May 2018
WILMAPCO Meetings

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

May 17, 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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RFPWILMAPCO Requests for Proposals 
WILMAPCO is currently seeking Requests for Proposals for a Public Outreach Strategy for the 2050 Regional Transportation Update. The deadline for submissions is May 4.  For more information, please visit www.wilmapco.org/2050RTP_Outreach_RFP.pdf. 

BikeMay is National Bike Month
National Bike to Work Week 2018 will be held on May 14-18. Bike to Work Day is May 18. A variety of events will be offered throughout the WILMAPCO region including short, social rides, bike-to-work and school events, festivals, regional rides, and races. To learn more, please visit www.wilmapco.org/bikemonth. 
Local News
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WilmBikeWilmington Bicycle Survey 
According to a City of Wilmington email, "The City of Wilmington Department of Planning is in the process of updating the current 2008 Wilmington Bicycle Plan. The Department of Planning has been going out to civic associations and speaking about the plan to solicit community feedback. The city has also created a presentation and a survey. The city is asking community members and other interested parties to complete the survey." To see the presentation and take the brief survey, please visit www.wilmingtonde.gov/government/city-departments/planning-and-development/bike-wilmington/bike-plan.

DelDOTDelDOT Public Workshop - US 40 and SR 896 Improvements Project 
DelDOT will hold a public workshop for the US 40 SR 896 Intersection Improvement Project on Tuesday, May 1 from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at William B. Keene Elementary School, 200 Lagrange Ave., Newark, cafeteria. According to a public notice, "the US 40 and SR 896 intersection experiences congestion in the peak hours, along with accidents during different times of the day. Alternatives have been analyzed that will improve safety and traffic operations at the intersection now and in the future." To view the public notice, please visit www.deldot.gov/information/publicevents/publicworkshops/workshop.shtml?id=10358.
DARTDART Approves May Service Changes
According to a Delaware Transit Corporation (DTC) release, "DTC has announced changes to DART Statewide Bus Services to become effective Sunday, May 20, 2018."  Below are some of the changes for New Castle County: 
  • Route 2: A NEW Sunday morning round trip will be added departing Amtrak Station at 7:53 AM, and departing Brandywine Town Center at 8:49 AM.
  • Route 6: A NEW Sunday morning round trip will be added departing Amtrak Station at 7:53 AM, and departing Newark Transit Hub at 8:52 AM.
  • Route 43: Routing will be revised from Odessa Park & Ride to Amazon for faster service.
  • Route 47: Routing will be revised in Middletown for faster service to Amazon.
  • Route 55: Weekday schedule will improve to operate every 40 minutes resulting in two NEW round trips.
To view the full list of changes, please visit  
https://dartfirststate.com .

CecilC ecil Transit Launches New Commuter Connection 
According to a Cecil Transit Release, "Beginning on April 30 Cecil Transit will launch a new fixed route service connecting the Perryville and Newark train stations with an intermediate park and ride stop at Cecil College, located in North East, Maryland. The Commuter Connection will bridge the approximately twenty mile gap in commuter rail service between MARC and SEPTA, the only gap in about 460 miles of commuter rail between Richmond, Virginia and New London, Connecticut. The Commuter Connection will operate two daily shifts. The morning route will begin at the Newark Train Station at approximately 4:25 a.m. and end at 8:50 a.m. The route will resume in the afternoon at 2 p.m. and run through approximately 9:20 p.m." For more information, call(410) 996-5295, Option 2 or visit www.ceciltransit.com. 

DTCWilmington, Middletown Transit Improvements 
According to The News Journal, "Delawareans who use mass transit in Wilmington and Middletown will benefit from $2.6 million in grant money from the U.S. Department of Transportation to modernize and improve bus infrastructure. The Delaware Transit Corporation will receive $2.45 million to help construct a bus-only lane in Wilmington that will be shared with bicycles and improve transit and bicycle access into the central business area. The project also includes upgrades to bus stops in the area." To view the source article, please visit www.delawareonline.com/story/news/2018/04/05/wilmington-middletown-receive-grant-money-improve-bus-infrastructure.

RedLightsWilmington to Add 17 Red Light Cameras 
According to The News Journal, "Drivers in Wilmington could face more $110 fines if proposed red-light cameras are installed in 17 new locations. The effort will cost $200,000, but will be offset by the estimated $1.5 million in fines the city will collect in the first six months of 2019. The city has not yet determined where the cameras will go." To view the source article, please visit www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2018/03/29/wilmington-choose-17-new-red-light-camera-locations.
 
