Projects

Every day DVRPC works to shape a comprehensive vision for the Delaware Valley, and during the past year, the DVRPC Board adopted the Destination 2030 Long Range Plan - an extensive land use and transportation vision for the region.

The transportation element of the Destination 2030 Long Range Plan promotes the core goals of increasing safety and mobility, reducing congestion, and rebuilding our existing highway and transit systems. Advancing these goals is the Congestion Management Process (CMP), and through this systematic process, DVRPC staff recommends strategies to minimize congestion while enhancing the mobility of people and goods throughout the Delaware Valley Region. In FY06, our Board approved a CMP Report, and since then, the process has been praised as a national example by the Federal Highway Administration. The Plan also promotes a multi-modal system by including separate critical elements for aviation, freight, operations, bicycles, and pedestrians. The Commission recognizes access is vital to this region's economic development, livability, and prosperity in the years to come.

In addition, Destination 2030 includes a land use element and an open space plan. The vision of smart growth is epitomized through the goals of promoting redevelopment and renewal in the core cities, stabilizing developed communities, managing growing suburbs, and preserving rural areas. Within the Delaware Valley region, our staff has identified more than 100 greenways, conservation focus areas, and a regional trails network as a means of sustaining a balance between the region's housing and commercial demands, and our need for farmland and a rural lifestyle.

DVRPC continually monitors the region's progress toward the goals of Destination 2030 through Regional Indicators, otherwise known as "Tracking Progress." This project is an ongoing, outcome-based effort to align the Commission's planning and implementation activities. "Tracking Progress" is intended to guide the region's investment strategy and to help achieve the Plan's adopted visions and goals. It is a critical component in assessing and achieving our vision for the future.

As we envision our goals for the years ahead, it is paramount that we interact with the region's citizens to ascertain their opinions about what is important. To understand the public's perceptions, DVRPC performed surveys, held public meetings, published materials, and used the Internet to inform and listen to our constituents' opinions. We will continue to meet with the public to make the Plan a shared achievement.

In cooperation with member governments and the Pennsylvania and New Jersey departments of transportation, DVRPC sets transportation funding priorities by allocating federal and state transportation funds for specific projects.

This prioritized list, called the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), seeks to ease congestion, improve mobility, and enhance quality of life across the region. The TIP is multi-modal and includes highway, transit, bicycle, pedestrian, and freight-related projects. In FY06, the DVRPC Board adopted a new TIP totaling more than $5.1 billion for projects in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

The DVRPC FY07 TIP for New Jersey contains more than 140 projects worth $1.8 billion, including $833 million for projects primarily addressing the highway system, and $954 million for transit projects for DRPA/PATCO and NJTransit. Some of the funded projects include:
- Eliminating the Marlton Circle on Route 73/70
- Creating a Route 295/42/I-76 direct connection
- Purchasing and rebuilding PATCO cars
- Resurfacing I-95, in the vicinity of Route 29 to Route 1
- Improving the rail station/terminal at Trenton Station

The DVRPC FY07 Pennsylvania TIP contains nearly 500 projects worth $3.3 billion, including over $1.6 billion for projects primarily addressing the highway system, and nearly $1.7 billion for transit projects for SEPTA, Pottstown Urban Transit, and the state's Keystone Service. Some of the projects include:
- US 202 Parkway, Pickertown Road to PA 611
- US 202, US 30 to North Valley Road
- Elwyn to Wawa rail improvements
- Chester County Trail extension
- SEPTA rail stations and parking program in Norristown, Glenside, and Jenkintown
- Tidal Schuylkill River Greenway and Trail
- Broad Street Subway Station Improvements

To help establish priorities for the Transportation Improvement Program, DVRPC solicited the public's opinion. A 30-day public comment period and public meeting gave the public an opportunity to post and pose questions about the process and the projects. TIP documents were placed in many of the region's libraries and made available on DVRPC's website, www.dvrpc.org.

