Volume 43, Issue 11
Air Quality Awareness Week Kicks Off Ozone Season
National Air Quality Awareness Week is May 2-6, 2022. It marks the beginning of the ozone season, when the Greater Philadelphia region typically begins to experience poor air quality from high levels of ground-level ozone. This pollutant damages healthy lungs, makes people more susceptible to lung infections, and makes it even harder for people with lung disease to breathe. While poor air quality is a risk to everyone, communities of color and low-income communities are disproportionately affected.
The good news is that preventing air pollution is a positive step that everyone can take to help protect their community’s health. National Air Quality Awareness Week kicks off efforts to reduce summertime air pollution by raising awareness and promoting actions individuals can take to make a difference. Each day of the week, the Air Quality Partnership will be focusing on a different theme:
May 2: Be aware of the air quality
May 3: Asthma and your health
May 4: Cut back on pollution by cutting back on deliveries
May 5: Environmental justice and air quality
May 6: Drive less by combining trips or taking other modes of transportation
To reduce air pollution, rethink how you travel and try other modes of transportation. Active transportation, like walking or biking, is good for the air and your health. If you must drive, small changes - like combining errands - can make a big impact. Also, consolidating online orders into fewer shipments with slower delivery times can help reduce air pollution. To get more tips, see the daily air quality forecast, and sign up for alerts, visit www.AirQualityPartnership.org.
Dust Off Those Seats, Fill Those Tires – May is Bike Month!
May 2022 is designated National Bike Month by the League of American Bicyclists. Across Greater Philadelphia, advocates and organizations will celebrate Bike Month, Bike-to-Work Week on May 16-22, and Bike-to-Work Day on May 20. In celebration, DVRPC encourages you to try replacing one of your usual car trips with a bicycle, if you’re able and not taking advantage of this convenient and fun mode already. If you need help finding a good bike route, consult Ruti, our text-message based trip planning tool.
At DVRPC, we’re working to make biking easier and safer. We view the bicycle as a mode of transportation in addition to a great form of recreation. We support local bicycle planning efforts through data collection, planning projects, and identification of best practices, and we work with our county and municipal partners to move projects to implementation.
We are also committed to safety and, as a region, have adopted Vision Zero, a strategy to eliminate all traffic-related deaths and severe injuries, while increasing safety, health, and mobility for all. During Bike Month and throughout the year, we want to remind drivers to follow our region’s safe passing laws. In Pennsylvania, drivers must allow at least 4 feet when passing a cyclist whether the cyclist is using a dedicated bicycle lane or using a travel lane. New Jersey’s Safe Passing Law went into effect on March 1, 2022, and also requires drivers to allow at least 4 feet when passing a cyclist. Cyclists always have the right to use the full travel lane except where specifically prohibited.
Follow DVRPC on social media throughout May for events, resources, and other information about bicycling in our region.
NJDOT Opens Pre-Application Meetings for Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside Program (TA Set-Aside)
In conjunction with DVRPC, the NJDOT Division of Local Aid and Economic Development is requiring pre-application meetings for the upcoming Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside Program (TA Set-Aside) solicitation. Prospective applicants can discuss their project concept and get guidance on whether the proposed project is a good fit for the program.
The meetings will be held virtually with the Local Aid Resource Center staff, Local Aid Division, and/or District staff and MPO representatives. Municipal or county representation is required for all meetings. Prior to the meeting, applicants must submit a project map (see the map maker tool), a brief description of the project, and a cost estimate.
Applicants in the DVRPC region can schedule their meetings using this calendar. An automatic invitation will be sent to the scheduler and can then be forwarded to the other team members/invitees as needed. For more information, please visit the TA Set-Aside website or contact Dan Snyder, Project Implementation Engineer, at dsnyder@dvrpc.org or 215-238-2923.
Draft FY 2023 PA Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) Public Comment Period to Open May 27
The public comment period for the Draft DVRPC FY2023 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for Pennsylvania (FY23-26) will open on May 27, 2022. The TIP outlines the region’s federally funded transportation improvement priorities and is required for the region to receive and spend federal transportation dollars. A virtual public meeting will be held on June 16 at 7 pm. People will have the opportunity to provide comments until June 28th.
Look for announcements on DVRPC’s social media channels and website later in the month. Learn more about the TIP at www.dvrpc.org/tip.
