Schuylkill River Trail extension to Christian Street fully funded, as Philadelphia wins $4.6 million in state transportation grants

PennDOT announced the award of its Multimodal Transportation Fund (MTF) grants late last week, and Philadelphia will get four totaling $4.6 million.

The MTF was created in 2013 by Act 89, which raised fuel taxes to fund transportation infrastructure. PennDOT solicits proposals for MTF grants and awards them through a competitive process.

The Schuylkill River Development Corporation is receiving $911,000 to finish construction on the ongoing expansion of the Schuylkill River Trail from South Street to Christian Street. Right now, the trail area has been cleared. The new funds will pay for paving, fencing, trail furniture, lights, landscaping and signs. Last month, SRDC received $3 million to help fund construction of another section of the trail from Bartram’s Gardens to Passyunk Point.

Logan West Associates, LP will get $2 million to rebuild streets running through Logan Triangle, a 40-acre expanse of empty lots in North Philadelphia. Developer Ken Goldenberg was selected to redevelop the area, which was cleared when the homes there began to sink due to improper landfilling of a creek. The project will see the complete reconstruction of 9th Street and Wyoming Avenue, which run through the Triangle.

Philadelphia’s Streets Department will get $811,000 for “critically needed pedestrian and bicycle safety infrastructure” near three public elementary schools. The money will go to Philadelphia’s implementation of a Safe Routes to School program, which is a federal initiative to improve safety near schools. The city has identified 47 “high child pedestrian crash schools” where more than 15 kids have been hit by a car within a quarter mile of the campus from 2010-2014.

The grant announcement did not say which three school zones will see safety improvements. [UPDATED:] The three schools are Frances Willard Elementary, Commodore John Barry Elementary and John H. Taggart Elementary, according to Streets spokeswoman Keisha McCarthy-Skelton.

The City Avenue Special Services District will also see $889,000 for road and safety improvements to the hectic corridor that serves as Philadelphia’s western border.

And on the other side of City Avenue, a pair of townships in Montgomery County and one in Bucks also won MTF grants. Abington is getting $588,000 to improve Old York Road (aka Route 611) and Susquehanna Road. The intersection of the two will be realigned with a turning lane added. Lower Moreland will get $208,000 to improve sidewalks along Huntingdon Pike. Yardley in Bucks is getting $453,000 to build sidewalks along North Main Street.