From:                              WILMAPCO [rnovakoff@wilmapco.org]

Sent:                               Friday, January 04, 2013 9:00 AM

To:                                   Randi Novakoff

Subject:                          News from WILMAPCO

 

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

Transportation
 News from the Wilmington Area Planning Council (WILMAPCO)

 

January 2013 

web header

WILMAPCO Meetings

All meetings are open to the public. Unless otherwise noted, meetings are held in the WILMAPCO Conference Room.   

 

In case of inclement weather, please call  (302) 737-6205, or toll free from Cecil County at (888) 808-7088 for cancellations or postponements.    

   

Air Quality Subcommittee
January 10, 10 a.m.

January 10, 1 p.m.

WILMAPCO Council
January 10, 6:30 p.m.

 

January 14, 10 a.m.

January 17, 10 a.m.

 

WILMAPCO will be closed on January 21 for Martin Luther King Jr Day. 

 

For updates or more information on upcoming WILMAPCO meetings, please visit www.wilmapco.org.

  Find us on Facebook 

In this issue...

 

walkerWILMAPCO News

SRTSSafe Routes to School Public Meeting

A public meeting for the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) projects at Mount Pleasant and Claymont Elementary Schools will be held on January 28 at 6 p.m., at Mount Pleasant Elementary School, 500 Duncan Road, Wilmington. The open house meeting will be followed by a formal presentation of planned infrastructure improvements during the Brandywine School District Board of Education meeting at 7 p.m. During the meeting attendees will have the opportunity to learn about planned improvements to sidewalks and crosswalks surrounding Claymont and Mount Pleasant Elementary Schools, as well as the other efforts of the SRTS committees. For more information, please visit www.wilmapco.org/school-children.

 

ParkingCity of New Castle Parking Survey

The City of New Castle and WILMAPCO have been working to assess the parking issues and needs of the City of New Castle and develop a plan that will formalize and optimize existing parking and recommend solutions. To aid in these efforts a survey has been created. If you live, work, or visit the City of New Castle, your feedback is needed. To participate in the parking survey, please visit http://surveygoldplus.com/s/D856CE1A16424E0C/46.htm. The deadline to take the survey is January 11. For more information on our planning efforts in the City of New Castle, please visit www.wilmapco.org/cityofnewcastle

 

DEAPAWILMAPCO Planner Elected new APA Delaware Chapter President

WILMAPCO Senior Planner Bill Swiatek has been installed as the Delaware Chapter of the American Planning Association's (APA) new president after serving as vice-president for the past two years. Bill plans to continue the work of the previous president, David Edgell, who developed a Strategic Plan for the chapter. Bill plans to work towards establishing additional committees outlined in the Plan including an advocacy committee to tackle the growing amount of misinformation which threatens planning and Smart Growth initiatives in Delaware. He will also work to increase the chapter's presence in Sussex County and its membership in general.  For more information on APA Delaware, please visit www.delawareapa.org. 

 

 

Member Agency News

  

SR273DelDOT Public Workshop - SR 273 Multi-Use Trail and Churchmans Road Trail Study

 

The Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) and the City of New Castle have announced a public workshop for two multi-modal trail projects within and near the City of New Castle. The workshop will be held on January 15, at the William Penn High School cafeteria, at 713 East Basin Road, New Castle, DE 19720. The public is invited to attend anytime between 5:15 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. 

 

 

The Route 273 Multi-Use Trail Facility project proposes to construct a bicycle and pedestrian trail along Route 273 (Frenchtown Road and Delaware Street) from the New Castle Farmers Market to 10th Street in the City of New Castle. The proposed improvements will connect to the existing New Castle Heritage Trail and the existing Industrial Track Trail.

 

The Churchmans Road Trail Study will examine alternatives for extending the existing trail along Churchmans Road (near Airport Road) farther east along Churchmans Road and Route 273 and connecting to the SR 273 trail near the New Castle Farmers Market.  For more information, please visit www.deldot.gov/public.ejs?command=PublicNotice&id=4578&month=1&year=2013.

 

  

SR72DelDOT Public Workshop - SR 72, McCoy Road to SR71

DelDOT is holding a Public Workshop to obtain comments from surrounding businesses and the general public for the capital project on SR72. The project limits will extend from SR1 to Willamette Drive and will include work on McCoy Road, SR71, and several other intersecting roadways. The workshop will be held on January 22, at Kathleen H. Wilbur Elementary School, 3942 Wrangle Hill Road in Bear. The public is invited to attend anytime between 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.


