Delmont officials and a citizen group will begin work soon on an active transportation plan for the borough.
The Delmont Visionary Committee (and the borough, serving as administrator for the funds) will use a $20,000 grant through the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s WalkWorks program and Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to hire consultants and develop the plan, which will lay out goals to develop safe, accessible active routes connecting everyday destinations within Delmont.
“We’ll collect information from the community, and we’re not sure yet whether that will be through a public forum or an online survey,” said Delmont Visionary Committee member AnnaMarie Stackiewicz. “We want to know what they’d like to see in this plan.”
The committee is contributing $2,500 as a matching component, along with $1,000 from the borough and $1,500 from a private resident donation.
The committee’s primary goal is to develop a trail spur leading into the borough from what will eventually be the fifth phase of the Westmoreland Heritage Trail connecting Export and Delmont.
That is just one of the items that will be rolled into the active transportation plan.
“It will look at things like bicycle lanes, walking paths, connectivity to our parks, public transportation — all of that,” Stackiewicz said.
The plan will lay out transportation logistics if a trail spur were to come into town, including suggestions for things such as improved crosswalks, additional off-street parking, bike racks throughout town and other possible amenities.
Committee members are hoping to finish a draft of the plan by July and bring it to Delmont Council for approval later next year. It eventually will become part of a larger comprehensive plan for the borough, laying out Delmont’s goals in areas such as development, recreation, transportation and more.
Comprehensive plans can play a role in helping to secure grant funding, as a town can describe not only how it plans to use a grant, but also how it integrates into a larger overall plan for the future.
Stackiewicz said the next steps will be inviting local and regional stakeholders to join a steering committee, and to hire the consultant that will help develop the transportation plan. That group will meet on a monthly basis starting in December or January.
