Building Consensus Through Game Playing 

A grant was awarded to DVRPC through the Federal Transit Administration’s Public Transportation Participation Pilot Program (PTP Program). DVRPC’s proposal, Dots and Dashes: Game Playing for Long Range Consensus Building, is designed to develop, implement and assess the priority of regional transit planning projects and to enhance the public outreach process through a unique communicative and consensus-building planning exercise. Participants affix game pieces (“dots and dashes”) to identify preferred transit projects on a game board (DVRPC’s regional Transit Score map). Dots and Dashes will provide quantitative findings to identify and prioritize regional transportation projects, as well as qualitative findings that can inform DVRPC’s near term and long range planning efforts. Priorities derived from this exercise will also be utilized in the Board mandated Regional Transit Vision Project. 

For more information, please contact Joseph Hacker, AICP, Ph.D, Manager, Office of Transit, Pedestrian and Bicycle Planning at jhacker@dvrpc.org and 215-238-2935, or Jane Meconi, AICP, Manager of Public Involvement and Title VI Compliance at jmeconi@dvrpc.org and 215-238-2871.  

Over $2 Million in Safety Improvements for PA Route 100

Since 2003, there have been a dozen fatal crashes on an 8-mile segment of PA Route 100 in Chester County. In response to local concern about the fatalities, the DVRPC Board approved almost $1.5 million in federal funding as part of a comprehensive package to implement DVRPC’s PA 100 Safety Action Plan. In addition, PennDOT is spending over $800,000 of its own funds to implement other elements of the plan to mitigate crashes on PA 100. Improvements to be funded include various alterations to the roadway, dynamic message signs to alert motorists of travel conditions, and increased police enforcement as fines will be doubled for certain traffic violations along Route 100. 

For more information about the PA 100 Safety Action Plan, contact Regina Moore, Transportation Engineer, at 215-238-2862 or rmoore@dvrpc.org. 

Pennsylvania Pilot Program Grants $2 Million to Construction of Roundabouts

A new line item was established in the FY07 Pennsylvania TIP to fund the construction costs of several pilot roundabout projects in the Pennsylvania region. A portion of the $2 million initially available in this line item was allocated to two projects; one each in Bucks and Chester Counties. The Pennsylvania Subcommittee of the Regional Transportation Committee (RTC) selected these two projects after considering over 20 potential locations. 

The Bucks County project is located in Buckingham Township at the intersection of Cold Spring Creamery Road and Burnt House Hill Road. The proposal suggests a one-lane roundabout with a total construction cost of nearly $800,000 and a construction start date of 2007. In Chester County, construction is expected to begin in 2008 or 2009 and is estimated to cost nearly $835,000. The proposed one-lane roundabout location is within Pocopson Township at the intersection of PA52 / Wawaset Road / Unionville Road South.  

Traffic Counts Are Coming to Your Community

With warm weather on the horizon, the DVRPC may be performing traffic counts in your municipality. DVRPC routinely collects travel volume information in the nine counties comprising the Philadelphia metropolitan area. Counts are typically collected at the request of the state DOT, county planning/engineering office, or in support of planning staff evaluating transportation system performance or improvements. This involves DVRPC staff laying a rubber tube across roadway facilities for approximately 48 hours (to gather daily traffic volumes) or manually recording traffic from a vehicle parked near an intersection (to gather turning movement information). These efforts will not interfere with normal traffic operations on these facilities. 

We invite you to visit the traffic counting section of our website (www.dvrpc.org), where all of our traffic count information is available to the public. If you have any questions about the traffic counting in your municipality, feel free to contact Scott Brady, Manager of Travel Monitoring, at 215-238-2814 (email: sbrady@dvrpc.org).   

Upcoming Comment Period for DVRPC’s Long Range Plan

DVRPC is soliciting comments on revisions to the Destination 2030 Long Range Plan from April 20, 2007 to May 21, 2007. Public meetings will be held from 4-6pm on May 2nd at the Cherry Hill Public Library and 4-6pm on May 9th at the DVRPC offices. The comment period for two related documents will also run simultaneously. The public comment period for the FY 2008-2011 New Jersey Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) and the Conformity Determination for the Destination 2030 Revisions, FY 2008 New Jersey TIP and the FY 2007 Pennsylvania TIP will extend from April 20, 2007 to June 1, 2007. Check DVRPC’s website, www.dvrpc.org, for more details.

DVRPC Announces Draft Coordinated Human Services Transportation Plan

A public comment period has been opened by DVRPC for the Draft Coordinated Human Services Transportation Plan (CHSTP): Improving Access to Opportunities in the Delaware Valley Region. Recent SAFETEA-LU legislation mandates the Coordinated Human Services Transportation Plan, which aims to improve transportation services for persons with disabilities, older adults, and individuals with low incomes. The new CHSTP ensures that communities, transit providers, and human service agencies are coordinating all resources provided through multiple federal programs. 

Two public meetings are scheduled to hear comments regarding the Draft Plan. Interested citizens are invited to join us between 4 pm and 6 pm on: 

Written comments and questions can be addressed to Ms. Karen Cilurso, AICP, PP, DVRPC Senior Regional Planner, 190 N. Independence Mall West, Philadelphia, PA 19106 or e-mailed to kcilurso@dvrpc.org. All comments must be received no later than 5 pm on April 24, 2007.

Groundbreaking Forum Related to Incident Management

The I-76/I-476 Incident Management Task Force (IMTF) was established by DVRPC in 1999 at the request of PennDOT with goals to improve the coordinated response to highway incidents, foster interaction among incident management stakeholders, provide operational perspectives from multiple and diverse organizations and identify and address critical needs for improved incident response.  A similar group was formed soon after in New Jersey for the highway corridor in Camden County including routes I-76, I-676, and I-295.  This group is comprised of four subcommittees focusing efforts on policies and procedures, training, conflict-resolution, and contracts.  

Both groups have been very successful at reaching their defined goals and improving the safety and efficiency of incident response. Most important to this success has been the relationships and respect developed among different disciplines which has led to the sharing of information and resources. These task forces have served as models for the development of other IMTFs in the DVRPC region and have received requests for information or presentations from regional, statewide, and national venues.