H.R. 5465: Generating Resilient, Environmentally Exceptional National Streets Act

This bill, known as the Generating Resilient, Environmentally Exceptional National Streets Act (or GREEN Streets Act), aims to amend transportation regulations to emphasize the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and enhance the resilience of the transportation system in the United States. Here's a summary of the key provisions:

Objectives

• Focus on strategies to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions.
• Improve the resilience of transportation infrastructure against climate-related events.

Performance Measures for Public Roads

The bill proposes to update existing measures used to evaluate public road performance. It includes:

• Adding "combating climate change" as a specific goal.
• Establishing standards for decreasing the per capita vehicle miles traveled.
• Encouraging investments in active transportation infrastructure (e.g., sidewalks, bike lanes) and public transport systems.

Metropolitan Planning Requirements

For urban planning, the bill establishes that:

• Metropolitan planning organizations must analyze the impact of road expansion projects on emissions and traffic patterns.
• Projects seeking to increase road capacity must demonstrate a positive effect on performance goals, as well as public support and environmental consideration, especially for communities at risk of adverse effects.

Investment Obligations

States that do not meet established performance targets regarding greenhouse gas emissions must allocate a percentage of their federal transportation funding to projects aimed at meeting those targets. The obligations increase for each consecutive year the targets are not achieved.

Transit Accessibility Standards

The bill also modifies existing guidelines around public transit accessibility, requiring:

• Establishment of national standards for transit accessibility, including metrics for the distance to transit stops and the share of the population that has access to public transportation options.
• Increased technical assistance for communities to meet new accessibility goals.

Reports and Compliance

Transportation entities will be required to submit regular reports demonstrating progress in achieving new standards and performance measures, including updates on environmental impacts and compliance with new accessibility requirements.

Relevant Companies

• GT, Inc. - Companies involved in transportation infrastructure may have to adapt to new compliance regulations and standards due to this bill.
• Waste Management, Inc. (WM) - As a part of waste and environmental management, they may see changes in compliance requirements concerning greenhouse emissions due to infrastructure projects.