About the Project
The Smart Growth Partnership engaged in community task force formation in Scottdale in 2017, leading to deeper engagements with community leaders and stakeholders over the next few years, including monthly meeting facilitation that involved local economy assessment, developing strategies to retain and attract youth, building community capacity and social capital, creating a community vision and community goals, and providing grant seeking and writing assistance and community projects action plan development.
One such community project that came from a goal and need identified during the task force planning process was creation of a plan for better transportation. The resulting project now being implemented is directed toward improving the active transporation network of the community by creating not only the plan, but also an accompanying complete street policy for adoption by the municipality.
The final plan and its accompanying policies were adopted at the December 2020 Scottdale and Smithton council meetings:
- Smithton-Scottdale Active Transportation Plan
- Smithton-Scottdale Active Transportation Plan Appendix
- Scottdale Complete Streets Policy
- Smithton Complete Streets Policy
- Smithton Resolution
- Scottdale Resolution
- All documents
The draft complete streets policies and the draft active transporation plan documents have been available for public review here —
- https://scottdaleborough.com/
- http://www.smithtonboro.us/
- http://www.smithtonboro.us/smithton-scottdale-active-transportation-plan.html
To see how this plan and the accompanying policies now fit within Westmoreland County’s Reimagining Our Westmoreland county comprehensive plan as an example of successful implementation, see the 2020 Comprehensive Plan Annual Report, (specifically pages 14-16.). These plans provide all communities a model, and give Smithton and Scottdale a detailed roadmap to becoming healthier, more vibrant places.
Successful implementation projects from the plan have occurred since adopting the plan in both Smithton and Scottdale. Read more here:
Active Transportation Plan – Smithton and Scottdale Boroughs, Westmoreland County Community Survey and Interactive Map Program
Scottdale and Smithton Boroughs developed the Active Transportation Plan to address transportation priorities in their communities.
An on-line Community Survey and an Interactive Map Program were created to obtain input on biking and walking enhancements, safety and access improvements and connections to existing trails, waterways, greenspaces and other community destinations.
The links to the Survey and Map used to create the plan were available on both the Scottdale (www.scottdaleborough.com) and Smithton (www.smithtonboro.us) municipal websites.
Download a publicity poster about this project (for distribution).
Community members have been encouraged to provide input at the survey and via the interactive map, and to assist others in these communities by printing and displaying this poster within social networks and at community places.
Below are additional resources that have been shared for accessing the walkability of communities in general:
- Smart Growth America ELEMENTS OF A COMPLETE STREETS POLICY
https://smartgrowthamerica.org/resources/elements-complete-streets-policy/
- AARP Walk Audit Tool Kit — A step-by-step self-service guide for assessing a community’s walkability www.aarp.org/walk-audit
- Community Walkability Evaluation:
https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.dot.gov/files/walkingchecklist.pdf
- Community Sidewalk and Street Survey:
https://www.atrc-spc.org/uploads/7/8/8/8/78882890/sidewalks-streets.pdf
- Community Biking Evaluations:
https://www.bikeleague.org/bfa/quick-assessment/community
https://www.atrc-spc.org/uploads/7/8/8/8/78882890/bikeability_checklist.pdf
- Northern Virginia Regional Commission / America Walks: How to Conduct a Walk Audit in Your Community [Tutorial)
Funding for the Active Transportation Plan is provided by the PA WalkWorks Program via the Pennsylvania Department of Health through the State Physical Activity and Nutrition grant and the Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Find related resources here.
Thank you as well to the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) and its GIS team —
https://spcgis-spc.hub.arcgis.com/
