HOUSE FILE 59

BY  ISENHART

A BILL FOR

An Act providing for the adoption and implementation of complete streets policies applicable to certain highway projects.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

   Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  306E.1  Short title.
   This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Iowa Complete Streets Act”.
   Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  306E.2  Definitions.
   As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
   1.  “Agency” means the department, a regional or metropolitan planning commission formed pursuant to chapter 28I, a county, or a city.
   2.  “Complete street” means a roadway that accommodates all users of the road including motorists, public transit users, bicyclists, and pedestrians of all ages and abilities.
   3.  “Complete streets policy” means a resolution, ordinance, statute, administrative rule, or statement of policy relating to roads at the state, regional, or local level that ensures, in all phases of highway project planning and development, the adequate accommodation of all users of the road including motorists, public transit users, bicyclists, and pedestrians of all ages and abilities.
   4.  “Department” means the state department of transportation.
   5.  “Director” means the director of transportation.
   6.  “Highway project” includes the planning, design, funding, construction, reconstruction, resurfacing, maintenance, or retrofitting of a highway or roadway.
   Sec. 3.  NEW SECTION.  306E.3  Complete streets policy——intent.
   1.  It is the intent of the general assembly that on or before October 1, 2013, every agency having jurisdiction over roads in the state or involved in planning for roads shall develop and adopt a complete streets policy.
   a.  The policy of the department shall explicitly state that all highway projects on primary roads shall ensure, in all phases of project planning and development, the adequate accommodation, safety, and convenience of all users of the road in accordance with complete streets principles.
   b.  The policy of an agency other than the state shall explicitly state that, beginning on the effective date of the policy, all highway projects on roads under the agency’s jurisdiction in urban areas or within one mile of the corporate limits of a city shall ensure, in all phases of project planning and development, the adequate accommodation, safety, and convenience of all users of the road in accordance with complete streets principles.
   2.  A complete streets policy shall delineate a clear procedure by which an agency may exempt a highway project from the requirements of a policy adopted under subsection 1 for any of the following reasons:
   a.  The project is on a road where nonmotorized travel is prohibited by law.
   b.  The cost to achieve compliance with complete streets policy would be excessively disproportionate to the need for or probable use of the particular road as a complete street. 
   c.  The director or the governing body recognizes that due to very low population density or remote location, there is an absence of present or future need for the development of a complete street.
   d.  The purposes of the agency’s complete streets policy are adequately met by a network of complete streets already in place in proximity to the road on which the highway project will take place, provided that the existing network includes a route for all users of the road that reasonably substitutes for the route followed by the exempt road.
   Sec. 4.  NEW SECTION.  306E.4  Research, technical guidance, and implementation assistance.
   1.  The department shall conduct ongoing research regarding complete streets to assist regional and metropolitan planning commissions, counties, and cities to develop, adopt, and implement complete streets policies. On or before October 1, 2012, the director shall prepare and make available to all regional and metropolitan planning commissions, counties, and cities a report that describes the best practices by which transportation agencies throughout the United States have implemented complete streets principles. The director shall update the report periodically as new, relevant information becomes available, as determined by the department.
   2.  The department shall provide guidance to regional or metropolitan planning commissions, counties, and cities requesting assistance with the development or implementation of a complete streets policy or the incorporation of complete streets principles in community development and transportation planning and highway projects.
   Sec. 5.  NEW SECTION.  306E.5  Complete streets fund.
   A complete streets fund is created in the state treasury under the control of the department. The fund shall consist of any moneys appropriated by the general assembly and any other moneys available to and obtained or accepted by the department from the federal government or private sources for placement in the fund. Section 8.33 does not apply to moneys in the fund. Notwithstanding section 12C.7, interest or earnings on moneys in the fund shall be credited to the fund. Moneys deposited in the fund are appropriated to the department to be used to facilitate complete streets projects on secondary roads and municipal streets throughout the state.
EXPLANATION
   This bill provides a mechanism for the implementation of “complete streets” principles in highway projects undertaken on Iowa roads.
   The bill defines “complete street” as a roadway that accommodates all users of the road including motorists, public transit users, bicyclists, and pedestrians of all ages and abilities.
   The bill expresses the general assembly’s intent that every agency having jurisdiction over roads or involved in planning for roads shall develop and adopt a complete streets policy on or before October 1, 2013. Affected agencies include the department of transportation, regional and metropolitan planning commissions, counties, and cities. The complete streets policy for the state shall apply to all highway projects on primary roads, and the policies of other agencies shall focus on roads in urban areas or within one mile of the corporate limits of a city. All complete streets policies shall contain a procedure by which an agency may exempt a highway project from the agency’s complete streets policy for specific reasons stated in the bill.
   The department of transportation is directed to provide guidance to local agencies and conduct ongoing research regarding complete streets to assist agencies formulating complete streets policies. The director of transportation is required to issue by October 1, 2012, and periodically update, a report describing best practices of transportation agencies in other states that have implemented complete streets principles.
   The bill creates a complete streets fund for deposit of any federal, state, or private moneys available for purposes of complete streets. Moneys deposited in the fund are appropriated to the department of transportation to be used to facilitate complete streets projects on secondary roads and municipal streets.