DVRPC embraces the unique characteristics that make our communities great places to live and work. We encourage municipalities to enhance quality-of-life characteristics through competitive grant programs.

As part of an ongoing effort to promote individual community character, the Commission allocates federal funding for "non-traditional" projects designed to enhance the transportation experience. In FY06, DVRPC awarded over $22 million for a variety of streetscape projects in Southeastern Pennsylvania. The Transportation Enhancements, Home Town Streets and Safe Routes to School programs aim to improve surface transportation and revitalize "downtown" areas. New sidewalks, planters, street lighting, and pedestrian crossings are some of the visual elements implemented through the Home Town Streets program.

The Safe Routes to School program provides physical improvements to promote safe walking and biking passages, such as crosswalks, bike lanes, curb extensions, and traffic diversion improvements. The regional competition ends every other year in September when applications are reviewed and scored by a selection committee.

Another exciting program that supports communities in their local revitalization efforts is the Transportation and Community Development Initiative (TCDI). The TCDI program targets various identified census tracts within core cities, first generation suburbs, and other targeted communities of the region, to support local initiatives and improve the efficiency of the regional transportation network. TCDI grants are intended to support growth or redevelopment in socially or economically disadvantaged Delaware Valley communities. Specific disadvantages that are examined include poverty rates, minority population, Hispanic population, elderly concentration, transit dependency, disabled population, limited English proficiency, and female heads of household. These factors are analyzed for each census tract in the region to determine those areas with two or more of these "degrees of disadvantage" relative to the region as a whole.

DVRPC awarded $1.5 million in FY06 for local development efforts that included transit-oriented development projects, train station rehabilitation, economic development strategies, and redevelopment plans. To date, there have been over 100 TCDI grants awarded within the region, and DVRPC's $6 million investment has leveraged over $2 billion in private and public dollars for redevelopment throughout the core cities and developed communities in the region.

DVRPC understands that every Delaware Valley resident has a unique set of life circumstances and an individual personality that influences their commuting choices.

Knowing that, DVRPC's planning efforts and programs are geared toward all modes of transportation, whether they are public transit, highway, or facilities for bicyclists and pedestrians.

During FY06, DVRPC made important advancements in assessing transit, bicycle, and pedestrian facilities in the region. The Commission collaborated with NJ Transit and SEPTA to update the Transit Score Tool, which uses a series of inputs such as population, job, and household density to "score" a location for possible transit service. The next phase of this project will be to apply the tool, which will allow us to begin assessing specific projects in corridors and long-range plans. Another update was the application of Bicycle and Pedestrian Level of Service software to analyze street safety for those bicycling and walking to the region's train stations. The Intermodal Access to Transit Project provided DVRPC with the opportunity to study areas around train stations in NJ and on SEPTA's regional rail system for possible enhancements.

Further, to accommodate the needs of commuters who are faced with rising fuel and transportation costs, DVRPC provides and promotes TransitChek, the region's commuter benefit SATURDAYprogram, which allows employees to purchase tax-free transit vouchers. The new premium program, TransitChek Select, launched in FY06, enables commuters to receive vouchers that are mailed directly to their homes instead of worksite distribution. DVRPC's foresight has also resulted in TransitChek benefits being integrated into PATCO's new electronic fare collection system, the Freedom Card.

Additionally, the Commission also provides assistance to those residents with complicated commuting situations. With the adoption of the new federal transportation legislation, SAFETEA-LU, Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) are required to prepare a Public Transit Human Services (PTHS) Plan.

The PTHS is targeted specifically toward the special transit needs of elderly citizens, individuals with disabilities, Job Access and Reverse Commute (JARC) services, as well as the newly adopted executive order, the New Freedoms Initiative. DVRPC originally adopted its JARC Plan in 1999, and updated and readopted it in 2004. The new PTHS plan will be in accordance with SAFETEA-LU requirements, and will include consultation and involvement of pertinent transportation providers as well as DVRPC member counties, transportation management associations (TMAs), and public transit agencies.

