DOT Scraps 5 Climate-Friendly Safety Measures, Including Bike Lanes

For climate advocates, bike lanes and speed cameras aren't just about traffic deaths—they're critical infrastructure for reducing car dependency and the greenhouse gases that come with it. By stripping these evidence-backed measures from its official playbook, the DOT is effectively walking away from the fastest-growing source of U.S. emissions, leaving cities with fewer federal tools to meet their climate goals.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has quietly removed five evidence-backed safety strategies from its official list of 'Proven Safety Countermeasures,' a move that experts say prioritizes political ideology over public safety and climate goals. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), without public announcement, reduced the list from 28 to 23 items, eliminating bike lanes, speed safety cameras, variable speed limits, and two other measures. This action, revealed in July 2026, aligns with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s recent characterization of bike lanes as 'DEI bike lanes' and his administration's broader push to reverse policies perceived to hinder car traffic. The decision has immediate and far-reaching consequences not only for road safety but also for efforts to curb transportation emissions—a sector that accounts for the largest share of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

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The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), without public announcement, reduced the list from 28 to 23 items, eliminating bike lanes, speed safety cameras, variable speed limits, and two other measures.

The program's history underscores the gravity of the rollback. The 'Proven Safety Countermeasures' list was created as a guide for state and local planners, last expanded in 2021 under then-acting FHWA administrator Stephanie Pollack to include 28 strategies. Those additions, including bike lanes and speed cameras, were grounded in research showing they reduce crashes, calm traffic, and encourage multimodalism. Pollack, now outside government, harshly criticized the removal: 'We should be making decisions about safety based on evidence. It’s hard for me to understand how you could say you’re putting safety first, and then make arbitrary decisions about what does and doesn’t improve safety.' Her 2021 expansion reflected a focus on protecting vulnerable road users—cyclists, pedestrians—and reducing fatalities. But the current FHWA leadership under the Trump administration has reversed course, with a spokesperson stating the changes 'reverse the last administration’s policies that decreased lane capacity and increased congestion.' The silence surrounding the decision—no press release, no technical justification—magnifies the shock.

The climate implications are stark and multi-layered. Bike lanes and multimodal infrastructure are central to reducing reliance on private cars, the dominant source of transport emissions. Research consistently shows that protected bike lanes lead to higher cycling rates, which can replace short car trips, directly cutting greenhouse gases and local air pollution. By removing these from a government-endorsed safety list, the DOT sends a chilling signal to cities and states that have adopted Vision Zero and climate action plans. Federal transportation funding and technical guidance heavily influence local decisions; if bike lanes are no longer considered 'proven,' municipalities may face political and financial hurdles in building them. The timing exacerbates the climate emergency—extreme weather events are intensifying, and reducing vehicle miles traveled is a key adaptation strategy to meet U.S. climate commitments. Without federal support, the nation risks further entrenching auto-centric sprawl at the expense of low-carbon, livable communities.

Other removed measures carry climate consequences as well. Speed cameras reduce speeding, which not only cuts fatal crashes but also improves fuel efficiency; aggressive driving burns more fuel. Variable speed limits smooth traffic flow, reducing stop-and-go congestion that spikes pollution. Dismissing these tools under the guise of increasing capacity ignores the phenomenon of induced demand: adding road capacity often attracts more cars, nullifying congestion relief while raising emissions. Thus, the DOT’s stated rationale may prove counterproductive on its own terms.