Fifty-Six Projects Receive Federal Funds to Improve Transportation Alternatives

Nov. 11, 2014
Transportation alternative projects enhance pedestrian and bicycle facilities, improve access to public transportation, create safe routes to school, preserve historic transportation structures, provide environmental mitigation, create trails that serve a

Fifty-six projects to improve transportation alternatives are in line for $33 million in federal funds, PennDOT Secretary Barry J. Schoch announced Nov. 10.

Transportation alternative projects enhance pedestrian and bicycle facilities, improve access to public transportation, create safe routes to school, preserve historic transportation structures, provide environmental mitigation, create trails that serve a transportation purpose, and promote safety and mobility.

"These awards represent yet another way PennDOT is working to broaden the reach of transportation investments in Pennsylvania," Schoch said. "Combined with awards from the new state Multimodal Fund and the Transportation Infrastructure Investment Fund, this program opens the door to an even wider variety of improvements for the people of Pennsylvania."

Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century, the 2012 federal transportation authorization act known as MAP-21, introduced fundamental changes to the administration of local programs, including those that had existed as separate programs in SAFETEA-LU, the previous authorization act. Transportation Enhancements, Safe Routes to School, Scenic Byways and the Recreational Trails Program (RTP) are now consolidated into the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP).

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.

Adams County

  • Gettysburg Borough - $334,236 for construction of the Gettysburg Inner Loop from the Biser Trail at West Street to Route 30 (Buford Avenue), about 1 mile in length. Construction includes off-road trail, stream and street crossings and sidewalk widening.

Allegheny County

  • Sharpsburg Borough - $383,781 for the River Towns Bike-Ped Trail, including construction of bike lanes, signage and a safe-passage corridor for bike transportation and greater pedestrian accessibility in seven towns in the lower Allegheny River Valley.
  • Pittsburgh Department of Public Works - $384,000 for demolition and rebuilding of the public stairway, the Joncaire Street Steps, located at the lower end of Joncaire Street in Oakland. Improvements provide multimodal access for bikes and pedestrians.
  • Sports and Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County - $946,680 for pedestrian and safety improvements for an intersection within the Lower Hill Infrastructure Project, including sidewalks, curbs, bike racks, lighting adjustments, storm water tree boxes, traffic and pedestrian signals, and drainage adjustments.

Bedford County

  • Broad Top Township - $513,712 to convert the four remaining miles of an abandoned railroad right of way into a multi-use trail that will complete 10.6 miles of the H&BT Rail Trail.

Blair County

  • Penn State University - $650,000 for a multimodal walkway leading from Wapsononock Avenue to PSU-Altoona Campus, via Juniata Gap Road. The project includes signal upgrades, path construction, pole relocation, retaining wall construction and ADA accessibility.

Bucks County

  • New Britain Borough - $150,000 for a shared-use path along South Tamendend Avenue between Butler Avenue and the SEPTA New Britain train station.
  • Doylestown Township - $792,634 for a bike and hiking trail along Lower State Road from Central Bucks West High School to the Route 202 Parkway Trail, connecting Central Bucks Family YMCA, Central Park, and Delaware Valley College. Lower State Road is also BicyclePA Bike Route S.
  • Bristol Township - $1 million for streetscape improvements on Route 13 (Bristol Pike) from the bridge over the Neshaminy Creek to a point west of Walnut Avenue within the downtown Croydon Business District.

Butler County

  • Buffalo Township - $426,880 for repaving and drainage improvements along portions of the existing Butler-Freeport Community Trail between Sarver Road and Freeport in Buffalo Township, Butler County and South Buffalo Township, Armstrong County.
  • Slippery Rock Township - $661,250 for repairs to existing storm sewers, road shoulders and culverts, elimination of open ditches, and the installation of sidewalks, curb ramps and a pedestrian crossing along Kiester Road.

Cambria County

  • Adams Township - $147,459 for a Safe Routes to School project linking Route 869 through the Creslo neighborhood to an existing school campus public access point.
  • Ebensburg Borough - $500,000 for construction of new sidewalks along West High Street, South Center Street and Rowena Drive.
  • Cambria County Conservation and Recreation Authority - $908,500 for an extension to the existing Ghost Town Trail from the northernmost end of the trail's Rexis Branch at Route 422 in Blacklick Township to the Shawnee Road Access Area along Route 271.