The project proposes to add an additional travel lane in each direction of SR72 Wrangle Hill Road. This project includes a reconfiguring of the intersection of SR71 and SR72, SR72 and McCoy Road, and SR72 and Wilson Boulevard. These modifications are proposed to address capacity issues of SR72 as well as to address safety concerns. New pedestrian and bicycle facilities will be added to the length of the project.  For more information, please visit http://www.deldot.gov/public.ejs?command=PublicNotice&id=4579&month=1&year=2013.

 

DOTEO36DelDOT Public Hearings - Review of Agency Regulations

DelDOT has announced that it will hold public hearings as part of Governor Markell's effort to improve Delaware's regulatory climate and to streamline or eliminate unnecessary regulations. The public hearings are being conducted in connection with Governor Markell's Executive Order No. 36, a statewide review by all agencies to identify and remove regulatory hurdles. Executive Order 36 provides an opportunity for state agencies to review regulations on their books, and streamline or eliminate those that are outdated, inconsistent, or no longer serve their intended purpose.  

 

The New Castle County public hearing will be held on January 24 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., at the Carvel State Office Building, 2nd Floor Auditorium, 820 N. French Street in Wilmington. In addition to participating in the public hearings, members of the public are also encouraged to submit comments in writing. Comments may be submitted via an online submission form at www.deldot.gov. Comments will be accepted through March 1, 2013.

 

DNRECEO36DNREC Public Hearings - Review of Agency Regulations     

According to a December 18 DNREC news release, "The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control has announced that it will hold public hearings as part of Governor Jack Markell's effort to strengthen Delaware's economy by modernizing and streamlining regulations that may be outdated or unnecessarily burdensome. The Department's New Castle County hearing is scheduled for January 21, at 6 p.m., at the Carvel State Office Building, 2nd Floor Auditorium / Mezzanine Level, 820 N. French Street, Wilmington, DE 19803. Members of the public are also encouraged to submit comments in writing to DNREC/ Executive Order 36, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901. Comments also may be submitted via an online submission form at: http://smu.portal.delaware.gov/cgi-bin/mail.php?public_comment&agency=dnrec. Comments will be accepted through March 1, 2013. 

 

MDOTMDOT Roundtable Workshops

The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) is holding a series of Roundtable Workshops in support of the 2035 Maryland Transportation Plan (MTP).  MDOT is engaging Maryland's residents, businesses, governmental agencies, and other interested organizations to ensure that the goals, objectives, and strategies developed through the MTP update process reflect and respond to the needs of all of Maryland's transportation stakeholders. Information about the four MTP Roundtable Workshops is shown below.  All of the workshops will have the same content.  

 

Date

Time

Location

Thursday, January 10

9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
(registration opens at 8:30 a.m.)

Frederick, SHA District 7 Office
5111 Buckeystown Pike
Frederick, MD 21704

Tuesday, January 22

9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
(registration opens at 8:30 a.m.)

MDOT Headquarters
7201 Corporate Center Drive
Hanover, MD 21076

Friday,  

January 25

9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
(registration opens at 8:30 a.m.)

Chestertown, SHA District 2 Office
615 Morgnec Road
Chestertown, MD 21620

Tuesday, January 29

9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
(registration opens at 8:30 a.m.)

Greenbelt, SHA District 3 Office
9300 Kenilworth Avenue
Greenbelt, MD 20770

 

If you have any questions or special needs, please contact Shelley Johnson at Sharp & Company, which is helping MDOT organize the Workshops. She can be reached at (301)424-6133 or shelley@sharpandco.com.

 

 

Local News 

 

SCORPDraft 2013 Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan The Draft 2013 Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP) is available for review and comment. SCORP is a planning and policy document that identifies needs in outdoor recreation throughout the state of Delaware.  Identification of these needs guides the investment of funding for outdoor recreation, specifically in the distribution of Land and Water Conservation Funds (LWCF) and Delaware Trust Funds, as well as other public and private funds. This SCORP lays out a broad vision for outdoor recreation in Delaware. The Division of Parks and Recreation is seeking public review of the draft plan through January 15.  Please direct comments by email to OutdoorRecPlan@state.de.us.  For more information, please visit www.destateparks.com/2013SCORP.

 

DEAPAWebinarAPA Delaware Webinar - Zoning for Small Scale Businesses  

The Delaware Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA) will hold the Zoning for Small Scale Businesses webinar on January 16 from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., at WILMAPCO and at the Dover Public Library.  Whether it is microbreweries or food trucks, home businesses or temporary markets, new commercial activities or new impacts. This webinar will consider the legal, social, cultural, economic, and spatial dimensions of this topic.  Registration is not necessary for this event.  For more information, visit www.delawareapa.org.

