PROJECT: 25-52-020 - Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning Program
| Responsible Agency: | Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission |
|---|---|
| Program Coordinator: | Cassidy Boulan |
| Project Manager(s): | Amy Bernknopf, Marissa Volk, Sarah Moran, Thomas Stead |
| Supports LRP Goals: |
Goals:
Promote transportation facilities and land use decisions that make active modes of transportation more safe, convenient, affordable, and attractive options throughout the region.
Description:
DVRPC seeks to create an environment where people of all ages choose to bike and walk as part of an active, healthy, and environmentally-friendly lifestyle. The main priority of this program is to work with municipalities, counties, and our other planning partners to develop and maintain safe bicycle and pedestrian facilities that enhance local mobility. Work will be integrated across DVRPC offices or partner agencies to best meet the needs of the planning partner.
Projects will emphasize stakeholder outreach, the development and sharing of new data resources, including bicycle and pedestrian counts, and analysis and design necessary to develop appropriate, safe, and context-sensitive bicycle and pedestrian facilities and complete streets in communities throughout the DVRPC region. This program also supports DVRPC's participation in state, regional, and local bicycle and pedestrian advisory or policy committees, helping to shape and promote constructive bicycle and pedestrian direction and policy. The program also provides for DVRPC staff to provide subject matter expertise and application review for competitive grant programs in both states.
This work includes an emphasis on bicycle and pedestrian policy, design and infrastructure that increases personal health, as well as the health of the environment and economic vitality in the region. That might include a focus on work in areas with a greater degree of disadvantage or where better connections can be made to public transportation. Projects may be jointly funded, and conducted collaboratively, with the Regional Transit Planning Program. Some of these activities may also require DVRPC to purchase equipment or services to meet program goals.
Tasks:
- Provide technical analysis and facilitation to support regional partners as they pursue planning and implementation of pedestrian and bicycle networks in the region.
- Create a plan for bicycle and pedestrian facilities for Baltimore Pike in Chester County that would be determine what the opportunities are for constructing such facilities. The master plan would identify facility location and type, necessary easements and/or acquisitions, and cost estimates and compile the results in a final plan document. This study would allow the project to enter into Preliminary Engineering.
- Continue development of the Regional Sidewalk Technical Assistance Program and better condition and coverage of region sidewalk networks by:
- Supporting the use and application of DVRPC's regional sidewalk inventory data and network connectivity analysis to address sidewalk gaps in the region
- Convening counties and other partners to share information and best practices for expanding sidewalk and pedestrian infrastructure
- Continue to provide technical assistance to municipalities by pursuing competitive grant funding for sidewalk maintenance and replacement
- Continue working with regional partners to develop and fund a program that would support sidewalk replacement and (re)planting street trees to mitigate extreme heat.
- Support partner agencies in using DVRPC pedestrian and bicycle planning tools such as the Bicycle Level of Traffic Stress (LTS) and Connectivity Analysis webtool.
- Together with the Office of Travel Monitoring, continue bicycle and pedestrian count work including:
- Conduct counts at roughly 1/5 of the locations for the Cyclical Pedestrian Counting program in the PA counties
- Conduct counts at roughly 1/3 of the locations for the regional cyclical bicycle count program
- Conduct project counts throughout the region, as needed and as capacity permits.
- Provide periodic summaries of trends, before/after, and other relevant summaries analyzed from DVRPC's bicycle and pedestrian count program with the aim of making count data more accessible and understandable to the broadest range of planning partners, including NJDOT, PennDOT, counties, municipalities, and the general public working to improve bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.
- Convene planning partners to discuss the bicycle cyclical program and its future.
- Participate and support pedestrian and bicycle advisory boards: the NJ Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Council (NJ BPAC) in New Jersey and Pennsylvania Pedalcycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (PPAC) in Pennsylvania; continue to chair and coordinate NJ BPAC Design+Infrastructure Subcommittee, and support member government efforts in Complete Streets, Vision Zero, green stormwater infrastructure, and placemaking.
- Review bicycle and pedestrian project funding applications as appropriate for programs such as Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside (TASA), Safe Routes to School (SRTS), and Pennsylvania's Multimodal Transportation Fund (PA MTF).
- Provide Subject Matter Expert (SME) review and comment on potential pedestrian and bicycle facilities for PennDOT projects through the PennDOT Connects program.
Products:
- Complete planning/policy documents, technical reports, white papers, and/or memorandums with findings and recommendations, as appropriate.
- Memorandums of Understanding, advertisement for sidewalk grant funding or other supportive materials to address sidewalk gaps in the region.
- Survey and data collection in support of agency projects.
- Other technical work for regional stakeholders as required.
Beneficiaries:
State DOTs, transit operators, counties, municipalities, pedestrians, bicyclists, the commuting public, and all users of roadways.
Project Cost and Funding:
| FY | Total | Highway PL Program | Transit PL Program | Comprehensive Planning | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $331,750 | $234,621 | $75,879 | $21,250 | |
| 2024 | $346,750 | $254,235 | $86,265 | $6,250 | |
| 2025 | $369,750 | $262,053 | $101,447 | $6,250 |