Carbon County

  • Carbon County - $2 million for installation of a prefabricated pedestrian bridge across the Lehigh River to connect the 60 miles of D&L Trail north in Carbon and Luzerne counties to the 105 miles of D&L Trail in Northampton, Lehigh and Bucks counties.

Centre County

  • State College Borough - $5,300 for bicycle repair stations along shared-use paths.
  • Centre Area Transportation Authority - $50,000 for lighting and safety improvements to high-volume transit stops in Ferguson Township.
  • Ferguson Township - $777,753 for construction of a 12-foot-wide sidewalk with streetlights, trees, benches, pedestrian crossings and accent pavers.
  • College Township - $946,880 to connect the Puddintown Road Bike Path to the Orchard Road Bike Lanes.

Chester County

  • Tredyffrin Township - $1.1 million for construction of a 10-foot wide, asphalt multi-use trail on the south side of East Central Avenue. Included are five stamped asphalt raised crosswalks crossing East Central Avenue at intersecting roadways and the associated 15 ADA compliant curb ramps. A vegetated swale and stone infiltration bed will provide storm water management for the trail and East Central Avenue cartway.

Clarion County

  • Clarion County - $780,000 for improvements to the Climax Tunnel to allow access to the public while maintaining the tunnel for future railroad use if needed. The Climax Tunnel is located three trail miles downstream of New Bethlehem Borough.

Columbia County

  • Bloomsburg - $459,600 for installation of new curb cuts and high visibility crosswalks, and a new lighting system meeting current standards.

Crawford County

  • Crawford County Commissioners - $400,000 for comprehensive updates to Water Street between First and Second Street in Conneaut Lake Borough. Improvements include: crosswalks, concrete sidewalks, concrete driveways with curb cuts, ADA compliant pedestrian ramps, lighting and relocation of utilities.

Cumberland County

  • Lower Allen Township - $220,000 for extension of an existing trail to connect Allendale and Beacon Hill neighborhoods now separated by Interstate 83.

Dauphin County

  • Dauphin County - $1.5 million for design and construction of a 1.5-mile, 10-ft wide, paved, off-road trail to connect the Capital Area Greenbelt Trail to Fort Hunter County Park, including a 1-mile section along the Susquehanna Riverfront and linking to the trails at Wildwood County Park.

Delaware County

• Prospect Park Borough - $300,000 for improvements to the Route 420 corridor to include sidewalk and curb replacements, new pedestrian lighting, crosswalks, traffic signal improvements, addition of ADA compliant ramps, landscaping, signage and storm water improvements.

• Nether Providence Township - $444,100 for upgrades to walkways and trails to improve pedestrian safety and encourage walking and biking.

Erie County

  • City of Erie - $500,000 for connection of two bike/pedestrian pathways by the addition of a neighborhood sidewalk and pedestrian crosswalk at the Bayfront Parkway.

Forest County

  • Jenks Township - $220,650 for installation of about a quarter mile of ADA-accessible sidewalks and curb ramps along Route 66 in Marienville.

Franklin County

Waynesboro Borough – $150,924 to install Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon (RRFB) Crosswalk Lights at eight locations with five of the crosswalks having ADA concrete bump-outs to shorten the crossing distance.

Lackawanna County

  • Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority - $126,422 for a 2-mile section of the Carbondale Riverwalk in Carbondale and Fell Township.

Lancaster County

  • Providence Township - $1.1 million for improvements to the 22-mile-long Enola Low Grade Trail, which traverses multiple townships - Bart, Conestoga, Eden, Martic, Providence, and Sadsbury - and the Borough of Quarryville in Lancaster County.

Lebanon County

  • Lebanon County Planning Department - $617,694 for construction of phase seven of the Lebanon Valley Rail Trail from 25th Street to Long Lane, a distance of 1.7 miles.