DelDOTAppLatest Update for DelDOT App Offers New Text Alert Feature 
According to a DelDOT release, "DelDOT has released its latest update for the mobile app which now includes text notifications of traffic advisories. Users will have the ability to choose from a list of advisory notifications such as: incidents, construction, congestion, road closure, events, special travel alerts, and weather. In addition, users will be able to set the miles radius from their location for which to receive the text notification. For more information on this new feature visit https://deldot.gov/mobile/ or check out the What's New Section within the app, found under settings. The DelDOT App is available for smartphones and tablets, and can be downloaded free by searching for 'DelDOT' at the Apple and Google Play stores." To view the release, please visit www.deldot.gov/About/news/index.shtml?dc=release&id=7030. 
 
HoganHogan Administration Launches IT Modernization Project  
According to a Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration (MDOT MVA) release, "MDOT MVA has announced a new project called Customer Connect to modernize all Information Technology (IT) systems it uses to deliver services to customers. Customer Connect will consolidate all existing IT systems at MDOT MVA into a single solution for driver licensing, business licensing, and title and registration services.  The project will be deployed in phases, allowing customers to experience the benefits as soon as they are available.  Some of these benefits include:
  • MDOT MVA will be able to provide more services through online transactions and reduce the use of paper forms and the need to visit a branch office.
  • At full deployment, customers will be able to process all transactions at any station within a branch.
  • Customer Connect will continue to ensure the highest level of security for MDOT MVA transactions and reduce the potential for fraud.
During the five-year Customer Connect development period, customers will continue to receive uninterrupted access to motor vehicle services."  To view the release, please visit www.mva.maryland.gov/about-mva/press-releases. 

HurricaneHurricane Awareness Course 
The Delaware Emergency Management Agency will hold a Hurricane Awareness Course on May 9 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 1 p.m to 5 p.m. at the Delaware Fire School, 1461 Chestnut Grove Rd., Dover.  The course will increase your understanding of the latest knowledge in hurricane science, forecasting, warning, and preparedness. For registration information, email Thomas Nesbella at [email protected] or call (302) 659-2353.  
National News
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AVGlobal Study On Driverless Car Ethics Found The Elderly Are Expendable 
According to Forbes, "In 2016 researchers at the MIT Media Lab launched Moral Machine, a game of ethics which presents players with the kind of road choices which driverless vehicles will soon have to make. Should a driverless car swerve to save a pedestrian crossing the road illegally, while sacrificing its own passengers? Or should an autonomous car sacrifice its passengers to save a pedestrian? During the last year, four million people took part by answering ethical questions in Moral Machine's many scenarios. MIT's Professor Iyad Rahwan revealed the first results. Rahwan's team found that when it comes to 'simple' choices, like between hitting a child or hitting an adult, the results were decisive, overwhelmingly favoring the protection of younger lives. But when it came to protecting pedestrians over protecting passengers, the results grew murky, with nearly 40% of people wanting their driverless car to plow into pedestrians rather than harming passengers." To learn more, please visit www.forbes.com/sites/oliversmith/2018/03/21/the-results-of-the-biggest-global-study-on-driverless-car-ethics-are-in.
    
GoogleGoogle Maps Is Making Travel More Accessible for Wheelchair Users 
According to AFAR, "Google Maps is making significant strides to address the needs of wheelchair users worldwide. The tech company recently announced the launch of wheelchair-accessible routes to its navigation platform. When interacting with Google Maps, users will now be able to select 'wheelchair accessible' as a route navigation option. The new feature is rolling out in six major cities-starting with London, New York, Tokyo, Mexico City, Boston, and Sydney and Google plans to add more cities with wheelchair accessible routes in the future." To view the source article, please visit www.afar.com/magazine/google-maps-is-making-travel-more-accessible-for-wheelchair-users. 
The Wilmington Area Planning Council (WILMAPCO) is the regional transportation planning agency for New Castle County, Delaware and Cecil County, Maryland.
As the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), WILMAPCO is charged with planning and coordinating transportation investments for the region based on federal policy, local input, technical analysis, and best practices. For more information, please visit our website at www.wilmapco.org.