Tag Archives: deldot

Creating ADA-Accessible Communities

  August 2, 2016 ,

This video, entitled Creating ADA-Accessible Communities, highlights Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility issues within pedestrian environments. The video features DelDOT ADA Title II Coordinator John McNeal using a Go-Pro camera to record, from his perspective, common ADA challenges navigating pedestrian facilities in an urban setting.

Under ADA Title II, public entities (including state and local governments) are required to ensure accessible design, construction, and maintenance of all transportation projects—including pedestrian facilities. Pedestrian facilities include public sidewalks, shared-use paths, curb ramps, crosswalks, pedestrian islands, pedestrian signals, transit stops, and other pedestrian features within the public right-of-way. However, persons with disabilities often face accessibility barriers caused by physical obstructions, improper design, or insufficient maintenance of pedestrian infrastructure.

Jurisdictions must address these issues to ensure that access for persons with disabilities is provided wherever a pedestrian facility is newly built or altered. To comply with ADA, the same degree of convenience, connection, and safety afforded the public must also be available to pedestrians with disabilities. Ultimately, pedestrian facilities must be readily accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities.

For more information on ADA Title II requirements, the role of local governments, and steps to achieve compliance, please visit the ADA section of the toolbox.

How bikeable is your community?

  February 12, 2016 ,

Use the newly developed Low-Stress Bicycling Assessment Tool to find out!

Planning for Complete Communities in Delaware: The Low-Stress Bikeability Assessment Tool  is a resource for Delaware local governments that are considering ways to improve the low-stress bikeability for areas within their community. It is designed to guide local governments in evaluating the extent to which average bicycle riders can easily access low-stress areas, and in developing strategies to leverage state investments to improve local cycling networks and bicycle infrastructure. The Low-Stress Bicycling Assessment Tool should be used in combination with DelDOT’s maps to help communities target high-priority locations to plan for infrastructure improvements, bridge network connectivity gaps, and enhance low-stress conditions for the average bicyclist.

Learn more about low-stress cycling and how to use the assessment in this new section of the Toolbox.

 

Newark Cycle Track: Pre-Engineering Assessment

  February 27, 2015 ,

IPA recently conducted a pre-engineering assessment study for a possible cycle track along Delaware Avenue in Newark. The assessment builds upon recommendations of the 2014 Newark Bicycle Plan, which was created by the Newark Bicycle Committee in collaboration with Newark city officials, residents, WILMAPCO, the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT), and local advocacy organizations. According to the Plan, “one of the critical missing links to bicycling in downtown Newark is the lack of an adequate westbound bike route through the downtown. To provide for this missing link, it is recommended that Delaware Avenue be reconfigured to include a two-way, separated bike lane known as a cycle track.”

The Delaware Center for Transportation’s Winter 2015 TranSearch newsletter includes an article covering the Newark Cycle Track: Pre-Engineering Assessment and the process.

Watch the video

As part of the assessment, IPA public administration fellow Kirsten Jones (MA’16) prepared a  video that shows her navigating as a cyclist and reacting to potential conflicts between motorized and non-motorized travelers along Delaware Avenue, between Orchard Road and the Newark High School.

New Guide to Transportation Improvement Districts

  February 27, 2015 ,

tid-guide-coverTo help Delaware local governments better understand DelDOT regulations that govern the process to plan for and establish a TID, the Institute for Public Administration developed an electronic publication, Transportation Improvement Districts: A Guide for Delaware Local Governments.

Funded by the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT), the guide discusses the purpose, benefits, and TID planning framework in Delaware.

It also provides a step-by-step process for Delaware local governments to follow to create TID(s) and two best-practice examples for planning (City of Newark) and implementation (City of Dover) of TIDs in Delaware.

The downloadable guide is part of a comprehensive set of online tools on TIDs within the Complete Streets element of Delaware Complete Communities Planning Toolbox, available here.