The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 19: Highways

Chapter 024: Complete Streets

• § 2401. Definition

  As used in this chapter, “complete streets” means streets that provide safe and accessible options for multiple travel modes for individuals of all ages and abilities, including walking, cycling, public transportation, and motor vehicles. (Added 2023, No. 62, § 35, eff. July 1, 2023.)

• § 2402. State policy

  (a) Agency of Transportation funded, designed, or funded and designed projects shall seek to increase and encourage more pedestrian, bicycle, and public transit trips, with the State goal to promote intermodal access to the maximum extent feasible, which will help the State meet the transportation-related recommendations outlined in the Comprehensive Energy Plan (CEP) issued under 30 V.S.A. § 202b and the recommendations of the Vermont Climate Action Plan (CAP) issued under 10 V.S.A. § 592.

  (b) Except in the case of projects or project components involving unpaved highways, for all transportation projects and project phases managed by the Agency or a municipality, including planning, development, construction, or maintenance, it is the policy of this State for the Agency and municipalities, as applicable, to incorporate complete streets principles that:

  (1) serve individuals of all ages and abilities, including vulnerable users as defined in 23 V.S.A. § 4(81);

  (2) follow state-of-the-practice design guidance;

  (3) are sensitive to the surrounding community, including current and planned buildings, parks, and trails and current and expected transportation needs; and

  (4) when desired by the municipality or specifically identified in the regional plan, implement street design for purposes of calming and slowing traffic in State-designated centers under 24 V.S.A. chapter 76A. (Added 2023, No. 62, § 35, eff. July 1, 2023; amended 2023, No. 148, § 32, eff. July 1, 2024.)

• § 2403. Projects not incorporating complete streets principles

  (a) State projects. A State-managed project shall incorporate complete streets principles unless the project manager makes a written determination, supported by documentation, that one or more of the following circumstances exist:

  (1) Use of the transportation facility by pedestrians, bicyclists, or other users is prohibited by law.

  (2) The cost of incorporating complete streets principles is disproportionate to the need or probable use as determined by factors including land use, current and projected user volumes, population density, crash data, historic and natural resource constraints, and maintenance requirements. The Agency shall consult local and regional plans, as appropriate, in assessing these and any other relevant factors. If the project manager bases the written determination required under this subsection in whole or in part on this subdivision then the project manager shall provide a supplemental written determination with specific details on costs, needs, and probable uses, as applicable. The supplemental written determination shall also address any design elements that were desired by the municipality or specifically identified in the regional plan pursuant to subdivision 2402(b)(4) of this chapter but were not incorporated.

  (3) Incorporating complete streets principles is outside the limited scope of a project as defined in the latest version of the Agency’s Complete Streets Guidance.

  (b) Municipal projects. A municipally managed project shall incorporate complete streets principles unless the municipality managing the project makes a written determination, supported by documentation, that one or more of the following circumstances exist:

  (1) Use of the transportation facility by pedestrians, bicyclists, or other users is prohibited by law.

  (2) The cost of incorporating complete streets principles is disproportionate to the need or probable use as determined by factors such as land use, current and projected user volumes, population density, crash data, historic and natural resource constraints, and maintenance requirements. The municipality shall consult local and regional plans, as appropriate, in assessing these and any other relevant factors. If the municipality managing the project bases the written determination required under this subsection in whole or in part on this subdivision then the project manager shall provide a supplemental written determination with specific details on costs, needs, and probable uses, as applicable. The supplemental written determination shall also address any design elements that were desired by the municipality or specifically identified in the regional plan pursuant to subdivision 2402(b)(4) of this chapter but were not incorporated.

  (3) Incorporating complete streets principles is outside the limited scope of a project as defined in the latest version of the Agency’s Complete Streets Guidance.

  (c) Finality of determinations. The written determinations required by subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall be final and shall not be subject to appeal or further review.

  (d) Posting and availability of determinations. The written determinations required by subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall be posted to a web page on the Agency of Transportation’s website dedicated to complete streets, in the case of a State-managed project, and made available for public inspection at the office of the municipal clerk, in the case of a municipally managed project. (Added 2023, No. 62, § 35, eff. July 1, 2023; amended 2023, No. 148 (Adj. Sess.), § 32, eff. July 1, 2024.)

• § 2404. Annual report; public data source

  (a) Annual report. Notwithstanding 2 V.S.A. § 20(d), the Agency shall annually, on or before September 1 starting in 2025, submit a report detailing the State’s efforts in following the complete streets policy established in section 2402 of this chapter during the previous fiscal year to the House and Senate Committees on Transportation.

  (b) Public data source.

  (1) The Agency of Transportation shall maintain a web-accessible and web-searchable data source dedicated to complete streets on the Agency’s website that shall contain information on all State-managed transportation projects that have been bid since January 1, 2023, including a description of the project, the location of the project, which complete streets principles were incorporated in the project, as applicable, and an explanation as to which circumstance or circumstances contained in subsection 2403(a) of this chapter existed in the case of projects not incorporating complete streets principles.

  (2) The web-accessible and web-searchable data source required under this subsection shall be updated on at least an annual basis. (Added 2023, No. 62, § 35, eff. July 1, 2023.)