 

 

car graphicNational News

 

ConstructionNew Report: Residential Construction Trends in America's Metropolitan Regions

According to a December 19 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) press release, "EPA's Smart Growth Program released a new report examining residential construction trends in America's metropolitan regions. The report finds that nearly three out of four large metropolitan regions saw an increased share of new housing development in previously developed areas during 2005-2009 compared to 2000-2004. Known as infill housing, this type of development provides economic and public health benefits to metropolitan areas while protecting the local environment. The report demonstrates that infill has become a significant portion of the U.S. housing market. Among all 209 metropolitan regions examined, 21 percent of new homes were infill, while the remaining share was built on undeveloped land outside existing communities."  For more information, please visit 

http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/d0cf6618525a9efb85257359003fb69d/494416dde865190d85257ad9005eb346!OpenDocument

 

EPAEPA Announces Next Round of Clean Air Standards to Reduce Harmful Soot Pollution
According to a December 17 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) press release, "In response to a court order, the EPA  finalized an update to its national air quality standards for harmful fine particle pollution (PM2.5), including soot, setting the annual health standard at 12 micrograms per cubic meter. By 2020, ninety-nine percent of U.S. counties are projected to meet revised health standards without any additional actions.  Fine particle pollution can penetrate deep into the lungs and has been linked to a wide range of serious health effects, including premature death, heart attacks, and strokes, as well as acute bronchitis and aggravated asthma among children." For more information, please visit www.epa.gov/pm

 

FitnessPhysical Activity Guidelines for Americans Midcourse Report 

According to the December 2012 Safe Routes to School National Partnership newsletter, "The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Midcourse Report focuses on science-based strategies to increase physical activity among children, looking at 12 categories of physical activity interventions for young people. This draft report is meant to provide additional guidance on how to help children reach their recommended 60 minutes of physical activity a day." For more information, please visit http://saferoutespartnership.org/resourcecenter/enews/december2012.

 

ObesityObesity in Young Falling in Several Cities 

According to a December 10 article in the New York Times, "After decades of rising childhood obesity rates, several American cities are reporting their first declines. The trend has emerged in big cities like New York and Los Angeles, as well as smaller places like Anchorage, Alaska, and Kearney, Nebraska. The state of Mississippi has also registered a drop, but only among white students. The drops are small, just five percent in Philadelphia and three percent in Los Angeles. But experts say they are significant because they offer the first indication that the obesity epidemic, one of the nation's most intractable health problems, may actually be reversing course."  To view the source article, please visit www.nytimes.com/2012/12/11/health/childhood-obesity-drops-in-new-york-and-philadelphia.html?_r=1.

 

TransitLocal Funding Options for Public Transportation

According to the Fall 2012 Victoria Transport Policy Institute (VTPI) news, "This paper summarizes results of a study that identified and evaluated potential local funding options to help finance public transit improvements. It evaluates eighteen options according to eight criteria. This is a somewhat larger set of funding options and more detailed and systematic evaluation process than most previous studies of this type. This research discovered no new options that are particularly cost effective and easy to implement; each option has disadvantages and constraints. As a result, the overall conclusion of this study is that a variety of funding options should be used to help finance public transit improvements to insure stability and distribute costs broadly."  For more information, please visit www.vtpi.org/tranfund.pdf.

 

WSBNational Center Launches Walking School Bus Online Training

According to the Safe Routes Matters newsletter, "The National Center announced in November the release of The Walking School Bus Program: A Primer and First Steps, an online audio/video training program that provides strategies and tips for planning a Walking School Bus program. A Walking School Bus is a program where parents and students walk together to school. The online training shares practical approaches, community-tested processes, and tools to assist communities in planning and organizing a Walking School Bus program." The Walking School Bus Program: A Primer and First Steps is available online at http://apps.saferoutesinfo.org/training/walking_school_bus.  

 

About Us
The Wilmington Area Planning Council (WILMAPCO) is the regional transportation planning agency for New Castle County, Delaware and Cecil County, Maryland. As the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), WILMAPCO is charged with planning and coordinating transportation investments for the region based on federal policy, local input, technical analysis, and best practices.  For more information, please visit our website at www.wilmapco.org.

 

color modes

 

Forward email

WILMAPCO | 850 Library Ave. Suite 100 | Newark | DE | 19711