Chester County transit projects receiving millions in state grants

WESTCHESTER» State Sen. Andy Dinniman recently announced that three multimodal transportation projects in Chester County will receive $2,639,431 in state grant funding.

The grants are part of $84 million in Multimodal Transportation Fund Investments that will support 86 projects in 35 counties throughout the Commonwealth.

The Chester County grants and projects are:

• $979,431 for New Garden Township for site preparation including drainage, taxiway paving, stormwater management and the construction of seven individual t-hangars and two box hangars at the New Garden Flying Field.

• $160,000 for the Borough of Malvern to provide transit pedestrian access routes for riders of the SEPTA Regional Rail Station located in the center of the borough.

The project calls for upgrading the traffic signals at the King Street/Warren Avenue intersection to Accessible Pedestrian Signals, completing the sidewalk network on North Warren Avenue from King Street to Pennsylvania Avenue and installing LED signal heads and overhead street name signs.

• $1.5 million for Urban Outfitters, Inc. for transportation improvements related to the proposed Lifestyle Center development along Route 30 in Devon.

The project calls for installing left-turn lanes, adding crosswalks and sidewalks, optimizing signal timings, adding ADA facilities, installing new lighting, enhancing stormwater controls, adding bicycle accommodations and coordinating parking with SEPTA.

Funding for the projects comes through Act 89 of 2013, Pennsylvania’s Comprehensive Transportation Funding Plan, which increased transit funding and established dedicated multimodal funding for aviation, passenger rail, rail freight, port and bicycle-pedestrian projects.

Dinniman, D-19th of West Whiteland, who supported Act 89, said the latest projects were another example of the ability of investments in transportation infrastructure to help drive economic growth.

“Act 89 transportation funding continues to pay off in big ways for Chester County,” Dinniman said in a news release.

“We are already seeing road improvement and repaving projects and such investments in transportation will continue play a major role in creating jobs, boosting our economy and maintaining a high quality of life in our region.”