Volume 44, Issue 1
DVRPC Board Elects Officers for FY 2023
At the June DVRPC Board meeting, new Board officers were elected for Fiscal Year 2023. They include:
Chair: Christine A. Reuther, Councilmember with the Delaware County Council.
Vice Chair: Michael Russo, Assistant Commissioner for Planning, Multimodal and Grant Administration at the New Jersey Department of Transportation.
Secretary: Valerie Arkoosh, Commissioner and Chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners.
Treasurer: Thomas Stanuikynas, Regional Planning Manager for Burlington County Bridge Commission.
DVRPC welcomes the new Board officers and looks forward to their leadership and guidance for this fiscal year. View the full Board list.
DVRPC Board Approves $1.2 Million for TCDI Projects in PA
At its June 23 meeting, the DVRPC Board approved $1.2 million to fund 13 projects across DVRPC’s five Pennsylvania counties through the Transportation and Community Development Initiative (TCDI) program. The TCDI grants, financed by federal transportation funds, support smart growth initiatives that implement the Connections 2050: Plan for Greater Philadelphia and enhance the multimodal transportation network. For the first time, a local match was not required to qualify for the grant.
Awarded projects this year include single and multi-municipal, as well as countywide projects, and cover topics such as complete streets, multimodal transportation studies, neighborhood bikeways, and road diets. View the list of selected projects on the TCDI webpage. The New Jersey TCDI program will be offered in 2023.
Application Round Opens for NJ Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside Program
Applications are now being accepted for the 2023 New Jersey Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside (TA Set-Aside) Program. The program is administered by the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT), in partnership with the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, and has been maintained and increased under the new Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
This program provides federal funds for community-based "non-traditional" forms of surface transportation such as walking and biking. Applications for this program are due by November 3, 2022 and must be submitted through the New Jersey System for Administering Grants Electronically (SAGE).
Applications should provide benefits to underserved communities, including low-income residents, minorities, those with limited English proficiency, persons with disabilities, children, and older adults. Census data for these categories will be used to determine if a project meets the equity criteria. Learn more at the NJDOT Local Aid equity webpage.
One-on-one pre-application meetings are required. Your local public agency should schedule this meeting as soon as possible through the NJDOT Local Aid Resource Center website. NJDOT is hosting training webinars on July 21, 2022 at 3:00 PM and September 15, 2022 at 12:00 PM. Register on the TA Set-Aside webpage. For more information, please contact Dan Snyder, Project Implementation Engineer, at dsnyder@dvrpc.org or 215-238-2923.
Executive Director Barry Seymour Receives NARC Leadership Award
At its 2022 conference, the National Association of Regional Councils (NARC) awarded DVRPC Executive Director Barry Seymour with the Walter Scheiber Leadership Award. The award recognizes significant impacts an executive director has made at the local, state, and national level.
Andrew Gruber, Executive Director of Wasatch Front Regional Council (WFRC), and Lou Cappelli, Camden County Commissioner Director, nominated Seymour for the award. Gruber said, “Barry isn’t one to seek the spotlight; rather he leads by example. He is ready to share information about the challenges and innovations from his own region, and listen to the ideas and approaches from others. His easy-going nature, ready smile, and wit make him a pleasure to be around. He is a role model for many, personally and professionally.”
Homegrown Economies Webinar Series Kicks Off on 7/15
Earlier this year DVRPC published Cultivating a Homegrown Economy, which highlights a societal shift towards greater support for local economies; discusses the benefits to, and challenges of, this trend; and provides examples of specific strategies that the region’s municipalities can implement in order to cultivate their own homegrown economies. As a follow-up to this publication, DVRPC is hosting a three-part webinar series, with each part focusing on one of the three pillars of sustainability: economic, environmental, and social–all of which are integral to a successful approach to cultivating a homegrown economy.
The series kicks off on July 15, with a webinar on strategies that can be used to grow economically sustainable local communities. Panelists will discuss the craft beverage industry, branding and marketing for downtowns, and small-scale manufacturing. Register for the webinar.
The second webinar, on environmental sustainability, will be held on August 5, and the final webinar, on social sustainability is scheduled for September 9.
Draft Conformity Demonstration Open for Public Comment
DVRPC has opened a public comment period for the Draft Conformity Demonstration for the Draft DVRPC FY 2023 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for Pennsylvania (FY23-FY26) and Long-Range Plan Connections 2050. DVRPC will accept comments on the draft document until July 18, 2022 at 5:00 pm local time.
