The Montco2040 grant program allocates $ 2.5 million to 18 municipalities

NORISTOWN – Grants totaling about $ 2.5 million have recently been awarded to fund projects in 18 Montgomery County municipalities.

Funding was announced on May 16 as part of a grant program for the implementation of Montco 2040 in the comprehensive plan of the county “Montco 2020: a shared vision”. Initiatives were selected based on themes of connected communities, sustainable places and a vibrant economy. County government project proposals received more than $ 4 million.

Representatives, including board members and district planning committee staff, evaluated the proposals on several terms, including impact, equity, project readiness, funding attributes, and sequence of district and local planning.

“The district continues to address equity issues under this program by asking municipalities how their projects affect equity at the local level, whether it was a proposed project or a process the municipality intends to adopt (or has already begun) in planning or implementation of the project, ”the statement of the district reads.

According to county officials, the Montco 2040 grant program, launched in 2016, provided assistance to 51 of the county’s 62 municipalities. More than $ 12.7 million was allocated for 113 grants.

“When we launched the Montco 2040 grant program, I was pleased to see which projects would come out of the program and how municipalities would accept the county’s proposal to help implement a comprehensive plan at the local level,” Montgomery County said. Chairman of the Commissioners Val Arkush in a statement. “Now in the seventh year, we have seen that several amazing projects have come out as part of this initiative.”

County officials said this year’s program included categories consisting of Walk / Bike Montco – trails, tracks, sidewalks and bike rides; city ​​center and community support; and adaptation and sustainability.

“These projects range from improving cross-country with projects for sidewalks in Collegeville and Lower Morland, renovating a park in Jenkintown and calming traffic in Upper Marion,” Arkush said in a statement.

Grants were awarded to the following projects:

• Abington: $ 110,236 on safe routes for youth and seniors. The project will build “pedestrian infrastructure” along Edge Hill and Susquehan roads that will provide direct access to educational, community, medical, transportation and business services in Abington.

• Ambler: $ 200,000 to renovate the masonry at the Ambler Theater. The works include the dismantling of the facade bricks, the replacement of the supports made of corroded 1928 bricks with new materials and the reinstallation of the facade bricks.

• Douglas: $ 80,239 for the renovation and conversion of tennis courts at Douglas Park. The funds will upgrade an existing tennis court, convert one tennis court into four pickball courts and develop a path available to the ADA between the existing track and courts. Picnic tables available from the ADA will be added near the courts. A bicycle stand will be installed on the recently renovated basketball courts.

• Jenkintown District: $ 48,000 to implement a 450-foot extension of the school area on Walnut Street. Signs, sidewalk markings and two school lanterns will be included.

• Lansdale District: $ 68,000 for improving pedestrian and bicycle Stony Creek. The district aims to install a new pedestrian and bicycle crossing on Hancock Street. The transition will include a flashing signaling device and a bicycle lock station at the entrance to Stony Creek Park at the intersection of Hancock and Andel Green Drive streets.

• Lower Gwynedd: $ 78,667 for the Bethlehem Pike Pedestrian Landscaping Project. The initiative proposes to widen the sidewalk, curbs, ramps and pedestrian bridge on the west side of Bethlehem Pike. Due to delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a significant increase in construction costs, current funding will only support the improvement of the eastern side of Bethlehem Pike.

• Perkiamen: $ 200,000 for the Perkiamen Creek tributary restoration project. The project will focus on restoring a section of the nameless tributary of the Perkiamen creek in its original location. Ultimately, organizers hope the completed project will reduce sediment, stabilize creek shoreline and reduce creek degradation.

• Potstown District: $ 200,000 to stabilize the banks of the Riverfront Park stream and restore the bridge. The project will focus on repairing the bank of the creek, improving the coastal buffer and repairing the pedestrian bridge.

• Springfield Township: $ 130,000 to improve Cisco Park. The project will focus on erosion control, earthworks, landscaping, and the addition of park amenities such as benches, garbage cans and a pavilion. The funds will also be used to build parking lots and sidewalks that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

• Trappe district: $ 162,000 for a rain garden and a stormwater playground behind Trapp Bora Hall. The additions will be at the center of the new ramp, which meets ADA requirements, to the building currently under construction.

• Upper Dublin: $ 200,000 for a mail ramp in the Greater Fort Washington area, which aims to build a new ramp from the Pennsylvania Turnpike Fort Washington Interchange, which is expected to provide direct access to Commerce Street, where Greater Fort Washington is located.

• Upper Gwynedd: $ 200,000 for the first phase of the Haines Run stream restoration project. It is expected that the project will build measures to stabilize the banks of the flow along the Haynes Run. The construction of a stormwater reservoir and the reconstruction of drainage areas are also a priority.

• Upper Marion: $ 200,000 for the third phase of the First Avenue Linear Park project, which will complete the final process of laying the route through Moore Park KOP. The project will build 1,784 linear feet of multimodal tracks, solar-powered pedestrian lighting and solar-powered bus shelters. Garbage cans, benches and plantings will also be installed.

• Upper Moreland Township: $ 200,000 for the installation of about 500 linear feet of sidewalk along the south side of Warminster Road, from Greenbelt Drive to Mill Road.

• Upper Salford Township: $ 100,000 for the second phase from the park to Percymen. Upper Salford is seeking funding to complete this project along the path that received funding in 2021. Due to supply chain problems and much higher material costs, the cost of completing the route exceeds the initial project budget by $ 199,325. The work includes building an ADA-compliant trail, purchasing building materials and installing a PennDOT-approved road crossing.

• Western Konshahoken: $ 100,000 to improve Mackenzie Park. The first of the four phases includes the installation of stormwater management facilities, the modernization and expansion of existing footpaths, and the improvement of ADA accessibility.

• West Pottsgrove: $ 38,900 for improving Old Timer’s Field. The project is expected to install a 330-line grass berm to reduce flooding, build a rain garden on the existing bay, restore the playing field, install a new fence around the field, install a new barrier, improve ADA access to the field and existing bench, and also install a bike rack and new grandstands. The project will also renovate dugouts with new benches and storage racks, install two new storage sheds and install a total of four new garbage and rubbish containers.

• Whitpein Township: $ 183,308 for pedestrian connections between the north end of the Core Connector Phase 3 Wentz Run Trail and Wentz Run Park.

For more information about the program, visit www.montcopa.org/Montco2040GrantProgram. Those with questions can contact Anne Livit-Gruberger at aleavitt@montcopa.org or 610-278-3727.