GOVERNOR RENDELL ANNOUNCES $76 MILLION TO CREATE GREEN JOBS, SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

By THE OFFICE OF GOV. ED RENDELL

HARRISBURG – Pennsylvania will create green jobs, relieve traffic congestion and make it easier for students to walk and bike to school with the investment of $76 million in 80 transportation projects, Governor Edward G. Rendell announced today.

“PennDOT’s investments will help us weather the current economic storm and make lasting community improvements for future generations,” Governor Rendell said. “These investments will stimulate the economy by putting people to work creating sustainable communities that will improve our quality of life and send a clear message that Pennsylvania is a great place to live and work.

“Investments in smart transportation and creating safe routes to schools offer travel options that help reduce reliance on fossil fuels. By building more rational connections within communities we can reduce vehicle use and attract pedestrians and bicyclists. These small steps will help Pennsylvania and the nation combat climate change and reduce reliance on imported fuels,” the Governor said.

The Department of Transportation is providing $59.2 million for 50 Smart Transportation-related projects and $16.8 million for 30 Safe Routes to School projects that will improve safety and encourage walking and biking-friendly improvements.

Regionally, PennDOT will invest $14.8 million in the Greater Pittsburgh region; $18.5 million in the Greater Philadelphia region; $17.5 million in the Susquehanna Valley; $10.6 million in the Northwestern region; $5.5 million in the Lehigh Valley; $5 million in the Northeast; and $4 million in the Central region.

Smart transportation initiatives improve communities by linking transportation investments to local land use planning and decision making. The Pennsylvania Community Transportation Initiative, or PCTI, is intended to fund planning and construction projects that demonstrate creative and efficient ways of addressing various transportation challenges through strong local partnerships and with careful consideration of community goals.

“Smart transportation is the way we all must be thinking,” said PennDOT Secretary Allen D. Biehler, P.E. “We are working toward real change. We are closely examining costs, accommodating all modes of travel, leveraging and preserving our existing infrastructure, enhancing local street networks, building towns rather than inviting sprawl, planning and designing with thoughtful consideration of community context, and working with local governments.”

PennDOT received more than 400 applications from cities, boroughs, townships, Metropolitan and Rural Planning Organizations, transit agencies and advocacy groups requesting more than $600 million. The list of successful candidate projects include planning and construction projects that focus on downtown revitalization efforts, local street connections, multi-use trails, traffic calming and transit-oriented development studies, among others.

“This overwhelming response tells us communities across Pennsylvania are anxious to work with us to use a better, more affordable approach for addressing our transportation challenges,” Biehler said. “That is gratifying and encouraging as we struggle to meet tremendous demand with very limited resources.”

“Land use and transportation are intrinsically linked,” said Judy Schwank, president of 10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania, a group which advocates for sustainability and Smart Transportation approaches, including creation of the PCTI program. “How we lay out our roadways and transit infrastructure establishes the types and patterns of development that would likely occur in our communities. At the same time, land use patterns dictate the transportation needs of a place. Simply focusing on the supply side of the equation — building more and wider roads — is not an approach we can afford. We need to look at the demand side of our transportation needs and encourage more sustainable land development patterns.”

PCTI is a small portion of PennDOT’s new way of doing business. The department has started to implement various other policy changes to advance smart transportation including streamlining the process of how PennDOT projects are delivered, as well as, earlier and more effective coordination with municipalities and developers to preserve and enhance mobility as our communities grow. PennDOT has also developed an award-winning Smart Transportation Guidebook that offers a broader range of solutions to balance the unique characteristics of the varying community types across Pennsylvania with transportation improvements.

This is the first award of federal funds specifically set aside for Safe Routes to Schools to encourage and enable students in kindergarten through eighth grade to walk or bike to school. Projects receiving funding are those that best address the “Five ‘E’s of Safe Routes to School,” including education, encouragement, enforcement, evaluation and engineering.

The Federal Safe Routes to School initiative, included in the federal transportation bill — Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, or SAFETEA-LU — authorizes federal programs for highways, highway safety, and transit from 2005 through 2009.

Projects announced today were reviewed by Metropolitan and Rural Planning Organizations, the Federal Highway Administration, PennDOT district and central offices, the state departments of Conservation and Natural Resources, Health, and Education, and the Pennsylvania Advocates for Nutrition and Activity.

For more information on the Pennsylvania Community Transportation Initiative and Smart Transportation, visit the Smart Transportation Web site at: www.smart-transportation.com.
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May 28, 2009 at 2:54 pm

--pa2010.com Staff