Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA) and Congressman Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) introduced the Safe and Friendly for the Environment (SAFE) Streets Act, which will direct more federal funds toward making our streets safer for pedestrians and bicyclists — which will help save lives and encourage better protection of the environment.
“Making our roads safer for all users is a win-win,” said Congresswoman Julia Brownley. “Not only will it encourage more people to choose environmentally friendly transportation options like biking or walking, but even more importantly, it will save lives.”
“Improving pedestrian safety and biker accessibility will have a tremendous impact throughout our neighborhoods and communities,” said Representative Adriano Espaillat (NY-13). “We are introducing the Safe and Friendly for the Environment (SAFE) Streets Act because we each have a stake in keeping our streets safe and taking measures to potentially save lives.”
“The Safe Routes Partnership is committed to helping cities and towns across the country build safe, active, equitable transportation options,” said Cass Isidro, Executive Director of the Safe Routes Partnership. “We commend Rep. Brownley for introducing the SAFE Streets Act, which will direct funding to communities to help them make it safer for people of all ages and backgrounds to walk and wheel. This legislation represents a huge step forward in reducing deaths and injuries to people walking and rolling.”
“This bill would make critical changes to target safety investments where they are needed most,” said Bill Nesper, Executive Director of the League of American Bicyclists. “People who bike and walk represent 12% of all trips but bear 18% of traffic deaths and yet we invest less than 1% of funding to keep them safe. The League applauds Representatives Brownley and Espaillat for the leadership to right this imbalance in funding to protect vulnerable road users.”
The Safe and Friendly for the Environment (SAFE) Streets Act will require state and local transportation agencies to direct more resources from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) to areas with pedestrian and bicyclist fatality rate over 1.5 fatalities per 100,000 people, directly more resources to dangerous roads and intersections where it is most needed.
This legislation is supported by The League of American Bicyclists and the Safe Routes Partnership.
Issues: 116th Congress, Environment, Transportation and Infrastructure