Committee hears $10 million-per-year traffic-calming grant proposal for first-class cities; bill laid on table

Summary

Senate File 10901 would create competitive grants for cities of the first class to fund traffic calming and related safety work; committee testimony emphasized rising fatal and serious injury crashes, Vision Zero goals, and emergency-response coordination; the bill was laid on the table for further consideration.

Senate File 10901, a proposal to provide $10 million per year in fiscal 2026 and 2027 for grants to cities of the first class for traffic-calming infrastructure and related safety projects, drew extended testimony and questions about roadway safety, emergency response and program flexibility before the committee laid the bill on the table for possible inclusion in future finance legislation.

Senator Johnson Stewart described the bill as a response to municipal funding shortfalls for local safety work and traffic calming. Randy Newton, Saint Paul’s city traffic engineer, told the committee Saint Paul has seen 74 fatal and 282 serious injury crashes over the last five years and noted a 90 percent increase in fatal crashes since before the pandemic. “These are life-altering crashes,” Newton said, and he urged funding to…

Committee hears $10 million-per-year traffic-calming grant proposal for first-class cities; bill laid on table

Summary

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