Philly Getting Millions In Federal Funding For Various Tranpostation Projects

Gov. Tom Wolf and PennDOT secretary Leslie Richards announced Tuesday the allocation of $33 million in federal funds to 51 transportation improvement projects across the state, with Philadelphia being one of the areas to get chunk of the funding for several projects.

According to Wolf's office the city will be allocated:

• $984,692 to enable the strategic and sustainable expansion of Indego, Philadelphia’s newest public transportation system, by deploying 16 new Indego bike share stations in high-demand locations.
• $1 million to construct a 6/10th of a mile, 12-foot-wide trail with landscaping and site amenities along the Delaware River between Magee Avenue and Princeton Avenue. The project is part of the East Coast Greenway.
• $600,000 to remove slip ramps for eastbound and westbound Baltimore Avenue, which is the school crossing guard location for Avery D Harrington School. The project will also include green infrastructure with a subsurface stormwater retention system, signal upgrades and bump-outs.
• $250,000 to convert over 27 lane miles into protected bicycle facilities by adding flexible delineator posts, a vertical element proven to better visually and clearly separate vehicle and bicycle space in the right of way.

The total amount of federal money allocated to these projects is $2.83 million.

“These projects are important initiatives that enhance communities across Pennsylvania to create stronger economies and better infrastructure,” Wolf said in a statement. “Making these improvements will enhance pedestrian and bicycle facilities, improve access to publictransportation, create safe routes to school, preserve historic transportation structures, provide environmental mitigation, create trails that serve a transportation purpose, and promote safety and mobility.”

To select projects, PennDOT evaluated the applications and made selections based on such criteria as safety benefits, reasonableness of cost, readiness for implementation, statewide or regional significance, integration of land use and transportation decision making, collaboration with stakeholders, and leverage of other projects or funding, according to a release.

“Supporting transportation alternatives in our communities is vital to a transportation system that works for all Pennsylvanians,” Richards said. “These investments complement our state multimodal funding to ensure we’re making connections that improve citizens’ quality of life no matter how they travel.”

Image via Shutterstock