June 14, 2022
The DVRPC Board has approved over $7.5 million toward 22 projects in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The projects are funded through the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Program, which funds projects that make biking and walking to school safer and more appealing; and the Travel Options Program (TOP), a program created by DVRPC, which funds projects that provide better access to more travel options across the region, such as walking, biking, and taking transit, with the goal of reducing the number of single occupancy vehicles.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Tuesday, June 14, 2022)
Elise Turner, Manager, Office of Communications and Engagement
DVRPC Approves Over $7.5 Million for Bicycle, Pedestrian, Streetscape, and Transportation Demand Management Projects
(Philadelphia, PA) - The Board of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) has approved over $7.5 million toward 22 projects in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The projects are funded through the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Program, which funds projects that make biking and walking to school safer and more appealing; and the Travel Options Program (TOP), a program created by DVRPC, which funds projects that provide better access to more travel options across the region, such as walking, biking, and taking transit, with the goal of reducing the number of single occupancy vehicles.
“We are always searching for ways to improve operational sustainability, shrink our carbon footprint and boost the quality of life for our residents. These funds enhance travel options across Greater Philadelphia and will help propel this mission forward in a big way,” said DVRPC Board Chair and Camden County Commissioner Director Louis Cappelli, Jr. “These projects tackle everything from intersection improvements to installing missing sidewalks and more. Once these projects are completed, our residents will have a wider variety of choices when it comes to multimodal means of travel such as biking, walking and public transit. We are thrilled that the DVRPC sees the value in creating safer and more environmentally friendly travel options.”
The selected New Jersey SRTS projects are:
- Lawrenceville Elementary School Pedestrian Safety Improvements in Lawrenceville Township, Mercer County ($358,000) – This project will provide missing sidewalk sections, ADA curb ramps, crosswalk striping and pedestrian signage at the local intersections within walking and biking radius of the school.
- Phase 2 of the Busansky/Emmons Schools Multimodal Improvements in Pemberton Township, Burlington County ($256,000) – This project will fill sidewalk gaps on Rottau Ave, Second Ave and Third Ave within Rottau Village. It will also add new crosswalks, shared bike lanes, and bicycle safety signs placed along the route, while completing the improvements necessary to provide compliant curb ramps for the Rottau and Lake Valley neighborhoods.
- Peach Road and Victory Drive Intersection Improvements in Bellmawr Borough, Camden County ($422,000) – This project proposes to include a new roundabout at the intersection of Victory Drive and Peach Road. It also includes signage, striping, crosswalks, flashing beacon pedestrian warning signs, and ADA ramps.
- Installation of Missing Sidewalks in Haddon Heights Borough, Camden County ($1.2 million) – This project will provide continuous sidewalks along multiple school routes in the area, including Atlantic Avenue Elementary School, Glenview Avenue Elementary School, and Seventh Avenue Elementary School.
- Echelon Center Pedestrian Improvements in Voorhees Township, Camden County ($675,000) - This project includes the construction of a 5-foot wide sidewalk to allow for pedestrian travel along both sides of Van Buren Road and Lucas Lane. Also proposed is the installation of numerous ADA ramps, crosswalks, and traffic signage.
- Gibbsboro Road and Berlin Road Intersection Improvements in Clementon Borough, Camden County ($470,000) - The project’s improvements will include updated traffic signals, new compliant ADA ramps and to regrade the intersection while adding crosswalk striping.
- Clayton Middle and High School Sidewalk and ADA Improvements in Clayton Borough, Gloucester County ($632,000) – This project includes upgrades to intersections, sidewalks and ADA Ramps along Academy Street, This project also will update the bike path along New Street.
The SRTS program is funded through the Federal Highway Administration's Federal Aid Program and is being administered by the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT), in partnership with the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC), North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) and the South Jersey Transportation Planning Organization (SJTPO).
To learn more, visit www.dvrpc.org/saferoutes.
The selected TOP projects are:
- Gateway to Downtown Collingswood, Camden County ($272,000) - This project, sponsored by Collingswood Borough, will create safe and improved access throughout Collingswood including the downtown business district, community assets, and PATCO train station. This project builds upon results from an “ExPo” experimental project funded under the TOP pilot grant round.
- The Eastern Delco Bikeway Implementation Program, Upper Darby Township ($688,260) - This project, sponsored by Upper Darby Township, Lansdowne Borough, East Lansdowne Borough, and Yeadon Borough, will implement concepts from The Eastern Delaware County Bikeway Prioritization Study, funded through a DVRPC Transportation and Community Development Initiative (TCDI) grant, which identifies and prioritizes over 30 projects to create a connected bicycle network through the four municipalities. The network will connect neighborhoods to regional trails as well as schools, parks, transit stations, other areas of interest, and the established bicycle network in the City of Philadelphia.
