The GREEN Streets Act requires the federal government to fundamentally change how it plans and funds transportation projects, with a major focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and decreasing car dependency. Currently, transportation planners mainly focus on building roads and highways. This bill adds new requirements that force them to consider climate change, reduce pollution, and encourage people to use alternatives to driving—like public transit, biking, and walking.

The bill creates specific performance standards that states must meet, including reducing per capita vehicle miles traveled (how much the average person drives), improving public transit access, building safe bike lanes and sidewalks, and ultimately achieving net-zero emissions from transportation. States will need to set targets and regularly report progress on these goals. The bill also requires detailed analysis before approving expensive road expansion projects—specifically those costing $25 million or more. Before building new highway lanes, planners must prove the project is more cost-effective than alternatives like improving public transportation, and they must show it won't increase overall driving and emissions. Additionally, the bill requires special attention to environmental justice communities (low-income areas and communities of color that face higher pollution), ensuring these neighborhoods aren't disproportionately harmed by new road projects.

Essentially, this bill shifts transportation funding priorities away from simply building bigger highways toward creating more balanced transportation systems that reduce car trips, cut emissions, and improve quality of life in communities that have historically borne the burden of highway pollution.