Browsing by Author "O'Donnell, Edward"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    2010 Update to the 2004 Town of Elsmere Comprehensive Plan
    (2011-01-21) O'Donnell, Edward; Wollaston, Martin; and IPA Planning Services
    The 2010 Update to the 2004 Town of Elsmere Comprehensive Plan provides information on population, housing, employment, the environment, public services, and land use. Most importantly, the 2010 Update provides the Town of Elsmere’s vision for its future land use and is, therefore, the town’s guide for making decisions on development proposals and capital improvements.
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    Delaware City Comprehensive Plan
    (2009-03-04T13:50:21Z) O'Donnell, Edward; and IPA Planning Services
    The plan is a legal document serving as a foundation for Delaware City’s land use decisions and annexation policy. It also serves as a consolidated reference guide containing demographic, economic, environmental, and historical information about Delaware City.
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    Improving Freight Movement in Delaware Central Business Districts
    (2009-11-20T21:15:43Z) Scott, Marcia; Anderka, Sebastian; O'Donnell, Edward
    Freight movement by trucks within a central business district (CBD) is often problematic for delivery drivers, pedestrians, automobile traffic, and downtown merchants. Freight pickup and delivery by trucks both contribute to and suffer from downtown traffic congestion. While the revitalization and economic sustainability of central business districts is paramount, the need for efficient freight movement, pedestrian access, traffic flow, and overall safety is equally important.A scan of federal, state, and local government freight-movement policies indicates that the regulatory focus has been primarily at the macro, rather than micro, level. Additional guidelines are needed to govern design and demarcation of downtown loading zones and facilities, development and enforcement of downtown loading zone/parking regulations, and development and placement of regulatory signage. To observe freight-movement issues first hand, field visits were made to ten Delaware municipalities with active CBDs. Many of Delaware’s small, historic CBDs are constrained by their physical environment and existing infrastructure that cannot be easily retrofitted for off-street loading bays or onstreet loading zones. Issues observed in Delaware CBDs included design problems (lack and condition of loading-zone facilities), lack of or unclear on-street parking regulations, and public safety concerns (e.g., intermodal conflicts and illegal or unauthorized parking).
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    Scoping Out Delaware's Role Role in Facilitating Business Travel as it Relates to the Wilmington Redevelopment Area, Wilmington Train Station, and New Castle County Airport
    (2009-11-20T20:57:58Z) Franzen, Todd; Anderka, Sebastian; O'Donnell, Edward
    If the Wilmington Redevelopment Area is to continue as an economic engine for job growth, a growing source of tax revenue, and a marketable residential area, travel access is critical. The Institute for Public Administration (IPA) is completing a project to study how to best facilitate travel access to the Wilmington Redevelopment Area by regional rail and air. Specifically, the project is studying how to maximize business travel to the Wilmington Redevelopment Area via the New Castle County Airport and Wilmington Train Station—via north/south Amtrak trains and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) R2 train route from Newark to Philadelphia).
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    Sidewalks and Shared-Use Paths: Improving Mobility and Designing Transit-Ready Communities
    (2009-02-03T14:30:28Z) O'Donnell, Edward; Athey, Lorene; Skolnick, Gilad
    This report consists of summaries of the presentations given at the February 21, 2008, forum: Sidewalks and Shared-Use Paths: Improving Mobility and Designing Transit Ready Communities, held at the Clayton Hall conference center on the University of Delaware’s Newark campus. This project is the continuation of a multi-stage process that involved evaluating techniques to improve compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), to better design and engineer trail infrastructure and pedestrian facilities to meet ADA mandates, and to encourage land-use patterns/development practices that integrate transit with the planning and design of transportation facilities.
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    Sidewalks and Shared-Use Paths: Safety, Security, and Maintenance
    (2008-06-18T14:24:06Z) O'Donnell, Edward; Knab, Andrew; Athey, Lorene
    Part I of this report examines the issue of security by analyzing common security incidents on trail or sidewalk facilities, problems with perceptions of security among users and the public, and vandalism-related facilities. As two interviewees noted, there is no way to ensure total security on trail facilities, but governments and agencies can enhance security (Bustos; G. Smith). Secure facilities are those that reduce the risk of security incidents and the fear of potential incidents through educational efforts directed at users, design, and management policies that increase the number of users on the facility and provide adequate visibility. The issue of safety is explored through several different viewpoints in this report. Safe sidewalks and shared-use paths are designed and managed to reduce the risk of injury to pedestrians and other users of the facility. This means safe facilities are constructed and maintained to provide a safe environment for all ages and skill levels. Part II of this report, the safety section, examines common problems plaguing the current sidewalk and shared-use path system: facilities that are not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and are difficult for older and disabled individuals to travel on; design flaws or policies (or lack thereof) that increase the chances of user conflicts (i.e., bicycle-on-bicycle collisions or bicycle and pedestrian collisions); and conflicts between vehicles and pedestrians. The issue of maintenance is related to both the security and safety of facilities. Maintained facilities are in good repair, accessible, and regularly inspected. Part III of the paper explores routine maintenance tasks and the use of volunteers and equipment and also specifically addresses the problem of snow removal on sidewalks and shared-use paths. Additional attention is given to the problem of sidewalk repairs and long-term maintenance needs. Unsurprisingly, both the interviews and literature review revealed that the higher the quality of initial design and construction, the less maintenance the facility will require.
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    Sidewalks and Shared-Use Paths: Safety, Security, and Maintenance
    (2007-10-04T15:43:34Z) O'Donnell, Edward; Knab, Andrew
    This project was undertaken with the support of the Delaware Department of Transportation, to analyze the safety, security, and maintenance of multi-modal facilities—both on- and off-road. Specific attention was directed toward accessibility issues and snow removal. In order to adequately examine these issues, the project proceeded in three stages. First, an extensive literature review was conducted. Second, 13 experts and professionals were identified and interviewed on these topics from a total of eight states across the country. Following the completion of the literature reviews and interviews, a policy forum was held on March 21, 2007, on the University of Delaware’s campus at Clayton Hall. Approximately 60 invitees attended, including state and local police, city managers, and agency staff responsible for sidewalks and shared-use paths throughout the state. Three breakout sessions on safety, security, and maintenance were utilized to provide the project team with an “events on the ground” perspective and identify solutions. This report provides a synopsis of the key findings and recommendations from the literature review, interviews, and policy forum.