Tuesday, March 19, 2024

York County Moves Forward with Walkway and Bikeway Projects

The York County Board of Supervisors agreed to apply for funding for bikeway and walkway projects in development. (WYDaily/Courtesy of Unsplash)

YORK COUNTY — The York County Board of Supervisors agreed to apply for funding for various bikeway and walkway projects that are under development.

In a York County Memorandum from Aug. 4, County Administrator Neil A. Morgan said that there are twenty projects underway to create more bicycle and pedestrian networks throughout York County.

“I believe we are making tremendous progress toward making York County a much more bike-and pedestrian-friendly community, consistent with the desires of the citizens as expressed in the Comprehensive Plan citizen survey,” Morgan said.

Morgan said that projects are evaluated based on utility, community support, feasibility, and compliance with sate and federal standards.

Once these vetting processes are completed, the next step in planning is funding strategies.

While Morgan noted that some projects can be entirely funded by the County, others are candidates for various Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) funding programs, such as the Revenue Sharing Program and the Transportation Alternatives (TA) Set-Aside.

Since 1991, York County has participated in VDOT’s Revenue Sharing Program, which provides funding for immediately needed improvements or existing projects and is available for all Virginia cities and counties.

In recent years, the County has used Revenue Sharing for various sidewalk projects.

The TA Set-Aside is part of the federal Surface Transportation Block Grant program and provide funding for transportation projects, particularly for pedestrians and bicyclists.

With the biennial cycles for both of these program applications underway, Morgan recommended that the County apply for funding for four Revenue Sharing projects and one TA Set-Aside project.

The Revenue Sharing projects include adding shoulder bike lanes along both sides of Goodwin Neck Road between Wolf Trap Road and Back Creek Park, re-striping Waller Mill Road between Mooretown Road and Waller Mill Elementary School to add shoulder bike lanes on both sides, and a series of improvements intended to provide safe pedestrian access to the McReynolds Athletic Center (MAC).

The TA Set-Aside project would extend the existing sidewalk that runs along Grafton Drive between Falling Spring Run and the Grafton High School/Middle School campus.

During the Aug. 17 Board of Supervisors meeting, it approved the proposed resolution to apply for the funding and appropriate funds received.

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