Volume 45, Issue 6
Our Streets Events Recognized for Excellence
At the 2023 New Jersey Complete Streets Summit, the City of Trenton and DVRPC received a Complete Streets Excellence Award for the Our Streets: A Trenton Bike Plan for All public engagement activities. Complete Streets Excellence Awards are given to municipalities, organizations, or projects that have demonstrated excellence in Complete Streets implementation.
Trenton worked with DVRPC to gather meaningful public feedback for the Trenton bike plan. The citywide plan proposes adding bicycle facilities and making design changes on certain streets to increase safety for all road users – including bicyclists, skaters, scooters, pedestrians, and drivers. The DVRPC project team partnered with the City of Trenton, Trenton Cycling Revolution, Artworks, and the East Trenton Collaborative to host, staff, and program three “Our Streets” public engagement events in neighborhoods across the city. At these events, a variety of tools were used to help the public envision how the recommendations would change the streets, including the temporary installation of pop-up protected bike lanes, the showing of a short video that conveyed a first-person perspective of riding in different types of bike lanes, and the displaying of illustrations to provide additional information on the different bike lanes.
Additionally, Mercer County was recognized for their work installing bike lanes during routine resurfacing, as recommended in Mercer County’s Bicycle Plan. DVRPC staff has provided support for the bicycle plan and the resurfacing coordination and evaluation work. DVRPC will continue to support the City of Trenton and Mercer County in the implementation of recommendations that have been identified through various DVRPC projects and local initiatives.
Apply to DVRPC’s Public Participation Task Force!
Want to represent your community and engage in the regional planning and decision-making process? Want to learn more about transportation planning and investments? Apply to be a member of DVRPC’s Public Participation Task Force (PPTF).
DVRPC's PPTF provides access to the transportation planning process and a welcoming forum to discuss and learn about timely issues. The PPTF also assists the Commission in implementing public outreach strategies and empowers residents to be a part of regional and community planning processes. For more details about the PPTF, visit http://www.dvrpc.org/Committees/PPTF/.
Applications for the 2024 cohort are open through December 16, 2023. If you have any questions, please contact Wideleine Desir, Public Participation Planner, at wdesir@dvrpc.org.
Join Us for the Regional Safety Task Force Meeting on 12/19
On Tuesday, December 19, from 1:00 - 3:00 pm, the Regional Safety Task Force is hosting an online meeting titled “Vulnerable Road Users (VRU) and You.” The meeting will be devoted to discussing VRUs, which include bicyclists, pedestrians, and anyone in a crash who was not in a motor vehicle. Guest speakers, including Jason Hershock, manager of the Safety Engineering and Risk Management Unit at PennDOT’s Highway Safety and Traffic Operations Division, will highlight current VRU needs and innovative ways to address those needs, in accordance with FHWA’s Vulnerable Road Users Safety Special Rule. In addition to discussing their own experiences as VRUs, attendees will be able to inform DVRPC’s upcoming Regional Vision Zero webpage, dashboard, and other in-development resources. Register to attend.
Public Comment Period for Draft Fiscal Year 2025 Work Program Coming Soon
DVRPC is opening a 30+ day public comment period on December 6, 2023, for the Draft Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Unified Planning Work Program. This document outlines all of the federally-funded planning projects slated for the nine-county region from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025. The Work Program is developed annually by the DVRPC Board with its planning partners to reflect the region’s short-range planning needs. DVRPC will accept comments from December 6, 2023, until January 8, 2024, at 5:00 pm local time.
Electronic copies of DVRPC’s Draft Work Program will be available on DVRPC’s website at www.dvrpc.org/workprogram. Hardcopies of DVRPC's Draft Work Program will be available at DVRPC's offices in Philadelphia, PA, in a number of regional libraries, and upon request by emailing public_affairs@dvrpc.org. The document can be translated into an alternative format or language, if requested.
Comments must be submitted in writing. Comments can be emailed to public_affairs@dvrpc.org or mailed to:
Work Program Comments
c/o DVRPC Office of Communications & Engagement
ACP Building, 8th Floor
190 N. Independence Mall West
Philadelphia, PA 19106-1520
Comments for these documents must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on January 8, 2024. Comments received via mail must be postmarked by January 8, 2024.
GVF Streets for All Demos New Crosswalks
In November, Greater Valley Forge (GVF) Transportation Management Association demonstrated new crosswalks in Phoenixville Borough and North Coventry Township. Working with municipal leaders and the Chester County Planning Department, GVF installed a crosswalk mid-block on the 100 block of Bridge Street in Phoenixville and another on West Main Street between South Hanover Street and Coyne Alley in North Coventry Township. These projects are intended to support the goals set in Chester County’s Complete Streets Policy: promoting transportation equity, improving public health, and reducing the County’s carbon footprint.
GVF’s Streets for All received funding from DVRPC’s Travel Options Program (TOP). TOP funds innovative projects that support the goals, outcomes, and strategies established in A New Route to Better Travel for All: The Regional TDM Plan.
Spirit of Place: Promoting Cultural Vitality in Philadelphia
Cities across the country are renewing efforts to understand, inventory, and protect the cultural resources that contribute to the identity and vitality of their communities. Spirit of Place: Promoting Cultural Vitality in Philadelphia summarizes research conducted by DVRPC on the strategies, policies, and tools that local governments are using to protect the historical, social, and economic value of culturally significant communities and assets. This work was undertaken to assist the City of Philadelphia as it launches its Cultural Resources Survey Plan and Pilot, a multiyear effort designed to celebrate and protect Philadelphia’s rich and varied cultural resources and histories.
