February 2019
WILMAPCO Meetings

All meetings are open to the public. Unless otherwise noted, meetings are held in the WILMAPCO Conference Room.

Feb 5, 3 p.m.

Feb 7, 4-7 p.m., Tower at STAR Campus, Atrium
Register

Feb 11, 6:30 p.m.

Feb 14, 10 a.m.

Feb 21, 10 a.m.

In case of inclement weather, please call (302) 737-6205, or toll free from Cecil County at (888) 808-7088 for cancellations or postponements.

For updates or more information on upcoming WILMAPCO meetings, please visit www.wilmapco.org . 
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Transportation news and events from the
Wilmington Area Planning Council (WILMAPCO). 
WILMAPCO News
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OurTownWILMAPCO's 2019 Our Town: Planning for Tomorrow 
WILMAPCO's 2019 Our Town Event: Planning for Tomorrow will be held on Thursday, February 7, 2019 from 4-7pm at the University of Delaware, Tower at STAR Campus, Atrium, 100 Discovery Blvd, Newark.
 
Our Town will feature WILMAPCO's 2050 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP). The 2050 RTP is New Castle County's and Cecil County's blueprint for transportation decision-making for the next 30 years.  
 
 
Enjoy light refreshments, learn about and participate in several of the region's fundamental planning efforts in one location, and hear from national transportation leaders about planning for the tomorrow!
 
 
Carpool to Our Town or register your commute with RideShare Delaware and be entered to win a free gift basket from RideShare Delaware! Visit RideShare Delaware's exhibit table during Our Town to win. 
 
RTPWILMAPCO documents available for public review and comment through March 6
Did you ever wonder what it would be like to get around our region in the future?  How congested will it be? What types of transportation improvements should go where? These are the types of questions that are at the heart of the 2050 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), which has been released for public review and comment by WILMAPCO.
 
The 2050 RTP identifies the region's long-term transportation needs, and the short-term projects, which seek to address them. The plan extends two decades into the future. Projects identified in the plan must be financially reasonable (based on anticipated revenues) and meet air quality standards.
 
In addition, more than $2.2 billion in road, transit, rail, multimodal, bicycle and pedestrian projects are also available for public review and comment in the Draft FY 2020-2023 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).  The TIP (which includes New Castle County, Delaware and Cecil County, Maryland) implements the 2050 RTP by identifying the transportation investments planned for the next four years, ranging from preserving our existing infrastructure to building new facilities.
 
Copies of the Draft 2050 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), Draft FY 2020 Transportation Improvement Program and their associated air quality conformity documents are available for public review and comment at www.wilmapco.org or in person at 100 Discovery Blvd, Suite 800, Newark, DE 19713. Written comments can be submitted to WILMAPCO at this address or emailed directly to [email protected]. The public comment and review period will continue through March 6, 2019.
 
SNCCSouthern New Castle County Master Plan - Public Visioning Workshop
Don't miss the opportunity to help guide development and transportation decisions for Southern New Castle County for decades to come. You are invited to attend a Public Visioning Workshop for the Southern New Castle County Master Plan . The workshop will be held on January 31, 2019, at the Odessa Fire Hall from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. A presentation will be given at 6:00 p.m. with group discussions at 6:30 p.m  To register, please visit  www.wilmapco.org/SNCC 
 
PeninsulaEast 7th St Peninsula Master Plan Public Workshop 
You are invited to attend a public workshop for the East 7th Street Peninsular Master Plan on Wednesday, February 6, 2019, from 4-7pm at the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation, 1124 E. 7th Street, Wilmington, DE.   
 
The master plan seeks to evaluate existing land use and open space and make recommendations for appropriate waterfront mixed use development opportunities, maximize potential public/private investment, and promote overall economic development. A draft concept will be on display for public review and comment, along with presentation boards on flooding, land use, recreational amenities, access, and more. To learn more, please visit www.wilmapco.org/7thstreetpeninsula.  
 
NCCBikeOutreach Continues for New Castle County Bicycle Plan
Share your ideas for improving bicycling! Your feedback will help prioritize safe, comfortable bike routes and trails to make our community more bicycle-friendly. Visit https://bikencc.metroquest.com to complete a brief survey. In addition, an Open House Workshop is planned for Wednesday, February 20 at WILMAPCO between 4-7 p.m. Stop by Suite 100, the Tower at STAR Campus (across from the University of Delaware Field House), 100 Discovery Way, Newark, DE 19713 at your convenience. Learn more at www.wilmapco.org/bikencc.
 
Local News
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CivicsDelaware Summit on Civics Education
The University of Delaware Institute for Public Administration will hold the Delaware Summit on Civics on February 7 from 8:30 am to 12pm, at Clayton Hall. The purpose of the summit is to explore ways to improve the quality and quantity of K-12 civic education with an eye toward enacting a high-quality action plan for the First State. Those attending will help inform that action plan. Educators, elected officials, policymakers, and others interested in improving the quality of civics education in Delaware are invited to attend. To register, please visit https://civics-summit. eventbrite.com.  
 
GHGNine States and D.C. to Design Regional Approach to Cap Greenhouse Gas Pollution from Transportation 
According to a Georgetown Climate Center release, "A coalition of nine Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states and the District of Columbia announced their intent to design a new regional low-carbon transportation policy proposal that would cap and reduce carbon emissions from the combustion of transportation fuels, and invest proceeds from the program into low-carbon and more resilient transportation infrastructure. The proposal, endorsed by Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., describes the goals, including reducing climate-changing pollution, creating economic opportunity, and improving transportation equity for underserved and overburdened populations."  To learn more, please visit www.transportationandclimate.org
 
SLRRising Waters Are Drowning Amtrak's Northeast Corridor
According to Bloomberg, "Parts of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, which carries 12 million people each year between Boston and Washington, face 'continual inundation.' Flooding, rising seas, and storm surge threaten to erode the track bed and knock out the signals that direct train traffic. That was the conclusion of a three-volume, multi-year climate study." To learn more, please visit www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2018-amtrak-sea-level.
National News
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PedJust Six Months of Walking May Reverse Cognitive Decline
According to a CNN report, "something as simple as walking or cycling just 3 times a week seems to improve thinking skills, new research says. Add a heart-healthy diet, and you maximize the benefits, possibly shaving years off your brain's functional age, according to the study published recently in the journal Neurology."  To learn more, please visit www.cnn.com/2018/12/19/health/reverse-cognitive-aging-exercise-diet-study/index.html.
 
CriticalCritical Issues in Transportation 2019 Report 
The Transportation Research Board (TRB) released a document that identified and organized an array of important transportation issues affecting the future under 12 key topics. In each of these areas, TRB posed a series of 63 crucial questions to help guide thinking, debate, and discovery during the next 5 to 10 years. It hopes this document will help spur and inform an urgently needed national debate about the future of transportation and help researchers frame and inform choices about the most promising paths forward. The issues have been identified and documented from a US perspective, and are also common across developed nations. To view the report, please visit http://www.trb.org/main/blurbs/178402.aspx
 
CarbonUS Carbon Emissions Soared in 2018 
According to the Washington Post, "U.S. carbon dioxide emissions rose an estimated 3.4 percent in 2018, according to new research. The findings, mean that the United States now has a diminishing chance of meeting its pledge under the 2015 Paris climate agreement to dramatically reduce its emissions by 2025. The findings underscore how the world's second-largest emitter, once a global leader in pushing for climate action, has all but abandoned efforts to mitigate the effects of a warming world." To view the source article, please visit www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-spiked-in-2018.