Lehigh County

  • Salisbury Township - $215,939 to install bike lanes and complete sidewalks to connect schools and recreational facilities within a residential area.
  • Whitehall Township - $449,000 for construction of phase one of the Jordan Greenway Trail and pedestrian bridge.

Luzerne County

  • Dallas Township - $130,000 for design and construction of an extension of the Back Mountain Trail from Overbrook Road to Dorchester Road.
  • Wilkes University - $1 million for streetscape and pedestrian safety improvements for two streets in the City of Wilkes-Barre: South Franklin Street and West South Street.

Lycoming County

  • Williamsport - $1 million for the Williamsport Pathway to Health Project, a multi-phased streetscape, safety improvement and primary health service delivery program for the City of Williamsport. This award covers phase three of the project.

McKean County

  • Bradford - $464,700 for the Elm Street Gateway Project phase four that includes new sidewalks, street lighting, ADA compliant curb ramps, and a Share-the-Road bike lane.
  • McKean County - $1 million to acquire the Knox & Kane Rail Corridor.

Mercer County

  • Springfield Township - $429,677 for construction of a new multimodal trail (bicycles and pedestrians) to greatly improve safety and enhance connectivity along Route 208. This is the first phase of several phases as part of the township master trail plan.

Montgomery County

  • Jenkintown Borough - $90,000 for installation of new school zone lights and expansion and modernization of an existing school zone.
  • Pottstown Borough - $300,000 for a comprehensive walking and bicycling network enabling 3,000 students to walk or bicycle safely to school, and adults of all ages to walk or bike for work or leisure, with links to neighboring municipalities.
  • Upper Merion Township - $430,856 for a road diet along the length of First Avenue to enhance multimodal road usage.
  • Cheltenham Township - $1 million to furnish and install sidewalk and crosswalk infrastructure, curb ramps, pedestrian signals and signalization streetscape enhancements on Old York Road, Church Road and Stahr Roads and Old York Road Spur in Elkins Park West.
  • Upper Dublin Township - $1 million to reconstruct Virginia Drive in the Fort Washington Office Park to provide a three-lane road diet cross section as opposed to the existing four-lane section. Removal of the fourth lane allows for construction of a multi-use trail.

Northampton County

  • Bethlehem - $300,000 to address existing safety issues by replacing the areas of deficient sidewalk and adding ADA compliant curb ramps where needed.

Philadelphia

  • Philadelphia - $250,000 for the purchase and installation of bicycles, stations and supporting infrastructure for the upcoming city of Philadelphia Bike Share Program.
  • Philadelphia Parks and Recreation - $1 million for Frankford Creek Greenway Section 1 from Aramingo Avenue to Delaware Avenue.

Pike County

  • Pike County - $461,725 for construction of the Mott Street Pedestrian Bridge to connect Milford with the National Park Service's McDade Trail, Milford Knob, and the Pinchot Trail.

Susquehanna County

  • Montrose Borough - $189,000 for new sidewalks along South Main Street.
  • Herrick Township - $1 million for construction of 7 miles of a 70-mile rail-trail in Herrick and Ararat townships. Includes drainage improvements, grading, surfacing, access control and signage.

Westmoreland County

  • Westmoreland County – $250,000 for construction of 3.8 miles of a rail trail along the former Turtle Creek Industrial Railroad corridor in Trafford, Penn Township, Monroeville and Murrysville.

Wyoming County

  • Keystone College - $755,903 for construction of a 1.2-mile non-motorized community-use pedestrian & bike trail, which will serve as a connection to facilitate travel between high-use community recreational and educational facilities in La Plume and Factoryville.
  • Wyoming County - $821,276 for the Nicholson Tourism Center at the Historic DL&W Railroad Station, which will revitalize the region by attracting tourists to the rehabilitated station, the Tunkhannock Viaduct (the Nicholson Bridge), Nicholson, Wyoming County, and the Endless Mountains.

York County

  • City of York - $1 million for enhancement to the 2030 Bicycle Network including the 0.5-mile Northern Extension, phase four, of the York Heritage Rail Trail from West Philadelphia Street to North George Street at Hamilton Avenue in the city of York.