- Woodland Avenue Trolley Program Complete Streets Project, Philadelphia ($739,500) - This project, sponsored by the City of Philadelphia Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability (OTIS), will improve traffic safety for all users of this site and enhance transit service performance and reliability along Woodland Avenue in West Philadelphia. This project seeks to address two key problems – multimodal safety and public transit accessibility and reliability.
- Multifamily Public Transportation Marketing Playbook, Chester County ($77,078) - This project, sponsored by the TMA of Chester County, will reach new residents and potential shared commute riders in the complex or neighborhoods where they live, to educate them on the options available to them and reinforce messages they may be receiving from their employers about sharing commutes.
- The Missing Amenities: Enhancing Bicycling Reliability, West Chester, Chester County ($125,653) - This project, sponsored by the TMA of Chester County, will reallocate existing bicycle amenities as needed and add more as and where studies have shown, to make both the Borough of West Chester and West Chester University more accessible for alternate travel options.
- Philadelphia Sidewalk Repair and Bike Rack Planning, Philadelphia ($120,625) - This project, sponsored by the Clean Air Council, will coordinate the installation of 80 new bike racks over the next two years in partnership with corridor managers in Mt. Airy, Germantown, and Fishtown. A second component of the project is planning and coordinating a pilot sidewalk repair project to enhance walkability in a neighborhood of Philadelphia with the greatest need for sidewalk improvements.
- Streets For All, Chester County ($249,777) - This project, sponsored by Greater Valley Forge Transportation Management Association (GVF), will focus on two Chester County municipalities to assist the County with reaching the goals in its Complete Streets Policy and the Active Transportation Inventory (ATI) plans. This will involve working with municipal managers and planning departments to review current documents and regulatory codes, as well as create an educational and marketing campaign for residents and employees who live there.
- Drive Less, Bike More, Montgomery County ($360,563) - This project, sponsored by the Partnership Transportation Management Association of Montgomery Co. (PTMA) and GVF, supports bicycling as a travel option. The project will expand the current bicycle network to connect important destinations, trails, and transportation hubs, as well as identify areas for an on-road bicycle lane network and establish an online toolkit for future use.
- Bucks County Pop-up Bike/Ped Lane Project (271,285) - This project, sponsored by TMA Bucks, will invest in experimental, temporary bike infrastructure to increase the awareness of the benefits of a more bike-friendly region to people of all ages and backgrounds. Demonstrating this concept in communities throughout the county will also allow for the collection of the data needed to eventually make these changes permanent.
- Municipal TDM Ordinance Conference, Delaware County ($129,039) - This project, sponsored by the Delaware County Transportation Management Association (DCTMA), will focus on educating municipal leaders within the County on the benefits of developing a TDM ordinance for their municipality. DCTMA staff can also assist with the development of this ordinance, as requested.
- Senior Travel Training Curriculum for Delaware County ($101,912) - This project, sponsored by DCTMA, will educate senior citizens and staff at residential living communities on the options available to seniors who can no longer drive or who do not want to. Teaching potential riders how to use the options available to them eliminates an impediment to using them and increases accessibility.
- Bus Chronicles, Philadelphia ($88,900) - This Mural Arts Philadelphia project is a multimedia project using public art installations, posters, video, and animation to celebrate the experience of riding SEPTA’s buses via select routes throughout the City of Philadelphia and to highlight access to green spaces and parks and the vibrant communities along the selected routes.
- New Jersey Safe Passing Law Marketing Campaign ($98,698) - This project, sponsored by the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, working with NJ Transit, will raise awareness of the new safe passing law via an outreach campaign to educate drivers and all people using the roads. This project will focus on a bus wrap marketing campaign on NJ TRANSIT buses to ensure that people throughout the region see information about this - both from a driver’s point of view as well as a cyclist or pedestrian; this effort will cover about 50% of buses in DVRPC’s region.
- Return to PATCO: A Promotion of Transit, Walking and Biking in South Jersey, Multiple Counties ($125,000) - This project, sponsored by the Cross County Connection TMA, involves a need-based outreach, education, and awareness strategy and campaign to aid in boosting ridership on PATCO from pandemic lows; to engage target audiences promoting personal health, financial, and the many environmental benefits of public transit; and to foster increased awareness of the Camden Waterfront and other tourism-destination locations and southern New Jersey’s downtown business districts accessible by PATCO.
- Let’s Connect: Motivate and Educate to Create A Robust Trail Network in Mercer County ($96,134) - This is a county-wide program sponsored by the Greater Mercer TMA (GMTMA) to promote and help create a network of multi-use trails in Mercer County, with a focus on outreach and training in selected municipalities to approach trail building through a regional lens. This project will also widely promote to the general public the Circuit Trails and other existing trails in Mercer County and encourage municipalities and the County to put more resources toward developing connected trails.
Applicants went through a two-stage process and a selection committee made up of representatives of partner agencies from throughout the region rated, scored, and selected the finalists. These projects are funded with federal Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) dollars (with a small portion of certain NJ projects funded through the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) program).
To learn more, visit www.dvrpc.org/TOP.