SB 5581 failed to pass the opposite-house cutoff, making it no longer active.

AWC seeks feedback on proposed expansion of safe system strategies on active transportation infrastructure

February 13, 2026

Legislation from last year to extend safe system strategies to state and local active transportation infrastructure has returned and moved to the opposite chamber.

Building on recommendations from the Cooper Jones Active Transportation Safety Council, SB 5581 (Sen. Sharon Shewmake, D–Bellingham) expands the state’s active transportation and complete streets policies in several ways, with impacts to cities and towns.

The bill incorporates “shared use paths”—facilities “designed for active transportation use and physically separated from motorized vehicular traffic within the highway right-of-way or on an exclusive right-of-way with minimal crossflow by motor vehicles”—in the state’s requirements for active transportation planning. That means the state and local governments must plan for and accommodate shared use paths in the same way they currently do for trails.

HB 5581 also removes consideration of cost as compared to need or probable use from the required considerations agencies must make before building such paths. It also gives the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) authority to expend reasonable amounts received from statewide fuel tax collections for planning, construction, and operation of active transportation facilities.

The legislation further removes references to “circular intersection” and introduces a definition for “roundabout” to apply to the state transportation system and general rules of the road. A roundabout is defined as “an intersection of two or more joining highways characterized by a one-way traffic pattern that travels counterclockwise around a central island, and in which traffic entering the intersection must yield to circulating traffic within the intersection as indicated by official traffic control devices.”

A roundabout is considered a single intersection of all joining roadways.

The bill also addresses Complete Streets law, specifying that WSDOT:

• Must consult with local governments to confirm existing or planned active transportation facilities on local routes that provide access to the same destinations as the state route
• Must identify existing or planned active transportation facilities on publicly owned or tribally owned property
  • If WSDOT determines that a facility provides equal or better access to a destination, it may identify such facility as an appropriate active transportation network connection providing mitigation in lieu of fulfilling Complete Streets requirements, subject to a cooperative agreement with the local jurisdiction or tribe and if certain conditions (specified in the bill) are met.
• May use Complete Streets project funds to participate in local or tribal system projects and construct necessary wayfinding connections from the state highway to the local or tribal facility
• May implement and require compliance with Complete Streets policy for recipients of grants from the Safe Routes to School Program, the Sandy Williams Connecting Communities Program, and the Bicyclist and Pedestrian Grant Program when there are changes on state rights-of-way

AWC supports the goal of the legislation to increase transportation safety for all users of the statewide system. Given the technical nature of the legislation, we seek input from cities on the feasibility of its implementation and suggestions for improvement.

Date to remember

SB 5581 is scheduled for a public hearing in the House Transportation Committee on Wednesday, February 18, at 4 pm.