SEPTA Receives FTA Grant to Build South Philadelphia Transportation Center
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) recently announced a $9.8 million grant award to SEPTA to construct two new bus transportation centers in South Philadelphia. These dedicated end-of-line bus facilities are critical infrastructure for up to 9 bus routes. The facilities will have ADA accessible bus stops and enhance safety.
The recommendations for the transportation centers came from a DVRPC study titled South Philadelphia Transportation Center, which investigated the best locations for a transit facility in South Philadelphia where SEPTA-owned property is limited. Bus operations analyses and conceptual site designs were also created for the recommended sites.
This award was part of a larger announcement from FTA, which announced $409.3 million in grant awards to improve the nation’s bus fleets.
Congress Designates $1 Million for Darby Rail Crossing Project
In April, Senator Bob Casey announced $1 million of congressionally directed spending will go to Delaware County to address safety concerns at Sixth and Main streets in Darby Borough. This crossing sees vehicular traffic from two roads, pedestrian traffic, and a SEPTA trolley line that crosses a major interstate freight rail line. The grade crossing was part of a two-phase study by DVRPC. View Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the study.
Rack ’Em Up Honored by WTS Philadelphia
DVRPC, the Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA), and other local agencies received an Innovative Transportation Solution Award from WTS Philadelphia for the Rack ‘Em Up Bike Parking Design Competition. The friendly design competition promoted innovation and creativity in the development of an on-street bike corral that preserves fire hydrant access. DVRPC staff members created the branding and website, and served as judges of the Rack ‘Em Up competition. DVRPC staff accepted the award at the WTS Philadelphia Awards Gala on April 7.
Staff Profile: Thom Stead, Assistant Manager, Office of Mobility Analysis and Design
What did you want to be growing up? I wanted to be an architect. I spent my childhood in the woods, but I was obsessed with skyscrapers.
What was your first job? When I was 14, I lived with my mom for the summer on a ranch in rural Oklahoma and worked for her landlord picking rocks out of a field for $4.50 an hour. It was as terrible as it sounds.
What did you study in college? I majored in Sociology and Anthropology and minored in Film Studies.
How did you end up at DVRPC? Indeed.com! I was finishing grad school in New York at the time and hadn’t really planned to leave, but I saw the perfect job posting and went for it.
What are your responsibilities? What has changed over time? I manage our PennDOT Connects Bike Friendly Resurfacing Work for the City of Philadelphia as well as our transit equity projects like Equity Through Access and this year’s Mobility Choices study.
I think there’s been a big internal shift at DVRPC towards building a more accepting office culture and a staff that better reflects the diversity of the region. We still have work to do, but I’ve seen a lot of progress.
What is your favorite part of working at DVRPC? I love getting to work on impactful projects that meaningfully improve people’s transportation experiences. I also love the people I work with–that makes a huge difference.
If you were Monarch for a day, how would you improve the region? I would ban all firearms, implement congestion pricing to help fund our transit system, make sure every transit station is accessible and clean with frequent service, remove parking to make a complete network of protected bike lanes and bus priority lanes, build a subway along Roosevelt Boulevard, and most importantly, I would put a Wegman’s in South Philly.
What is your work/life philosophy? Two mantras I always come back to are:
- You are responsible for your own happiness.
- Ask for what you need.
What 3 words best describe you? Caring, caffeinated, mustachioed.
What is something colleagues don’t know about you? I have a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. I got it when I was 11.
Who would you like to drive across the country with? I would like to drive cross country with my partner Daniel. We’ve traveled a lot, but have never done a long road trip.
What actor would play you in the movie version of your life? Kristen Stewart
What is your favorite leisure activity? I’m a huge soccer fan. I try to watch every Arsenal game that I can.
What is your recent obsession? I just started taking a printmaking course at Fleisher and I’m super into it.
What is the last book you read? What is the best music you’ve heard recently? The Anomaly by Herve Le Tellier. In terms of music, I’ve been really into this guy Dijon.
What are your Top 3 places you want to travel to? Japan, India, Patagonia
Are you a cat or dog person? Dog
What is a recent gift you’ve given or received? I bought my dad a bike for his 75th birthday last year. He loves it.
What is the most meaningful item in your house? A bright orange mid-century modern lamp that I inherited from my grandmother.
What are you looking forward to the most post-pandemic? Being able to travel abroad without the intense covid testing regulations.