To better understand the travel needs and patterns of area bicyclists, DVRPC conducted its first formal effort to gather data on bicycle travel in the Delaware Valley. During the fall of 2005, Commission staff dispersed themselves across the region to 35 roadway and trail locations. In a 12-hour period, Commission staff distributed more than 4,500 mail-back questionnaires to passing bicyclists and conducted 377 on-the-spot interviews. Printed in five languages, the surveys drew a response rate of 30 percent. A report on the findings is to be completed in the spring of 2007.

Environmental stewardship is one of DVRPC's many roles and is crucial to the success and quality of life in this region.

We at DVRPC work to protect the Delaware Valley's natural resources through our Open Space and Environmental Planning Program, and partner with various organizations and local governments to ensure a legacy of clean air and water and open space for our children.

Partnerships with the region's organizations and environmental groups increase awareness about issues affecting our region. During the past fiscal year, examples of these collaborative efforts include:
- TreeVitalize Communities, which raises awareness of the benefits of trees
- Schuylkill Action Network Land Prioritization Project, which identifies prime areas in the Schuylkill Watershed for protection
- Camden Metro Region Trails Strategy, which builds support for trail projects among non-traditional stakeholders

To ensure the preservation of our open spaces, DVRPC maintains an inventory of protected lands, monitors locally funded open space initiatives, and conducts county natural resource inventories and municipal open space plans across the region. Specifically in FY06, we assisted in municipal planning and grant proposals for various local planning projects in 12 South Jersey communities. The Commission also co-sponsored three free workshops focused on land preservation in South Jersey. Municipal leaders and citizens learned about financial planning for preserving family farms, municipal tools for protecting land greenways, and the intricacies of trail design.

The Air Quality Partnership is a private/public coalition of businesses and organizations throughout the region that raises awareness about the region's air quality. The program provides air quality forecasts for ground-level ozone and fine particulate matter (PM 2.5), and notifies the public when air quality is orgforecasted to be unhealthy. Citizens are encouraged to take action to reduce air pollution, especially on Air Quality Action Days when air pollution is at a red or orange level. View daily forecasts at www.airqualitypartnership.org.

The Delaware Valley landscape is ever-changing. For every thriving and vibrant community, only blocks away may be a struggling neighborhood that is home to an empty main street and vacant parking lots, or a farm that has succumbed to the pressure of development.

This juxtaposition is a major concern for planners at DVRPC, and as a result, DVRPC created a new Office of Smart Growth to promote more livable land use patterns throughout the region.

Smart Growth embraces the goal of encouraging and attracting investment into existing communities and ensuring that residents in those communities have access to parks and recreational opportunities. It also supports a sound economic strategy by promoting development decisions that save taxpayers dollars, allowing municipal governments to stretch their dollars farther; and making it possible for households to spend less on expenses such as transportation. The principles of Smart Growth play an integral role in the Commission's Destination 2030 Long Range Plan.

Throughout FY06, DVRPC conducted a number of studies that advanced Smart Growth principles, including Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) plans for Warminster, North Wales, and South Philadelphia's Ellsworth Federal SEPTA stations. TOD SATURDAYencourages intensified, mixed-use, and pedestrian-friendly development surrounding transit stations that are intended to promote transit ridership.

During the past year, the Commission has also worked to integrate the Smart Growth Transportation Initiative, which will create a template identifying various roadway design standards that are appropriate in different land use contexts. Working closely with the Pennsylvania and New Jersey departments of transportation, DVRPC planners link context sensitive solutions to roadway design standards. In-depth traffic calming and place-making recommendations were completed for Sharon Hill Borough (Delaware County) and Eastampton Township (Burlington County). DVRPC also initiated a Municipal Outreach and Education Program that offered training and educational programs for local officials, and published two new municipal implementation brochures on developing brownfields and inclusionary zoning.

Translating the meaning of demographic and economic data into useable information that can be interpreted for many purposes is one of DVRPC's main roles. For this reason, the Commission continues to be a leading resource for regional information through its wealth of regional data, aerial imagery, and traffic counts.