A Conformity Demonstration is conducted to ensure transportation investments conform to the federal Clean Air Act, and demonstrate that a proposed plan or project will not negatively impact a region’s ability to meet or maintain federal air quality standards. View an electronic version of the Draft Conformity Demonstration.
Staff Recognized as Top TDM Professionals Under 40
At its 32nd Annual Meeting, transportation management agency GVF recognized Kelsey McElduff, Senior Transportation Engineer, and Thom Stead, Assistant Manager, Office of Mobility Analysis and Design, as Top TDM Professionals Under 40. Now in its ninth year, this award recognizes the next generation of professionals working to find creative solutions to improve quality of life through alternatives to driving alone.
“We are proud to recognize the 36 ambitious leaders who have made a positive impact in the transportation industry and look forward to continuing to work together to advance mobility within our region,” said Rob Henry, GVF Executive Director.
Upcoming Online LTAP Classes in PA and NJ
The Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) provides technical information and expertise to help municipal governments use transportation funds more effectively, improve road maintenance, and increase roadway safety. Classes are held by Pennsylvania and New Jersey LTAP programs, but are open to any municipality.
Upcoming classes:
Traffic Control Coordinator Refresher
Virtual
July 13, 2022 (8:00 am - 12:00 pm)
Using Traffic Counts for Data-Driven Decisions
Virtual
August 4, 2022 (11:00 am - 12:00 pm)
Visit Rutgers Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation to see the 2022 schedule of LTAP courses in New Jersey.
Visit PennDOT's LTAP website to view the course descriptions and register. For any questions, contact Linda McNeffer at lmcneffer@dvrpc.org or 215-238-2872.
DVRPC maintains a calendar of events, workshops, and conferences hosted by our partners and related to planning for Greater Philadelphia. Visit our Partner Calendar to learn more.
Staff Profile: Andrew Svekla, Manager, Office of Smart Growth
What did you want to be growing up? At one point, I wanted to be a professional baseball player. I remember telling my mom that I was going to take her all over the country to watch me play.
What was your first job? Growing up, delivering newspapers and mowing lawns were rites of passage. One of my first real jobs was working at the old Tower Records near the Cherry Hill Mall. I loved talking about music with customers and other staff.
What did you study in college? I majored in Environmental Studies at George Washington University because the program combined all of the subjects that I was most interested in: politics, economics, and sustainability. Along the way, I took enough literature courses to minor in English.
How did you end up at DVRPC? Planning is a second career for me. While working for America Online (remember them?) in the early 2000s, I realized that I was more interested in the forces shaping the Northern Virginia suburbs where I worked than computers. I eventually returned to school to study planning at Rutgers University and took a job at a small planning and design firm in central New Jersey upon graduation. When that firm became a victim of the Great Recession in 2009, I was fortunate to be hired by DVRPC as a planner in DVRPC’s Office of Smart Growth.
What are your responsibilities? Over the years, I’ve been able to participate in and lead planning studies on a wide variety of important topics. Today, as the manager of DVRPC’s Office of Smart Growth, I spend my time conducting research for our planning partners and managing projects that combine elements of transportation planning with land use, urban design, and community development.
What is your favorite part of working at DVRPC? Working at DVRPC allows me to feel connected to all of the important conversations taking place about the future of Greater Philadelphia. Growing up in the region, I love being able to practice planning in a place that will always be my home.
What is your work/life philosophy? Parenting during the pandemic forced me to refocus on the essentials. Nowadays, I try my best to concentrate on one thing at a time. At work, that means single-tasking my way through the day. At home, that means striving to be fully present with my family.
What is something colleagues don’t know about you? I’m pretty meticulous about music. I am constantly making playlists for different occasions and genres. Friday, the day when new albums are released each week, is my favorite day of the week.
Who would you like to drive across the country with? I drove across the country with my brother many years ago, and I have always wanted to do it again. I look forward to making this journey with my wife, Liz, at some point in our lives.
What is your recent obsession? I recently saw two episodes of the Apple TV+ series Severance on an airplane and now I’m hooked. The show is a surreal twist on the idea of work-life balance that mixes science fiction and psychological thrills.
What is the last book you read? I haven’t read as much as I would like to in recent years, but I just finished Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen on a recent vacation. Next up, I will be starting Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro.
What are your Top 3 places you want to travel to? Barcelona, Patagonia, and Dubrovnik.
Are you a cat or dog person? I like other people’s pets, but don’t need any of my own.