S. 1953 — Complete Streets Act of 2025

This section establishes a Complete Streets Program to promote multimodal public roads accommodating pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, motorists, freight, and others of all ages and abilities. It requires each state, not later than October 1 of the second full fiscal year after enactment, to establish a competitive process enabling eligible entities (i.e., local governments, metropolitan planning organizations, transit agencies, Tribal governments, nonprofits, and others) to seek (1) technical assistance for designing and constructing complete streets projects included in the entity's complete streets prioritization plan and (2) grants for such design and construction; requires states to begin providing grants not later than October 1 of the third full fiscal year after enactment; and specifies program goals including technical assistance and incentives for complete streets policies, equitable distribution prioritizing underserved areas, and addressing infrastructure gaps. It further directs the Secretary of Transportation, not later than one year after enactment, to develop benchmarks and guidance for states and eligible entities on implementing complete streets programs, policies, and principles—including procedures for user needs assessment, facility design, safety benefits, barriers, and costs—and evaluating project effectiveness.

This section revises subsection (a) of Section 1442 of the FAST Act (23 U.S.C. 109 note) to require the Secretary of Transportation to direct each state and metropolitan planning organization to adopt and implement design standards for federal surface transportation projects that safely and adequately accommodate all users of the surface transportation network—including motorized and nonmotorized users (e.g., pedestrians and cyclists)—in all phases of project planning, development, and operation.

This section establishes complete streets design standards under a new subsection (t) of 23 U.S.C. 109, requiring the Secretary of Transportation to issue them not later than 180 days after enactment of the Complete Streets Act of 2025. The standards must include (1) dedicated, protected bike lanes with protection levels based on traffic speed, volume, and number of lanes; (2) sidewalks and crosswalks consistent with public right-of-way accessibility guidelines; and (3) lighting and signalization guidelines to promote safety. The standards apply in phases to new construction, reconstruction, or projects costing over $10 million on Federal-aid highways within metropolitan planning areas that use funds apportioned under 23 U.S.C. 104(b): (1) Initial requirement, beginning 2 years after enactment: projects with scheduled, fixed-route transit service. (2) Subsequent requirement, beginning the earlier of 5 years after enactment or a State's first statewide transportation improvement program after the initial deadline: all qualifying projects. Exemptions apply to limited access highways; signalized arterials adjacent to heavy industrial zones (unless with fixed-route transit); facilities lacking current or future need; projects already underway that comply; and emergency repairs (requiring temporary multimodal accommodations, if practicable). This section further authorizes metropolitan planning organizations to appeal a State denial of a compliant project to the Federal Highway Administration's regional office (with secondary review at headquarters) and requires States to submit biennial public inventories of compliant projects to the Secretary, who must publish and update a chart of complete streets element costs by context and functional classification. (Complete streets standards promote multimodal design—i.e., for pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, and vehicles—beyond existing criteria in 23 U.S.C. 109 for safety, traffic capacity, and environmental considerations.)