Safe Routes to School Grants

Please be informed that a project application cycle for the new Pennsylvania Federal Safe Routes to School (FSRTS) Program commenced on May 5, 2008. The Federal Safe Routes to School (FSRTS) Program was authorized via SAFETEA-LU and provides $612 million nationwide for projects that enable and encourage children to walk and bicycle to school. Pennsylvania’s funding share for FFY 2005-2009 is just over $21 million. Applications for this program will be accepted from May 5, 2008 through August 1, 2008. Program details and applications can be found online at: www.dot.state.pa.us/Internet/Bureaus/CPDM.nsf/SRTSHomepage.

The FSRTS program supplies 100% federal funding with no local match requirement. In addition, the funding covers all project phases—not just construction. Projects must be located within a two-mile radius of an elementary school with students in kindergarten through eighth grade (K-8), or a school with at least one of these grades (i.e., a high school that contains grades 8-12) is eligible. The projects must primarily benefit children in grades K-8 and be constructed only on direct walking routes—corridors used by students to travel directly to and from school from a residential area. Trails to parks, libraries, or other after-school facilities are not eligible. All projects are to incorporate “The Five Es of Safe Routes To School:" education, encouragement, enforcement, evaluation, and engineering. The first four Es are considered “non-infrastructure activities.”

DVRPC representatives will be available if any program or project guidance is required. Please feel free to contact Liz Smith, Project Implementation Coordinator, at easmith@dvrpc.org or (215) 238-2824 or Ryan Gallagher, Project Implementation Coordinator, at rgallagher@dvrpc.org or (215) 238-2881 if you have any questions.

DVRPC Carries Out Regional Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory

DVRPC is carrying out a regional greenhouse gas emissions inventory for the nine counties of the Greater Philadelphia region. Producing this inventory is the first task of DVPRC’s newly-instituted Climate Change Initiatives program area, established to lead, support, and coordinate efforts in our region to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to prepare our region to be resilient in the face of changes in our region’s climate.

The intent of this task is to develop an understanding of greenhouse gas emissions appropriate for making well-informed decisions regarding regional and local policies to reduce these emissions.  This work is being carried out in close coordination with municipal, county, state, and federal-level inventory and forecasting efforts, as well as with national organizations such as ICLEI—Local Governments for Sustainability and the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement.

One of the key aspects of this work is our intention to allocate this inventory and forecast to each county and municipality in order to assist any municipal-level inventory efforts and allow those efforts to focus on inventorying emissions due to government operation. The inventory is on track for completion by November 2008.

To learn more about this work, please contact Rob Graff, Manager, Office of Economic Analysis and Coordination, at (215) 238-2826 or rgraff@dvrpc.org.

Take Action to Improve Air Quality

While we are currently enjoying the warm summer weather, we must remember that we are also in the midst of ozone season. At ground level, ozone can be harmful to our lungs and the environment. In the summer, sunlight and heat can "bake" pollutants to form ground-level ozone, also known as smog. DVRPC administers a program called the Air Quality Partnership (AQP), which is a public/private coalition dedicated to improving air quality in the Delaware Valley through air quality initiatives and advisories.

The Partnership implements the Air Quality Action program to notify the public when air quality is forecast to be unhealthy and to encourage the public to take action to reduce air pollution, especially on Air Quality Action days. Steps like taking transit, telecommuting, trip-linking, refueling after dark, and conserving energy at home all help reduce air pollution. Take action to protect yourself from air quality health risks and help reduce the formation of ground-level ozone on days when it counts the most! For more information and daily air quality forecasts, visit www.airqualitypartnership.org or call 1-800-872-7261.

DVRPC Board Approves $5.5 Billion in Transportation Improvements

The DVRPC Board authorized more than $5.5 billion in funding for major highway and public transit investments in Pennsylvania and New Jersey when they adopted the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for Fiscal Year 2009-2012. What does this mean for the region? It signifies a continued commitment to target safety, rehabilitation and congestion concerns on the region’s transportation network while trying to support smart growth and sustain the environment. 

The TIP lists all projects that intend to use federal funds, along with all state funded projects. The list is multi-modal, and includes highway, transit, bicycle, pedestrian and freight-related projects.
To view a copy of the newly adopted draft TIP, visit www.dvrpc.org/transportation/capital/tip.htm.

In addition to the TIP, the DVRPC Board adopted the Conformity Finding of the FY 2009 TIPs and the Destination 2030 Long Range Plan. This conformity process ensures that plans and programs receiving federal funding are consistent with national, state and regional air quality requirements. For more information, please contact Gastonia Anderson, Transportation Planner, at (215) 238-2888 or ganderson@dvrpc.org.

New Online Mapping Tool Enhances TIP Searches

Learning about TIP projects in your area just got easier! A new feature on the DVRPC website allows you to search for, and view, TIP projects using the familiar Google Maps interface.

