U.S. communities would be encouraged to use federal safety dollars to fill the holes in city bike networks under new federal legislation that honors the legacy of an American hero who lost her life in a crash.

Last week, Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) and Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) announced the introduction of the Sarah Debbink Langenkamp Active Transportation Act, which would tweak the regulations on the federal Highway Safety Improvement Program and spur states to spend that money to complete their protected bike and pedestrian networks, potentially saving the lives of people who walk and roll.

The bill is named for a decorated U.S. diplomat who was killed while biking home from her sons' school in a suburb of Washington, D.C.