The Commission interprets demographic information into data bulletins and analytical reports that identify trends and conditions throughout the region. The Commission collects and analyzes demographic and economic data from various sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau and the Pennsylvania and New Jersey state data centers, and then provides a wealth of data for the nine counties and 352 municipalities in the DVRPC region.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is an important planning tool used to inventory, manage, analyze, and present spatial data. Over the past year, improvements in DVRPC's GIS system have allowed staff to add all of the geospacial data into an Oracle database, which has increased performance, scalability, and security. The new system also provides our planners with improved data that is more accessible for analysis and decision-making.

In FY06, DVRPC updated its aerial imagery collection. Captured in 2005 and covering the entire 3,833 square miles of the Delaware Valley region, the imagery offers many benefits over previous photos, including presentation in natural color, which provides users with a more realistic and intuitive view of the terrain. In addition, resolution was increased slightly, aiding in the interpretation of surface features. Digital photographs, as well as hard copies, are available through DVRPC's Map Sales Department at 215-238-2828.

To measure the region's traffic congestion, DVRPC conducts traffic volume counts at over 2,000 locations each year to monitor growth, improve efficiency in the transportation system, and prepare the region for future travel demands. Accurate counts are essential input for policy-makers who need to make decisions concerning the planning, design, and environmental impact of new transportation facilities. This information is available through DVRPC's website, www.dvrpc.org.

Empowering the citizens of the Delaware Valley to voice their beliefs and concerns about the many issues DVRPC works to overcome is a task that has taken on great significance.

Trust, awareness, and involvement all demand two-way communication that has been recognized through DVRPC's Regional Citizens Committee with a firm commitment to Environmental Justice and Title VI.

For more than 30 years, the Regional Citizens Committee (RCC) has offered citizens an opportunity to directly review transportation and planning projects affecting the Delaware Valley region, and to offer comments and recommendations to the DVRPC Board on a monthly basis. Membership is open to anyone who wishes to join; the current roster comprises more than 70 citizens, representing a diversity of stakeholder groups. The committee has focused on bicycle/pedestrian initiatives and transit issues during FY06, and has drafted a number of white papers and resolutions that have resulted in Work Program projects and policy change.

With a long history of meaningful and inclusive public involvement, DVRPC fully complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and related statutes that require that no person in the United States of America shall, on the grounds of race, color, sex, national origin, age, or disability, be subjected to discrimination, or to be denied participation in and benefits SATURDAYof any federally funded program or activity. All DVRPC meetings are held in transit accessible locations and are ADA compliant. Beginning in FY06, DVRPC's website, www.dvrpc.org, was made available in Spanish, Russian, and Chinese. Commission documents are available in other languages or formats, upon request.

Environmental Justice promotes the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people in the planning process regardless of race, income, ethnicity, or education level. DVRPC's considerations of equity and involvement are reflected throughout our Work Program, publications, communications, public involvement efforts, and general business operations. The Commission's Environmental Justice Committee spent FY06 re-examining its goals and is now meeting regularly to make recommendations and extend and expand community outreach efforts.

A region is only as strong as the communities that comprise it. While DVRPC does maintain a regional focus for many of its planning endeavors, special consideration is given to the hundreds of towns, boroughs, and neighborhoods that make up the Delaware Valley region.

Each community has its own set of challenges and opportunities, and DVRPC works to implement a variety of municipal planning techniques, such as neighborhood comprehensive planning, natural resource and open space plans, business improvement districts, and residential infill development. As a regional planning organization, DVRPC is uniquely positioned to act as the clearinghouse for resources and information that benefits many communities. In FY06, the Commission launched an e-newsletter featuring information for municipal officials as well as a calendar of events, workshops, and other educational opportunities in the region.

