architectural and Transportation 

12 Barriers Compliance Board promulgates final standards 

13 under subsection (a), a State or metropolitan planning or14 ganization shall apply to public rights-of-way— 

15 (1) the standards for accessible transportation 

16 facilities contained in section 37.9 of title 49, Code 

17 of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of 

18 enactment of this Act); or 

19 (2) if the standards referred to in paragraph 

20 (1) do not address, or are inapplicable to, an af21 fected public right-of-way, the revised draft guide22 lines for accessible public rights-of-way of the Archi23 tectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance 

24 Board dated November 23, 2005. 


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1 SEC. 6. RESEARCH, TECHNICAL GUIDANCE, AND IMPLE2 MENTATION ASSISTANCE. 

3 (a) RESEARCH.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct 

5 research regarding complete streets to assist States, 

6 metropolitan planning organizations, and local juris7 dictions in developing, adopting, and implementing 

8 plans, projects, procedures, policies, and training 

9 programs that comply with complete streets prin10 ciples. 

11 (2) PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary shall solicit 

12 participation in the research program under para13 graph (1) by— 

14 (A) the American Association of State 

15 Highway and Transportation Officials; 

16 (B) the Institute of Transportation Engi17 neers; 

18 (C) the American Public Transportation 

19 Association; 

20 (D) the American Planning Association; 

21 (E) the National Association of Regional 

22 Councils; 

23 (F) the Association of Metropolitan Plan24 ning Organizations; 

25 (G) the Insurance Institute for Highway 

26 Safety; 


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1 (H) the American Society of Landscape 

2 Architects; 

3 (I) representatives of transportation safety, 

4 disability, motoring, bicycling, walking, transit 

5 user, aging, and air quality organizations; and 

6 (J) other affected communities. 

7 (3) REQUIREMENTS.—The research under para8 graph (1) shall— 

9 (A) be based on the applicable statement 

10 of complete streets research needs of the Trans11 portation Research Board, as described in TR 

12 Circular E110; and 

13 (B) seek to develop new areas of inquiry, 

14 in addition to that statement. 

15 (b) BENCHMARKS AND GUIDANCE.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The research conducted 

17 under subsection (a) shall be designed to result in 

18 the establishment of benchmarks and the provision 

19 of practical guidance on methods of effectively im20 plementing complete streets policies and complete 

21 streets principles that will accommodate all users 

22 along a facility or corridor, including vehicles, pedes23 trians, bicyclists, and transit users. 

24 (2) FOCUS.—The benchmarks and guidance 

25 under paragraph (1) shall— 


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1 (A) focus on modifying scoping, design, 

2 and construction procedures to more effectively 

3 combine particular methods of use into inte4 grated facilities that meet the needs of each 

5 method in an appropriate balance; and 

6 (B) indicate the expected operational and 

7 safety performance of alternative approaches to 

8 facility design. 

9 (c) DATA COLLECTION.—The Secretary shall collabo10 rate with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the 

11 Federal Transit Administration, and appropriate commit12 tees of the Transportation Research Board— 

13 (1) to collect data regarding a baseline non14 motorized and transit use survey to be integrated 

15 into the National Household Travel Survey; and 

16 (2) to develop a survey tool for use by State de17 partments of transportation in identifying the 

18 multimodal capacity of State and local roadways. 

19 (d) TECHNICAL GUIDANCE.— 

20 (1) REPORT.—Not later than 15 months after 

21 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

22 shall prepare and make available to all States, met23 ropolitan planning organizations, and local jurisdic24 tions a report that describes the best practices by 

25 which transportation agencies throughout the United 


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1 States have implemented complete streets principles 

2 in accordance with, or in anticipation of, the require3 ments of this Act. 

4 (2) TOPICS FOR EMPHASIS.—In preparing the 

5 report under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 

6 place particular emphasis on the following topics: 

7 (A) Procedures for identifying the needs of 

8 users of all ages and abilities of a particular 

9 roadway. 

10 (B) Procedures for identifying the types 

11 and designs of facilities needed to serve each 

12 class of users. 

13 (C) Safety and other benefits provided by 

14 the implementation of complete streets prin15 ciples. 

16 (D) Common barriers to the implementa17 tion of complete streets principles. 

18 (E) Procedures for overcoming the most 

19 common barriers to the implementation of com20 plete streets principles. 

21 (F) Procedures for identifying the costs as22 sociated with the implementation of complete 

23 streets principles. 


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1 (G) Procedures for maximizing local co2 operation in the introduction and implementa3 tion of complete streets principles. 

4 (H) Procedures for assessing and modi5 fying the facilities and operational characteris6 tics of existing roadways to improve consistency 

7 with complete streets principles. 

Æ 


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