Last week, many of you submitted your comments to the Delaware Valley Region Planning Commission (DVRPC) urging the Board of Directors to make a stronger commitment to the Circuit Trails regional network and prioritize bicycle and pedestrian facilities for the Connections 2050 Long-Range Plan.
Thanks to you taking action, we sent over 200 letters requesting DVRPC to include the recommendations suggested by the Circuit Trails Coalition to strengthen the regions plan for the next 29 years. Now let’s join the meeting next week to ensure that these recommendations are written into the final draft of the Connections 2050 plan.
Prioritizing funds for these projects will bring safer, more accessible and environmentally sustainable alternatives to the region’s transportation infrastructure, future growth patterns and land use, and the concomitant impact on the environment: greenhouse gas emissions, air quality and water quality.
Due to the lack of concrete commitments and mechanisms that would change how bicycle/pedestrian projects are funded in the near term under current funding constraints, the Long-Range Plan runs the risk of being a “business-as-usual” blueprint in terms of how it proposes to spend the transportation dollars that it currently receives.
As a reminder, here is a brief overview of what you recommended to DVRPC:
- The Plan should have an explicit commitment to fully fund both the completion of the Circuit Trails and safe neighborhood bicycle/pedestrian connections that will allow anyone in the Region to safely access the Circuit in the next twelve years.
- Program $60M annually from the Surface Transportation Program to Bicycle/Pedestrian projects.
- Commit to the 500 miles of Circuit Trails by 2025 and accelerate the completion of Circuit Trail projects to meet the goal.
- Commit to spending 17% of new transportation road dollars on Bike/Ped projects.
- Place Philadelphia’s High Quality Bicycle Network as one project on the PA TIP.
- Support the Regional Vision Zero Target goal of zero traffic deaths by 2050.
In order to keep the momentum going, please consider joining DVRPC’s Public Meeting scheduled on 9/7/2021 at 10:00 AM for an opportunity to encourage the Board to consider the recommendations that you submitted to ensure the next 29 years help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector.
We look forward to seeing you there!