The Chester County Planning Commission helps to provide grant information and resources to Chester County’s municipalities, organizations, businesses, and residents. The following includes recent announcements from funding programs which support the “Connect” goal in Landscpaes3.

They include the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) Multimodal Transportation Fund, the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) Multimodal Transportation Fund, and the DCED Greenways, Trails, and Recreation Program.

In mid-April, Governor Wolf announced that 43 highway, bridge, rail, bike, and pedestrian projects in 21 PA counties were selected to receive funding through PennDOT’s Multimodal Transportation Fund. The projects were based on criteria such as safety benefits, regional economic conditions, technical and financial feasibility, job creation, energy efficiency, and operational sustainability.

Funding for Chester County came to a total of just over $6.2-million, and included the following projects:

• $2.19-million to Kennett Township to address the safety concerns and congestion of a “5-Points” intersection
• $1.69-million to West Brandywine Township for embankment stabilization, drainage, and roadway reconstruction
• $842,500 to West Nottingham Township for improvements to the main signalized intersection at SR 272/SR 3026
• $1.5-million to Valley Township for the reconstruction of a collapsed portion of Wagontown Rd.

Additionally, DCED’s Multimodal Transportation Fund, which provides grants to encourage economic development and ensure that a safe and reliable system of transportation is available to residents, also announced their 2021 funded projects.

Funding came to a total of just under $1.9-million, and included the following projects:

• $400,000 to the Borough of Kennett Square for Kennett Greenway Connectors (Birch Street & Magnolia Underpass)
• $233,330 to West Vincent Township for the Fellowship Trail
• $650,000 to Coatesville for the Coatesville Train Station Parking Facility
• $350,000 to Uwchlan Township for the Peck Road Culvert
• $250,000 to the Borough of Phoenixville for the Mowere Road Project

DCED’s Greenways, Trails, and Recreation Program, which provides funding for the planning, acquisition, development, rehabilitation and repair of greenways, recreational trails, open space, parks and beautification projects, received a total of $472,500 in funding, and included the following projects:

• $175,000 to West Chester Borough for the Everhart Park Playground Rehab
• $175,000 to Uwchlan Township for the Senior Park Development
• $87,500 to the Borough of Phoenixville to install a Pedestrian Bridge
• $35,000 to West Vincent Township for their Parks and Trails Master Plan

Congratulations to these recipients!

The 2021 application period is now open for DCED’s Greenways Trails and Recreation Program (due 5/31) and Multimodal Transportation Fund (due 7/31). The next round of PennDOT’s Multimodal Fund will open in September 2021.