Complete Streets and Tree Legislation Worth Watching

US Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and US Representative Doris Matsui (D-California… Sacramento to be exact) have introduced two important walkability-related bills to the US Congress. Senator Harkin introduced the Complete Streets Act of 2008 (S. 2686) which would require states and MPO s to establish complete streets policies and apply them to federally-funded projects. The bill clarifies what a complete streets policy should contain . The legislation would also strengthen research and technical assistance on complete streets. Complete the Streets has put together an excellent information fact sheet about the bill, why it’s needed, and what you can do to help get it passed. You can download that document here . Representative Matsui introduced the Energy Conservation Through Trees Act of 2008 (H.R. 5867). The legislation requires the use of science-based tree-siting guidelines to ensure that trees are not plante...