House committee introduces bill allowing federally funded pedestrian improvement projects

BOISE — The House Transportation & Defense Committee voted to introduce legislation expanding on when local jurisdictions can make roadway improvements for cyclists, pedestrians and other non-motor vehicle users. 

The bill introduced by Rep. Brooke Green, D-Boise, on Tuesday makes small adjustments to a pair of bills passed last year that limited when bicycle- and pedestrian-focused projects could be pursued, adding federally funded projects to the list of exceptions for these pedestrian-oriented projects.

“The two proposal changes are few,” Green said of the draft bill. “Not necessarily all the changes I’d love to see, but I think this is a good start.”

In the language of Senate Bill 1144, which passed last session, highway districts and other agencies with jurisdiction over public highways must prioritize vehicle-oriented roadway projects — such as those that implement new travel lanes or turn lanes. 

Improvements to existing or new bicycle and pedestrian facilities can only be included in these vehicle-oriented projects as a “secondary benefit” or when they are implemented to align with federal law. Additional exceptions are available for projects that seek to improve the safety of pedestrian and cyclist facilities near schools, parks, “or other designated pedestrian or bicycle areas,” SB 1144 reads. 

Green’s bill seeks to open these limitations slightly by allowing pedestrian-oriented projects to be pursued when highway districts “receive federal funds or grants for such purposes.”

Her bill also seeks to address the criminal side of the statute. 

The text of Senate Bill 1140 (a counterpart to SB 1144) states “any elected official, officer or person” found to have aided in the violation of the bill to be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine of no more than $1,000 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 90 days upon conviction.

If passed into law, Green’s bill would limit prosecutions to elected officials or officers — excluding all other persons who may be involved in roadway planning, design and implementation process.

Though a short time since these twin transportation bills passed into law during the summer, the impacts of the legislation have already been felt.

The Ada County Highway District, which oversees transportation projects for the most populous county in the state, has needed to scrap a previously approved project that would have reduced a section of State Street in Boise from four lanes to three and implement a widened pathway for bicyclists and pedestrians.