Three local projects benefit from $2.1 million in transportation funding

WEST CHESTER » State Senator Andy Dinniman announced that three projects in Chester County would receive more than $2.1 million in state grant funding to improve traffic and pedestrian safety.

“These projects will help improve pedestrian safety for residents, families, and school students,” Dinniman, who serves on the Senate Transportation Committee, said. “However, drivers must remain vigilant while behind the wheel, especially during this time of year because more children are out enjoying the weather and schools will be letting out for the summer break soon.”

The grants, which come through the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s Surface Transportation Block Grant program Set-Aside or Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside, are as follows:

•$1,280,300 for London Grove Township to construct approximately 2,500 feet of sidewalk and curb on the south side of State Road between Prospect Avenue/Wickerton Road (State Route 841) and Schoolhouse Road, including striped crosswalks and ADA compliant curb ramps at three intersections.

•$750,000 for East Marlborough Township to improve safety for students, residents, and visitors accessing the UnionvilleChadds Ford Middle/High School campus with sidewalks, crosswalks, medians and roadway narrowing.

•$111,000 for the Greater Valley Forge Transportation Management Association for the interactive “My School on the Move” program that teaches middle school students traffic safety laws.

The grant recipients come as part of 82 projects statewide that were approved for more than $66.8 million in total funding to improve transportation alternatives and enhance mobility and public accessibility across the commonwealth.

The TA Set-Aside provides funding for projects and activities defined as transportation alternatives, including on- and offroad pedestrian and bicycle facilities, infrastructure projects for improving non-driver access to public transportation and enhanced mobility, community improvement activities, environmental mitigation projects, trails that serve a transportation purpose, and safe routes to school 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.