The 2026 legislative session is officially underway, and Local Motion is committed to advocating for safer streets on behalf of all Vermonters. In addition to the four low/no-cost priorities we’ve listed below, we also support the Transportation for Vermonters Coalition’s 2026 policy priorities and the Environmental Common Agenda with Vermont Conservation Voters.
Closing outdated safety gaps in Vermont’s traffic statutes
Vermont’s traffic statutes contain outdated provisions that create preventable safety risks for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers. Vermont should align its laws with national best practices to make roads safer for all users.
This includes updating state parking statutes to prohibit parking within 20 feet of all crosswalks, including mid-block crossings, to improve pedestrian visibility and safety. Current law prohibits parking within 20 feet of a crosswalk at an intersection but does not address mid-block crossings, leaving a dangerous gap.
Vermont’s antiquated passing law is another area in need of reform. Vermont is the only state in the country that allows passing across double-yellow lines unless explicitly prohibited. As a result, drivers can legally pass within center left-turn lanes, a practice that is unsafe and inconsistent with traffic laws elsewhere in the country. Vermont should update this law to designate center turn lanes as a “no passing zone”.
Study E-bike and E-moto regulations
The rapid growth of e-bikes and e-motos nationally has outpaced Vermont’s regulatory framework, leaving misunderstandings about the difference between the two and how to ensure they are used safely.
Vermont should establish a state task force to study and recommend strategies for managing battery fire risks from e-bikes, e-motos, and evolving micromobility devices. The task force would also study e-bike parking, e-moto regulations, and path behavior in alignment with Vermont's housing, climate, and transportation goals.
Reform historic resource review requirements for active transportation projects
Historic and archaeological resource assessments are currently required as part of all active transportation projects receiving federal funding through the State, despite the fact that bike and pedestrian projects, by their nature, rarely impact historic structures.
These assessments add significant cost and long delays to projects, and reviews rarely if ever find that projects have adverse effects on historic structures. VTrans and the State Historic Preservation Office should seek to categorize active transportation projects such that they are either automatically exempt from or can be screened for historic resource impacts in a quicker, more cost-effective manner.
Support Burlington’s adoption of traffic enforcement cameras
Limited traffic enforcement capacity has made it difficult for towns and cities to consistently address speeding and dangerous driving behaviors. Modern tools like traffic enforcement cameras offer an opportunity to make our streets safer for all users while enforcing laws fairly and cost-effectively.
We are supporting the City of Burlington’s request for the Legislature to approve the City’s use of license plate reader technology for traffic enforcement, while also ensuring municipalities use safeguards to protect personal data and not allow use of data for other purposes.