Transportation
News from the Wilmington Area Planning Council (WILMAPCO)
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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.
January 14, 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.
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WILMAPCO News
Safe 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.
City 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.
WILMAPCO 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.
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Member Agency
News
DelDOT 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.
DelDOT 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.
DelDOT 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.
DNREC
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.
MDOT 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
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Time
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Location
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Thursday, January 10
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9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
(registration opens at 8:30 a.m.)
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Frederick, SHA District 7
Office
5111 Buckeystown Pike
Frederick, MD 21704
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Tuesday, January 22
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9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
(registration opens at 8:30 a.m.)
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MDOT Headquarters
7201 Corporate Center Drive
Hanover, MD 21076
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Friday,
January 25
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9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
(registration opens at 8:30 a.m.)
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Chestertown, SHA District
2 Office
615 Morgnec Road
Chestertown, MD 21620
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Tuesday, January 29
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9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
(registration opens at 8:30 a.m.)
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Greenbelt, SHA District 3
Office
9300 Kenilworth Avenue
Greenbelt, MD 20770
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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.
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Local News
Draft 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.
APA 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.
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National News
New
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
EPA 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.
Physical 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.
Obesity 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.
Local 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.
National 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.
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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.
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