While the Delaware Valley as a whole continues to grow, many communities face ongoing challenges. DVRPC is committed to helping revitalize and invigorate all parts of the region. For the second year, DVRPC hosted the Building from Strength conference, part of a continuing effort by DVRPC and the William Penn Foundation to support redevelopment and revitalization of the region's older communities. Through a variety of presentations and workshops that focused on ways to revitalize these often historic places, attendees learned about common suburban challenges, such as the declining tax base and aging infrastructure.

To help these older communities overcome their competitive disadvantage, particularly when it comes to attracting new businesses and residents, DVRPC has launched a multifaceted, multimedia marketing campaign that promotes these older communities as attractive places to live, work, shop, and play. Entitled Coming Home, this initiative is one of the first regional marketing efforts of its kind in the country, spanning the entire Philadelphia metro region, both in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Through the Coming Home project, the Commission will oversee the development of a marketing strategy that will benefit older suburbs and urban neighborhoods as a whole, and also provide individual municipalities with the tools they need to launch their own campaigns in the future. The project is funded by a grant from the William Penn Foundation and is part of DVRPC's larger Strategies for Older Suburbs initiative. The grant enables DVRPC to supplement the ability of local officials to undertake and support reinvestment efforts in older areas.

We are all familiar with the terms "global market" and "economic strategy," but the underlying theme for these phrases is the concept of "competitive advantage."

If the Delaware Valley is to remain competitive in the global economy, it needs a leader that can provide a strategy for promoting the Delaware Valley's regional assets.

As the primary long-term planning agency for the region, DVRPC maintains a unique vision that lays the foundation for this economic development process. Through data sharing, collaboration, and proactive planning, DVRPC works with the region's economic development partners to make the region an attractive environment for new and expanding businesses, for residents, and as a premier tourism and cultural center. As a regional resource, DVRPC houses the most up-to-date data, state-of-the-art Geographic Information Systems (GIS), aerial imagery and various other economic, employment, housing, environmental, and transportation information.

Periodically, DVRPC releases Delaware Valley Data, a series of free data bulletins and analytical data reports. In May 2006, DVRPC released Delaware Valley Data: Employment Base Analysis and Economic Census Update. This analytical report is an update from a previous base analysis conducted in 2003 and depicts the evolving strengths and weaknesses of our region's economy. Further, it stresses the importance of increasing, strengthening, and diversifying our labor pools, particularly in the professional, scientific, and technical labor sectors. The report also suggests the need to create greater synergy between existing labor pools for additional opportunities in the future. The data in the report shows that the Delaware Valley region is successfully competing with cities such as Boston and Washington, DC, in creating industries surrounding research and development, computer technology and consulting services, and biotechnology.

In recent years, harmony between the economy and environmental resources has become a hot topic. Promoting a sustainable economy ensures that growth can occur but that the value and protection of our environment is considered as significantly as other conventional measures of economic performance. DVRPC recently published A Post-Global Economic Development Strategy to Energize Our Economy and Secure Our Future. The report outlines actions that will move orgour region toward a successful post-globalization future and put it at the forefront of sustainable economic development. To help the region achieve this prominence, the report pinpoints actions it should take, including fostering eco-industry clusters by promoting alternative energy production, brownfields remediation, historic preservation, and green architecture and by investing in the environment by protecting open space and natural resources.

Integrating vehicles, drivers, and other users of the region's transportation facilities is an ongoing issue of concern throughout the entire region" one that DVRPC has managed by addressing safety concerns in both transportation and regional planning projects and programs.

With the adoption of SAFETEA-LU, the latest national transportation legislation, there is now a much greater emphasis on safety in the planning process.

Providing more funding than ever for safety conscious planning, the legislation expands DVRPC's role as the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) by incorporating safety into the transportation system for all modes and users.

The Commission recognizes comprehensive partnering as a key in achieving successful transportation safety programs, and as a means of seamlessly implementing transportation safety goals. This comprehensive partnering has led to continuous participation by the Regional Safety Task Force, a group of safety professionals and stakeholders whose involvement is crucial in the development of DVRPC's role as a leader in this field.

