The Complete Streets for Active Living Bill, S.B. 127, authored by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), has passed the state legislature and is now on its way to Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk for a signature.
S.B. 127 would require Caltrans to consider bicycle and pedestrian safety improvements when it repairs or repaves state routes that serve as local streets. The bill aims to ensure state roads that run through local communities - streets like 19th Avenue in San Francisco, Western Boulevard in Los Angeles, San Pablo Avenue in the East Bay, Santa Rosa Street in San Luis Obispo - are safe for people to walk and bike along.
Is there a possible Complete Street in your town? It's likely. CalBike has found more than 185 streets throughout the state that would be covered by S.B. 127. Check here to see if there’s one near you.
S.B. 127 simply requires Caltrans to do what it says it wants to do: make the streets it controls safer for everyone using it. But the bill is not a done deal. Caltrans has claimed that making a street it is already repaving into a Complete Street would be a huge financial burden, although it hasn't said what its cost estimate is based on.
The state legislature showed its support for this bill by passing it; Californians who use state highways every day support it. Former CalSTA Deputy for Environmental Policy and Housing Coordination Kate White tweeted out her support, emphasizing why the bill is needed:
See here for a long list of organizations supporting the bill, in addition to bill sponsors CalBike, California Walks, Safe Routes to School National Partnership, the American Heart Association, and AARP.
It’s now up to the Governor. Express your support for S.B. 127 by telling him about your own experience on a state route that ignores pedestrians and people on bikes, and add your name to the California Bicycle Coalition’s petition here.
