WILMAPCO News 

 

Save the Date: Transportation Project Amendments Public Review Period

Pending July 9 action by WILMAPCO Council, proposed amendments to the region's Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for will be available for public comment from July 20 to September 2, with the full details available at www.wilmapco.org/tip.  

 

This proposal would revise the TIP based upon available Delaware funding from the FY 2016 Delaware Bond Bill. The TIP is a four-year listing of expected priority transportation projects based upon available funding. Project delays and deletions are anticipated to address anticipated funding shortfalls. In addition, a public workshop, about the changes, will be held on Wednesday, August 24, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., at the Newark Free Library.

Member Agency News

Governor Larry Hogan Announces $1.97 Billion in Transportation Funding
According to an MDOT release, "Following through on his campaign pledge to provide funding for highways and state-owned local roads, Governor Larry Hogan announced $1.97 billion for highways and bridges from Western Maryland to the Eastern Shore. The priority projects, which will get underway by 2018, include $1.35 billion in new projects going to construction and $625 million in preserved projects. The $1.35 billion in new projects includes $845 million for major projects and $500 million to fix bridges and improve roads."  For more details, please visit www.mdot.maryland.gov/News/Releases2015/2015June25_Hogan_Announces_Nearly_2Billion_for_Roads.html.

City of Newark Invites the Public to Test Ride a Concept Cycle Track

Volunteers are needed. Be part of Delaware cycling history on July 14 as the City of Newark mocks up and tests a concept for a Cycle Track, a two-way bicycle facility, on Delaware Avenue. If built, this will be the first facility of its kind in Delaware, a recommendation from the Newark Transportation Plan and Newark Bicycle Plan. The test will provide feedback for the Delaware Cycle Track Feasibility Study currently underway by DelDOT and the City of Newark. According to the City of Newark, if you can spare an hour (or some portion of an hour) on Tuesday, July 14, between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., it'd be really, really helpful. What's required? Not much, just come down and ride your bike, then let the City know your thoughts about the cycle track as it's mocked up.

 

Local News 

Hearing on the Amtrak Crash in Philadelphia

According to the Transportation Research Board (TRB), "On June 2, 2015, the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure held a hearing to examine federal oversight issues related to the Amtrak accident in Philadelphia in May. A webcast of the hearing and witness statements are available online." For more information, please visit www.trb.org/main/blurbs/172688.aspx.

Frontier Airlines officially departs from Delaware
According the News Journal article, "Frontier Airlines quietly pulled the plug on commercial airline service out of New Castle Airport this week - almost two years to the day after its first flight out of Delaware. There were no flights to cancel because the Denver-based airline stopped providing service out of New Castle Airport in April, when it suspended its last two remaining routes - cuts the company initially described as 'seasonal.' The suspension of those routes followed earlier service cuts and repeated changes in the airline's offering of destinations, some of which left travelers holding tickets for flights that no longer existed."  To view the source article, please visit www.delawareonline.com/story/money/business/2015/06/26/frontier-airlines-officially-departs-delaware/29327411.

National News

 

Wider Lanes Make Streets more Dangerous
According to the Streets Blog USA, "A new study (Narrower Lanes, Safer Streets) reinforces the argument that cities need to reconsider lane widths and redesign streets accordingly. In a paper to be presented at the Canadian Institute of Traffic Engineers annual conference, author Dewan Masud Karim presents hard evidence that wider lanes increase risk on city streets. Looking at the crash databases, Karim found that collision rates escalate as lane widths exceed about 10.5 feet. Roads with the widest lanes 12 feet or wider were associated with greater crash rates and higher impact speeds. Karim also found that crash rates rise as lanes become narrower than about 10 feet, though this does not take impact speeds and crash severity into account. He concluded that there is a sweet spot for lane widths on city streets, between about 10 and 10.5 feet." For more information, please visit http://usa.streetsblog.org/2015/05/27/compelling-evidence-that-wider-lanes-make-city-streets-more-dangerous.

 

Weather, Traffic Accidents, and Climate Change

According to the Transportation Research Board (TRB), "Resources for the Future has released a report that documents the relationship of temperature, rainfall, and snowfall with traffic accidents and travel demand by using travel demand data and information from police-reported accidents."  For more information, please visit www.trb.org/main/blurbs/172684.aspx.