- Climate Commitment Act funding retained for safer biking!
- More dollars for Complete Streets grants, and Sandy Williams Connecting Communities funding.
- We killed the proposed e-bike tax!
Earlier this month, Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson signed the 2026-2027 Transportation Budget into law, concluding the most fiscally challenging legislative session since the Great Recession in 2008-2009. Thanks to our hard work and the help of legislative allies, Washington Bikes was able to help defeat attempts to remove funding from bike-related infrastructure and the statewide youth bike education expansion.
Below we highlight our wins and top priorities for the session, including some legislative initiatives that got tabled for future consideration.
Priority 1: Retain Existing Program Funding
Washington Bikes and our allies defeated efforts to divert Climate Commitment Act funding that is currently devoted to bike education and active transportation. We are thankful to our legislative partners for rejecting efforts to balance the budget with this crucial funding.
Our wins include:
✅ $223 million in grants over the next two years for Safe Routes to School, the Bike/Pedestrian Grant Program, the Sandy Williams Connecting Communities program, and the Transportation Improvement Board’s “Complete Streets” grants.
✅ The Sandy Williams Connecting Communities Grant program is now permanent!
Founded in 2023 via the Move Ahead WA package, these grants enable WSDOT to help cities and towns design and build bike routes that link communities so that more people can bike rather than drive. Communities that receive these grants are chosen due to their demographics and levels of historic under-investment, among other factors.
✅ We defeated proposed e-bike taxes. During budget negotiations, the Senate Transportation Committee proposed a 10% tax on e-bike purchases. WA Bikes worked to narrow the Senate proposal to only apply to e-bikes with non safety-certified batteries (primarily those sold online rather than through brick and mortar bike shops), and then worked with allies in the House to kill the tax altogether. We oppose taxing e-bikes, which are an affordable and climate-friendly alternative to motor vehicles.
✅ The Statewide School-Based Bike Safety Education program, which will serve 70,000 Washington school kids this year, was awarded $27.2 million for the next biennium. This was the amount requested by WSDOT to continue growing the program with the goal of serving 90% of Washington’s public school kids by 2039. The statewide bike education program is a partnership between WSDOT, Cascade Bicycle Club, schools, and community organizations across the state. The goal is to provide bike safety skills to youth via in-class PE curriculum and after school bike clubs.
✅ $10 million in e-bike access, including cash incentives and lending libraries. The first round of state e-bike incentives for consumers rolled out this spring, and was vastly over subscribed. Demand for cost savings to help with the investment of an e-bike is high! That’s why we are thrilled to see the state continue the program.
Priority 2: Build Out The Trails Network Faster
The Legislature made little progress on this issue this session, despite the hard work of legislative bike champions. These proposals will likely return in future legislative sessions:
💡Funding for a Cycle Highways program was tabled for future consideration. This new program would have devoted funding to close trails gaps across the state, including in Spokane, Snohomish County, and the Yakima Nation. The good news is that Sen. Marko Liias is a champion of the cycle highways concept, and funding was included to continue WSDOT’s planning for a cycle highways program.
‼️ Effort fails to speed up completion of the Burke-Gilman Trail “Missing Link.” HB1814 would have exempted from the SEPA process a segment of the Burke-Gilman Trail in Seattle. Opponents have abused the SEPA process to stall progress on filling this dangerous gap on the Burke-Gilman Trail through Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood. Despite passing the House, and then reappearing in the final proposed Transportation Budget, HB1814 ultimately failed.
Rep. Fitzgibbon was lead sponsor of this bill and worked hard to get it passed. We are really appreciative of his leadership on this important issue, as well as Sen. Shewmake, Sen. Liias and Rep. Reed. Thanks also to the 400+ people who signed in pro on this bill in its Senate hearing, underscoring that the community wants this project to move forward.
Priority 3: Stem The Transportation Safety Crisis in Washington
The Legislature is addressing traffic violence by requiring speed limiters in the automobiles of known speeders, and by advancing work to ensure all young drivers gain safety skills training prior to getting their license. A couple of bills below address our top priority for safety: the built environment.
✅ A bill to create pedestrian-first streets paves the way for safer streets in urban settings. Dubbed the Shared Streets bill, SB5595 authorizes local governments to designate a non-arterial street a “shared street,” with a maximum speed limit of 10 mph and right-of-way priority for people biking, walking, or using micro-mobility. This bill gives local governments across WA a new tool to calm speeds and develop connected bike networks.
‼️ SB5581, a bill to further embed the Safe Systems Approach into WSDOT’s practices, did not make it through. Despite passing the Senate, this bill failed to pass the House. The bill would have improved implementation of the state’s groundbreaking Complete Streets requirement and improved guidance for design of safety treatments such as roundabouts.
