PHASE Act of 2025
PHASE Act of 2025 would push federal agencies to focus on safer transportation environments for pedestrians and other vulnerable road users. The bill directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to identify innovative traffic-control technologies that improve safety without distracting operators (drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians). It also requires the Department of Transportation (DOT) to study physical infrastructure and design options—focusing on urban areas with rising pedestrian fatalities—and to assess safety technologies such as intelligent speed assistance and blind-spot detection. To help implement safer infrastructure, the Act would create a grant program for cities, tribes, and municipalities, funding pedestrian-friendly improvements (crosswalks, signals, lighting, sidewalks, etc.) with a proposed annual appropriation of $5 million. A congressionally mandated briefing within two years would report on the study’s findings.
Key Points
- 1NIST would identify and propose innovative traffic-control technologies that enhance safety for all road users, including bicyclists and pedestrians, while ensuring operators are not overwhelmed or distracted, and that solutions comply with federal regulations.
- 2DOT must conduct a study assessing physical infrastructure options to better protect pedestrians and vulnerable road users, focusing on urban areas with rising pedestrian fatalities and evaluating the role of intelligent speed assistance and blind-spot detection systems.
- 3A grant program would be established to fund cities, Indian Tribes, and municipalities to implement ADA-compliant and federally regulated pedestrian-safety infrastructure (e.g., crosswalks, signals, lighting, sidewalks, curb ramps, grade-separated crossings).
- 4Eligible improvements cover a wide range of enhancements, such as crosswalk technology, updated traffic signals, accessible pedestrian signals, enhanced lighting, and expanded pedestrian facilities on bridges.
- 5Congress would receive a briefing on study results within two years; the program would receive $5 million per fiscal year to fund grants.