The database of TIP projects can be searched by county or operator, municipality, keyword, or project ID. The application also allows users to zoom in to specific areas of the map. Each project is clearly marked with a color-coded “pushpin” that indicates the type of project (highway, transit, bicycle/pedestrian, streetscape, etc.). By clicking on the “pushpin,” you are able to view more details about that specific project, including the full description and programming details.

The interactive feature also ties in with the DVRPC Congestion Management Process (CMP), so that the description of the particular CMP corridor where a project is located can be readily identified and viewed, including the appropriate improvement strategies for the corridor. Also incorporated into the website are milestones for the “non-traditional” projects managed by DVRPC’s Project Implementation Unit.

Other new features include real-time traffic information and satellite imagery of the region (aerial photographs of the TIP locations). The website is updated each month, following Board approval of TIP amendments. To view the new DVRPC TIP mapping tool, visit www.dvrpc.org/transportation/capital/tip.htm and scroll down to “Current TIPs.”

DVRPC Developing Emergency Transportation Plan

The Transportation Committee of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Regional Counterterrorism Task Force has been actively working since March to develop an Emergency Transportation Plan for the Southeast Pennsylvania region, which includes  Bucks County, Chester County, Delaware County, and MontgomeryCounty. The group is working closely with the City of Philadelphia to coordinate similar efforts.  The plan will address all modes of transportation within the region, including major and minor highways, local roads, and public and private transit. The plan will provide a regional framework for evacuation planning, including coordination with existing local and county planning efforts, as well as with adjoining counties and states.

Steering Committee members include public safety departments and emergency planners from each county within the region as well as the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA), Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, Pennsylvania State Police, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, and the Red Cross. The group will be holding county-level working meetings in the fall to discuss specific emergency transportation planning issues that may impact local communities. The project was issued by PEMA using Department of Homeland Security grant funding. The expected completion date is June 2009. For more information, contact Stan Platt, Manager, Office of Transportation Operations Management, at splatt@dvrpc.org or (215) 238-2851.

DVRPC Releases New Tool for Municipal Tree Management

DVRPC has released a new Municipal Implementation Tool that identifies the importance of municipal tree programs and provides guidance to municipalities on how to create these programs. The brochure discusses the economic, quality of life, social, energy saving, climate change, water quality, and traffic calming benefits of trees. Components of effective street and park tree ordinances and tree plans are described, along with tips for working with utilities and conducting a tree inventory. Also included is a description of tree loss trends in the Delaware Valley and information about tree planting, protection, and education programs in the region. The brochure may be viewed online at www.dvrpc.org/planning/community/MCDTools.htm. To request a printed version, or for more information, please contact Evangeline Linkous, Planning Analyst, at (215) 238-2865 or elinkous@dvrpc.org.

DVRPC Manages Capital Programs

The primary role of DVRPC's Capital Programs Unit is to act as the project manager, on behalf of PennDOT District 6-0 or the four New Jersey counties in our region, for projects that have received funding through many different programs within our region such as Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funding, Transportation Enhancement (TE) funding, DVRPC’s Local Scoping funding, and even some earmark projects. Typical projects include multi-use trails, bicycle path construction, reconstruction/restoration of historic transportation buildings, pedestrian facilities, streetscape improvements, local bridge improvements, and some roadway and intersection improvements.

The goal of the unit is to ensure a smooth workflow throughout the project development process. Our efforts include giving assistance in defining the project's scope of services, providing support in the development and advertisement of the request for proposal (RFP) for consultant services for both design as well as construction inspection, facilitating key meetings to assure that all team members are aware of the federal and PennDOT/NJDOT requirements that must be met, administrating the consultant contract throughout the pre-construction design and environmental documentation process, assuring the allocated federal funds are drawn down from the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), preparation and coordination of reimbursement agreements establishing the conduit for federal funds to pay for the actual construction, and gaining final approval from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). We also manage non-construction projects that accomplish such tasks as marketing, outreach, and education. 

Over the last twelve months, the following projects from the DVRPC region were under construction or in use: Wycombe Train Station (Bucks County), Main Street Streetscape Improvements (Montgomery County), Oaks Bridge Retrofit-Perkiomen Trail (Montgomery County), Lincoln Highway Streetscape Enhancements (Chester County), East Coast Greenway (Delaware County), Doylestown Bike and Hike System Extension (Bucks County), Washington Crossing Gateway Park (Bucks County), Tookany Creek Pedestrian Walking Trail, Phase 2 (Montgomery County), Doylestown Borough Safe Routes to School (Bucks County), Doylestown Connection (Bucks County), and Glenside Commercial District (Montgomery County).

If you have any questions regarding the Capital Programs at DVRPC, please contact John Coscia, Jr., Manager of Project Implementation, at (215) 238-2859 or jcosciajr@dvrpc.org.