Business View Magazine - April 2025

CONGRESS REINTRODUCES BIPARTISAN LEGISLATION FOR BIKE AND PEDESTRIAN SAFETY FUNDING EXPANSION Opening Lines Source: https://www.naco.org/, Ben Gilsdorf and Rachel Yeung, First published April 17th, 2025 In March, lawmakers in the House and Senate reintroduced the bipartisan Sarah Debbink Langenkamp Active Transportation Safety Act (S. 944/H.R. 2011).The legislation honors Sarah Debbink Langenkamp, a former U.S. diplomat and mother of two who was tragically killed while biking home in Bethesda, Md., just weeks after being evacuated from Ukraine in 2022. WHAT DOES THIS LEGISLATION DO? The bill is designed to improve safety for cyclists and pedestrians by granting state and local governments greater flexibility to invest Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) funds. Specifically, the bill would allow these funds to serve as a local match for building safer bicycling and pedestrian infrastructure through both HSIP and the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP). TAP, established in 2012, provides local governments with access to a portion of federal transportation funds for community-focused projects. Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), states were granted new authority to use HSIP funds as local matches for TAP projects that address safety concerns. However, current BIL language requires states to identify every individual eligible project, making it difficult for many communities to fully benefit. 7 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 12, ISSUE 04

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