The House Transportation committee met Thursday and unanimously reported House Bills 6151 and 6152, the Complete Streets legislation. The League has been deeply involved in workgroup meetings developing the language in this proposal over the course of the past six months and testified in support of the new versions of these bills during Thursday's hearing.
Attached, you will find copies of the H-2 substitute versions of the bills…minus only a couple of additional technical amendments, the bills that were reported Thursday are reflected within these documents. The following is intended to provide a quick summary of what is contained in the proposal:
House Bill 6151 – Public Act 51 changes
- non-motorized funding now recognizes certain Complete Streets accommodations as qualifying for 10K funding support.
- A new section has been added that defines Complete Streets and Complete Streets policies…very broad definition with maximum flexibility for local road agencies on a completely optional basis.
- The State Transportation Commission will be required to develop a Complete Streets policy for MDOT to follow and to develop a model policy that will be made available for cities, villages and county road commissions.
- Early communication mechanisms have been laid out for road agencies to consult with each other and develop agreements when establishing multi-year capital programs that would impact another agency’s Complete Street policy. This is important language providing weight to the desires of a local community when MDOT or a road commission is planning a project within a municipality.
- MDOT will be required to share expertise in non-motorized and multi-modal planning when proceeding with trunkline projects located within municipal boundaries.
- A Complete Streets Advisory Committee is established that will be tasked with providing educational and best practice support for communities interested in adopting Complete Streets policies.
- There is NO mandate for a local road agency to adopt a Complete Street policy.
- There is NO requirement for spending on facilities to implement a Complete Streets policy.
These bills now move to the House floor where they await a vote, likely before the summer recess. Please let me know if you have any questions on this legislation.
Chris Hackbarth is the transportation policy advisor for the Michigan Municipal League. Chris can be reached at 517-908-0303, or by email at chackbarth@mml.org.
CompleteStreetsPA51 Star (H-2).pdf (29.86 kb)
CompleteStreetsPlanning Star (H-2).pdf (20.25 kb)