Through reviewing the historical and cultural preservation programs for numerous cities throughout the United States and Canada and conducting interviews with representatives from several peer cities, DVRPC staff found the strategies and policies can be sorted into three primary categories: cultural landmarks and districts, business support programs, and storytelling and placemaking. This report dedicates a chapter to exploring each of these topics, including examples from around the country, and concludes with a series of implementation questions and considerations for Philadelphia. Read the report.
Survey Closing Soon! Share Your Vision.
DVRPC is updating Connections 2050, the current Long-Range Plan for the Greater Philadelphia region. The Plan contains a broadly-shared vision for the year 2050 and a set of supporting goals focused across four planning areas: environment, communities, economy, and multimodal transportation. What priorities do you have for the region? What does an equitable, resilient, and sustainable Greater Philadelphia look like to you? Share your vision and priorities by taking the survey: www.dvrpc.org/update2050. Those who complete a survey may enter to win a $50 gift card. The survey closes on Friday, December 15, 2023.
Upcoming FY2025 PA TCDI Program
DVRPC will release the Program Guidelines for the next Pennsylvania round of its Transportation and Community Development Initiative (TCDI) and open the application portal in January 2024 for eligible applicants located in DVRPC’s five Pennsylvania counties. TCDI is a competitive grant opportunity for local and county governments, transportation management associations (TMAs), and transit agencies, and it funds local planning initiatives that also advance the goals of the region’s long range plan, Connections 2050: Plan for Greater Philadelphia. Up to $1.2 million may be available.
If you have any questions, contact Spencer K. Gober, Associate Manager, Office of Community and Economic Development, at sgober@dvrpc.org.
Upcoming 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 offered through Pennsylvania and New Jersey LTAP programs and open to any municipality.
Upcoming classes:
Municipal Stormwater Facilities Program
Virtual
December 6, 2023 (8:00 am - 12:00 pm)
Every Day Counts (EDC) for Public Works
Virtual
December 13, 2023 (10:00 am - 12:00 pm)
Pedestrian and Crosswalks
Chester County (London Grove Township Building)
January 9, 2024 (8:00 am - 12:00 pm)
Visit Rutgers Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation to see the 2023 schedule of LTAP courses in New Jersey and PennDOT's LTAP website to view courses in Pennsylvania. For any questions, contact Najah Jackson at njackson@dvrpc.org or 215-238-2836.
Staff Profile: Chris Pollard, Manager, Office of GIS
What did you want to be growing up? I wanted to be an international spy or part of a covert operation team working for the CIA or MI5.
What did you study in college? Applied Geography at Kutztown University (1999). I had a manual cartography course where we had to draw and design maps by hand. The hardest part was making sure to carefully place the labels on the map so they were legible (and spell them correctly). I was introduced to computer cartography (later GIS) and data visualization, which is the career path that I chose to pursue.
What are your responsibilities at DVRPC? I am currently the Manager of the Office of GIS. Working in the field of GIS is NOT a single skill; it’s the combination of many skills: cartography, spatial analysis, data management, web mapping applications, StoryMaps, and more. I am highly motivated and extremely passionate about all aspects of geospatial technology, including producing high quality cartographic products, teaching young minds about spatial awareness and thinking, and creating interactive maps and data visualization with a dedication to finding the best ways to educate the public about regional, transportation, and environmental planning within the Greater Philadelphia area.
What is your favorite part of working at DVRPC? Working within the Office of GIS for 20+ years has allowed me to establish strong relationships with the geospatial community within, and beyond, the Greater Philadelphia Region. I have seen tremendous growth in regards to the innovative use of data visualization in the form of web mapping applications or compelling StoryMaps, deployment of easy-to-use tools for collecting and maintaining GIS data, and the adoption of open data platforms by many of our partners and working agencies, which makes utilizing and obtaining GIS data relatively seamless.
Besides those relationships, I’d say a close second is the variety of impactful projects and initiatives that I get the chance to collaborate on in some capacity at DVRPC. From the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), Environmental Justice, and Long-Range Plan, to CyclePhilly, AccessScore, or Community Investment Index (CI2). This work has allowed me the opportunity to present at numerous conferences, meet-ups, or GIS Day events on how we are visualizing and sharing our geospatial data, and it makes me proud to say I work at DVRPC when I get to hear how useful or appreciated the work we do is in helping others plan for a better and sustainable future/region.
What is your work/life philosophy? “Do your work, and you shall reinforce yourself” - Ralph Waldo Emerson. Whether you are putting in the hard work sitting/standing in front of a computer, an audience, in the kitchen, or out on the trail/streets, make sure to be committed to the process and believe in yourself.
What three words best describe you? Dedicated, adaptable, compassionate
Who would you like to drive across the country with? I’d love to spend a few days traveling with Jane Goodall or Jared Diamond, learning first hand about their adventures and understanding how to support their mission statements. Plus I find them to be fascinating individuals.
What are your favorite leisure activities? Trail running, ice hockey, skateboarding, cycling, hiking/camping. I’ve almost been able to actually do all of these activities all in one day.
What is the last book you read? Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity by Peter Attia. It’s
a must-read for anyone wishing to learn about the science behind living a healthier and longer life.
What are your Top 3 places you want to travel to? Avenue des Champs-Elysées which is the 21st and final stage of the Tour De France, The Southern Alps in New Zealand, and the Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania.