The state just awarded Philly close to $3 million for five alternative transportation projects, including an Indego bikeshare expansion and creation of 27 miles of protected bike lanes.
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf and PennDOT Secretary Leslie S. Richards announced today federal funding for 51 similar projects statewide, totaling $33 million. Here are the five Philly projects that will be supported, totaling $2,834,692.
Governor Wolf Announces 51 @PennDOTNews Projects Statewide to Improve Transportation Alternatives https://t.co/Ye7yGgHFuV pic.twitter.com/9DV7byF1l6
— Governor Tom Wolf (@GovernorTomWolf) January 10, 2017
Bike infrastructure
- The Indego bikeshare system was given $984,692 to add 16 more bike stations in areas where use is in high-demand.
- $250,000 will go towards converting more than 27 miles into protected bike lanes, using what’s called flexible delineator posts. Until September 2016 when a two-mile lane opened in Mayfair, Philly was the first major U.S. city without any protected bike lanes of this kind. Mayor Jim Kenney has pledged to create at least 30 miles of protected bike paths during his tenure.
Trails
- $1 million will go toward construction of a 6/10th of a mile, 12-foot-wide trail along the Delaware River, between Magee Avenue and Princeton Avenue in Tacony. The East Coast Greenway project will include landscaping and site amenities.
Schools
- The school crossing guard location for Avery D. Harrington School at 53rd and Baltimore on will receive $600,000 to remove slip ramps along Baltimore Avenue. There will also be green infrastructure, a subsurface stormwater retention system, signal upgrades, and bump-outs.
Richards of PennDot said that the goal of these investments is to make sure that the state is making connections and improving the quality of life for all of Pennsylvania, no matter the type of transportation.