FY2025 Work Program

Develop a long-range vision and plan for Greater Philadelphia that provides guidance for future growth and development in the nine-county region, and allocates regional funds to transportation improvements that are aligned with—and support meeting—long-term community, economic, environmental, transportation, and equity goals.

DVRPC employs a collaborative planning approach to its long-range planning process that involves 1) analyzing external trends and forces shaping the region; 2) convening the Futures Group to identify alternate scenarios of extreme but plausible futures for the region; 3) working with the public and stakeholders to develop a broadly shared vision and goals for regional development; 4) recommending strategies to achieve the vision; and 5) facilitating planning partners to determine how limited funds will be invested in transportation infrastructure. DVRPC works with member governments, regional stakeholders, standing committees, and the public to develop a comprehensive Long-Range Plan that addresses the future of transportation and considers the interactions between transportation with land development and revitalization, environmental resources, community dynamics, and economic growth. The current Plan, Connections 2050, was adopted by the DVRPC Board on September 23, 2021. It serves as a high-level policy directive for all of DVRPC's work and is incorporated into every DVRPC project and program area.

The Plan responds to federal planning requirements including consideration of key planning factors, use of transportation performance management (TPM) for decision-making, project evaluation criteria for analyzing and selecting transportation projects, and measuring progress toward Long-Range Plan goals through the Tracking Progress indicator dashboard. The Plan is also compliant and coordinated with state initiatives—both DOTs’ long-range plans, statewide freight plans, strategic highway safety plans, and transportation asset management plans, along with PennDOT Connects—and member government comprehensive planning efforts.

In air-quality nonattainment areas such as the DVRPC region, Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) are required to prepare and maintain a long-range transportation plan with a minimum 20-year horizon, and update the plan every four years. Work on Update: Connections 2050 is underway, with Board adoption anticipated in the summer of 2025. This fiscal year will continue the two-year effort to develop a financial plan and also focus on documenting the other work that has gone into creating a regional vision and goals through the year 2050. Another focus will be structuring a website to innovate public engagement, as it will be available to access 24/7 from anywhere, accessible to people who use screen readers or keyboard navigation, translate into any desired language, and will be in line with sustainable use of DVRPC’s publishing center. It will comply with federal accessibility guidelines as defined in the ADA, and a PDF of all Plan content will be available for download from the website and by request. Completion of this project may require the purchase of equipment or services.

1. Produce the second half of financial plan elements in coordination with the financial planning subcommittee of the RTC. A minimum of five meetings will be held with the full subcommittee, and additional meetings with DOTs, transit agencies, and other planning partners will be scheduled as needed.
2. Work with state DOTs, regional transit operators, and other DVRPC staff to collect and update asset management data to inform a region-wide Capital Vision for transportation infrastructure. This includes achieving and maintaining a state-of-good repair for existing transportation infrastructure, making safety and operational improvements to enhance the functionality of existing infrastructure, and expanding transit, bicycle, pedestrian, and roadway networks consistent with the Plan's vision, goals, and policies.
3. Incorporate USDOT Transportation Performance Management performance measures and targets into the long-range planning process.
4. Complete a region-wide Environmental Justice Analysis aligned with the South Central Pennsylvania Environmental Justice Unified Process and Methodology Guide.
5. Develop a standardized form to streamline the call for projects to planning partners, intake those proposals and screen and evaluate each according to the updated Plan–TIP Project Evaluation Criteria.
6. Conduct funding allocation analysis including the setting of targets and caps on spending for different categories of projects, as well as selecting individual projects for inclusion in the fiscally constrained Funded Plan that works toward achieving the regional Vision.
7. Research and evaluate transportation funding options outside of reasonably anticipated funding accounted for in the Plan’s revenue analysis including potential administrative funding structures, potential funding mechanisms, and implementation.
8. Work with stakeholder agencies, such as PennDOT, NJDOT, transit operating agencies, transportation authorities, and county planning departments to develop, update, and implement their respective strategic and Long-Range Plan documents and ensure consistency across federal, state, regional, county, and local planning processes.
9. Draft and publish the Update: Connections 2050 website and PDF documentation of the Plan. 
10. Continue a comprehensive public and stakeholder outreach program. Hold two or more public comment period meetings to gather input on a draft version of the Update: Connections 2050 Plan, and address and respond to public comments via the publicly accessible comment database hosted on the Plan webpage.
11. Maintain collaboration with surrounding MPOs as a means to discuss and coordinate on multi-regional issues and best practices on an as-needed basis.
    
12. Assist other DVRPC offices and program areas on annual work program tasks, as needed.

1. Update: Connections 2050 website
2. Update: Connections 2050 printable PDF (including drafts for public comment and Board adoption; and appendices with technical documentation)

State, county, and municipal levels of government; transportation agencies and transit operators; and businesses and residents of the region.