Source: PA WalkWorks
Tracking Active Transportation Wins Near and Far
Here are some active transportation-related things to give thanks for during this Thanksgiving week.
On Friday Governor Shapiro announced that he would be flexing federal funding as advocates had been asking in order to help sustain transit in PA, particularly SEPTA — at least for a little while longer. This comes on the heels of the end of a transit workers strike in Philadelphia, so all around relief is in order! But we still need a permanent funding solution!
In addition, we can report that a referendum providing for sidewalk funding and other important multi-modal transportation funding passed in Seattle — among other things, Proposition 1 calls for the construction of 250 blocks of new sidewalks in the next four years! And in Nashville, Tennessee, additional transit funding, through a local sales tax increase passed by referendum, paving the way for a transportation plan entitled “Choose How You Move.” (Notably the plan does not include light rail, which had been part of a proposal that failed in 2018.)
Funding Spotlight: Community Spark Mini-Grant Window Open
Some projects have price tags in the billions. Other times ambitions lie at the other end of the spectrum. The League of American Bicyclists offers an annual micro-grant program called Community Spark Grants. While they did just increase the funding amount by 33%, that just brings it up to $2k!
That application cycle is open now. The timing is set up to allow proposed projects to be realized in time for Bike Month. The deadline to apply is Friday, January 17, 2025. They will fund 10 awards – 5 in GM Facility Communities and 5 based anywhere in the U.S. that meet their new Equity & Accessibility criteria, listed under “Eligibility Criteria” on the grant info page. PA is home to a previous Community Spark awardee, Schuylkill VISION (now CONNECTS).
PHL Transit, Bike and PED Work Featured on The National Stage
Philadelphia is going to get a chance to shine with the upcoming semiquincentennial celebration in 2026, but there’s a lot of work going on right now and always to make the city one for the ages.
Some of that work is being showcased this week as the national transit gathering Mpact (formerly Railvolution) convenes in Center City and explores the amazing multi-modal network that criss-crosses the region. In the lead-up to that event, Transit, Bike, and Ped Work being done by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC, the Metropolitan Planning Organization for a two state, seven county region) was the focus of a recent episode on the national podcast, Talking Headways.
FHWA Resource for Active Transportation Now Includes Bikes
The FHWA Safety Office recently published a new resource entitled “Guide for Maintaining Active Transportation Infrastructure for Enhanced Safety.” The document replaces a 2013 guide which only addressed pedestrian facilities.
With this update, the focus has been expanded from just walking infrastructure to also address maintenance of bicycle facilities. In addition it touches on specific maintenance-related issues pertaining to the safe operation of micromobility devices such as electric scooters, one-wheels, and skateboards.
The resource addresses maintenance of active transportation facilities for achieving mobility, accessibility, safety, and equity goals. It presents a case for maintaining active transportation facilities as an integral component of a Complete Streets approach and discusses common maintenance issues impacting pedestrians, bicyclists, and micromobility users; temporary, short-term, and long-term maintenance measures; and construction techniques to lessen maintenance. The guide also discusses maintenance planning, prioritization, inspection, compliance, and funding.
Road Salt and Freshwater Biomes Don’t Mix Well — What to Do?
Messy weather is upon us — and so is salt season. But do we need to make a mess in turn of the environment writ large? New research has shown that road salt is particularly harmful to the freshwater food chain, creating lasting declines in a critical zooplankton over time. Pennsylvanians tend to be quite protective of freshwater creatures — but is this threat being addressed?
A Great Lakes region program called Wisconsin SaltWise could provide a model and their website is chock full of resources. SaltWise describes its coalition as “working together to reduce salt pollution in… lakes, streams and drinking water. [Their] primary goals are to: educate residents, leaders and winter maintenance professionals on salt pollution and solutions, provide training and promote best practices to reduce salt pollution and recognize those committed to minimizing their salt footprint.”
SPC MPO Quarterly AT Forum — Anna Zivarts Speaking
The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, the regional Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) hosts quarterly hybrid Active Transportation Fora. The next one will be held Tuesday, December 3, at 10 am. The presenters and topics planned include:
- Anna Zivarts, author of When Driving Is Not an Option: Steering Away from Car Dependency and co-creator of the #WeekWithoutDriving challenge, advocates for the inclusion of non-drivers in transportation planning. (If you’re thinking about a holiday gift for a planning-minded person: you can use code WEBINAR when ordering from the publisher for 30% off.)
- Andy Davis (Indiana County) will share insights from his European bike tour along EuroVelo routes.
- Chris Blackwell (Penn Hills) and Brian Krul (TransSystems) will provide an update on development of the VOPP Trail (Verona, Oakmont, Penn Hills, and Plum).
- Kristin Saunders (Toole Design Group) will provide an update on the multimodal network analysis task being completed for updating the SPC regional Active Transportation Plan.
The SPC’s AT Resource page provides regional but often broadly relevant information. Scroll down to sign up for the newsletter and check out recordings of past fora. Does your MPO or RPO have something similar? Either way, consider joining the email list and checking this forum out. Email Leann Chaney at lchaney@spcregion.org.