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with further investigations needed to
may also warrant a station.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has a grant program to solicit proposals for the Corridor Program. This program is an intercity passenger rail planning and development program intended to support a long-term planning effort and create a pipeline for funding.
If selected, the Diamond State Line project will enter a three-step program that is unlike other grants:
In Step 1, the recipient receives $500,000 to prepare a scope, schedule, and cost estimate for a Service Development Plan (SDP) for their proposal. The FRA will collaborate with the recipient and determine if the proposal will move to Step 2.
In Step 2, the recipient will partner with FRA to develop the SDP along with a list of necessary capital projects and the list of partners needed to implement the service, including funding partners.
If that work is completed successfully, FRA will move the proposal to Step 3, which includes Project Development and all work required to implement the SDP. This includes NEPA studies, design work, and all other documentation leading to construction.
WILMAPCO workerd with DelDOT and the Delaware Transit Corporation, as well as the Dover/Kent MPO and numerous municipalities, to create an application that was submitted for this grant opportunity on March 27, 2023.
New Connectivity Report Seeks to Make Critical Bus Connections
WILMAPCO’s 2019 Transport- ation Justice (TJ) Plan included a robust connectivity analysis, measuring how each household in the region is connected to nine key destination types — including supermarkets, entry-level jobs, and libraries — within a reasonable drive, walk, bike ride, or bus trip.
While 95% of homes in the region can access these destinations by car, less than a quarter of homes are reasonably connected to key places by alternative modes. The analysis helps highlight where better bus access and better walking and biking facilities can help people reach essential needs, especially for those who can’t afford, are unable, or would prefer not to drive.
WILMAPCO is developing a new report, the 2023 TJ Bus Connectivity Analysis, which takes a closer look as food deserts with poor transit connectivity to supermarkets, as well as majority Black or impoverished neighborhoods with poor transit connectivity to entry-level jobs. In a series of case studies, the report will recommend new bus stops, bus route adjustments, and pedestrian
connections to existing stops to help make these critical connections in each version of the connectivity analysis from the 2019 TJ Plan, this report will then measure the number of housing units that would be better connected by these recommendations.
While the report is still in development, its case studies include communities such as Northeast Wilmington, Dobbinsville in the City of New Castle, and Steele’s Motel near Elkton. Most recommendations are expected to have low costs and minimal impacts on surrounding communities, such as adjustments to bus routes to bring them closer to more homes, or trails and sidewalks to make it possible to walk to existing stops.
So far, if the most impactful recommendations are implemented, about 1,500 more households in food deserts would have good transit connectivity to supermarkets, and 2,300 more households in majority Black and impoverished neighborhoods would have good connectivity to entry-level jobs.
For more information on WILMAPCO’s Transportation Justice reports, visit www.wilmapco.org/tj.
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