Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Friday that requires California transportation officials to strengthen their rules for building crosswalks, bus lanes, bus islands and public transit infrastructure when repairing roads.
S.B. 960, from state Sen. Scott Wiener (D), mandates the California Department of Transportation develop four-year targets for including nondriving — or “complete streets” — infrastructure in projects financed with state highway funds, and include pedestrian and bicyclist policy in their overall management plans.
State regulations already require Caltrans to prioritize nondriving infrastructure in projects financed with state highway funds. That policy stemmed from a 2019 executive order from Newsom directing it to include walking and biking infrastructure “where appropriate and feasible.”
Walking and biking advocates have argued that Caltrans is not following that policy, pointing to a March report that only 45 percent of ongoing projects included nondriving — or “complete streets” — infrastructure. California’s bicycle lobby has also accused the agency of inflating those numbers by including federally required disability ramps in its calculations.
