CalBike Insider: Following Up on the Complete Streets Bill

CalBike does a lot of behind-the-scenes work to encourage state agencies to develop better policies and to follow up on the implementation of bills passed in prior years. One law we’re following closely is SB 960, the Complete Streets Bill. CalBike worked tirelessly for almost a decade to pass a Complete Streets requirement on state roads; now that it’s law, we continue to work with Caltrans to ensure that it’s properly implemented.

The devil is in the details

At our meeting with Caltrans on June 4, 2025, we were encouraged by the staff’s willingness to work with us and the progress made on several fronts in improving the agency’s Complete Streets implementation. 

However, there are two areas where we’re not seeing much movement, so we followed up with a letter to California State Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin and Caltrans leadership outlining our concerns.

Transit priority

One of the requirements in the 2024 Complete Streets Bill is that Caltrans prioritize projects and project elements that improve the speed and efficiency of public transit. Transit is a vital element of California’s sustainable transportation transformation, providing connections that allow people biking and walking to go farther. 

We are concerned that Caltrans doesn’t yet have a director’s policy or design guidance for transit priority facilities. These are essential first steps needed for planners and engineers to include transit features in upcoming Caltrans projects. We urge the agency to move quickly to put these elements in place.

Encroachment permits

One of the roadblocks to safe biking and walking infrastructure is the agonizingly slow pace at which Caltrans approves encroachment permits. Local communities need these permits from Caltrans when a project on local streets crosses or overlaps with a state-controlled right-of-way. Many state routes serve as local streets, and freeway on and off ramps dot urban landscapes, often creating safety hazards for people using active transportation. Slow permitting can hold up projects or discourage local governments from planning infrastructure upgrades that touch Caltrans roads.

The Complete Streets Bill calls for faster permitting for Complete Streets projects that intersect state routes. So far, Caltrans has not taken the necessary steps to implement this high-priority element of the new law. We hope to see the agency act with urgency to put staff in place to make this happen in the very near future.