To further the safety precautions already underway in the region, DVRPC recently began applying Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). ITS integrates advanced SATURDAYtechnologies to aid in the operation of transportation systems. In the past, availability of travel information was haphazard, reflecting a lack of real-time information. Through the application of ITS, highway departments and transit agencies are able to continually monitor travel conditions, disseminate real-time travel information to the public, and respond to incidents without delay. In addition, DVRPC is leading an effort to develop a system that will revolutionize the way the region's transportation operations stakeholders approach coordination and share information. The Delaware Valley ITS Technical Task Force (TTF) is a voluntary group of technical staff from 30 different organizations involved in transportation operations. DVRPC, which provides staff support to the TTF, serves as a facilitator to encourage stakeholders to work together to promote ITS deployments that cut across jurisdictional boundaries, and to strengthen the transportation operations in the region.

In recognizing the need for agencies to communicate and collaborate, the TTF has developed a concept for implementing a Regional Integrated Multi-Modal Information Sharing (RIMIS) system. This system of Center-to Center (C2C) communications allows the regions' ITS stakeholders to communicate simultaneously with multiple agencies, share and disseminate information on real-time travel data, and access video images of incidents. In FY06, the RIMIS Concept of Operations was completed, and DVRPC reviewed demonstrations from commercial software vendors to provide transportation C2C communications. The next step will be to realize the full potential of RIMIS in this region through the development of an implementation plan.

Our region's businesses, jobs, and residents all rely on a transportation system that works effectively. Maintaining strong aviation and freight systems that productively move people and goods is vital to the long-range health and economy of the Delaware Valley.

DVRPC has developed a Regional Airport System Plan (RASP) for the year 2030 that addresses facility demand and necessary capacity and service enhancements over the next 20 years. The RASP reflects the challenges facing the region's aviation system, recommends capital projects to the state and federal officials, and outlines what is needed to satisfy future demand.

That future demand has necessitated a number of changes that are currently underway. In order to meet the growing demand for commercial flights in the region, Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) is expanding, and DVRPC has recommended preserving and improving several suburban airports so they may be used for new types of small business and personal aircraft as a means of relieving the heavy demand placed on PHL.

In addition, this agency is working with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the New York State Department of Transportation on the Northeast Air Corridor Study. This ongoing study is looking into shifting air traffic from Newark, Kennedy, and LaGuardia airports to lesser-used commercial airports in our area such as Lehigh Valley International, Trenton Mercer, and Atlantic City. DVRPC is also working on two NJDOT Master Plan studies with two New Jersey airports, Cross Keys and South Jersey Regional Airport. The Commission is defining its future role in the region's aviation system and completing engineering designs for needed expansion.

As a premier freight transportation gateway with one of the world's busiest ports, this region provides freight service from three large class-one railroads, an extensive highway network including intermodal connectors, and numerous rail and port intermodal terminals. Through DVRPC's Goods Movement Program, we enhance the region's role and profile as an international distribution center. Freight movement occupied a prominent position in DVRPC's planning activities during FY06. Efforts centered on providing decision-makers and planners with more information and better analytic methods. DVRPC staff completed the first-ever commodity flow profile for the region, complete with estimates of modal splits, top commodities, and top trading partners.

Two technical reports examined the local impacts of freight. The Delaware County Highway-Railroad Grade Crossing Study identified an action plan to better equip nine communities in handling projected traffic increases on a major rail freight line. A second report, South Jersey Port Inland Distribution Network Study, analyzed the feasibility and appropriateness of establishing dedicated service connections to port facilities in North Jersey. DVRPC also helped bring together freight leaders from across the country during a national conference, entitled From Design to Delivery: Planning America's Freight Movement. The conference was organized by the Delaware Valley Goods Movement Task Force, DVRPC's Freight Advisory Committee, and the National Association of Regional Councils. More than 100 experts and practitioners discussed best practices and strategies to bridge the gap between freight and land use planning.