Methacton School District wins First Annual GVF Seatbelt Challenge!

GVF is excited to announce that Methacton School District was the winnerof the organization’s first annual Seatbelt Challenge! This year’s Challenge was against Upper Merion High School.

The purpose of the Seatbelt Challenge is to bring attention to the importance of seatbelt safety, determine how many students are wearing seatbelts and encourage those who are not to do so. GVF manages the Challenge by conducting a counting survey during the fall semester; present the findings to the participating schools, and then setting up seatbelt safety presentations through the Pennsylvania State Police and the Lower Providence PoliceDepartment.

At the end of the challenge, GVF conducted another counting survey,to see if the number of students wearing seatbelts has increased. The winning school district is the one with the highest increase of seatbelt use.

In our initial study, conducted on October 1, 2011, 83 percent of Methacton students were observed wearing seatbelts. The follow up study was conducted on March 28, 2012, 90 percent of students were observed wearing seatbelts.

Thedistrict was awarded $500, which was provided by AAAand their Keys 2 Drive program, which provides parents tips and information to work with their teens through each step of safe driving.

The full results of the Challenge were as follows:

School	Number of Cars Surveyed	Number of People in the Cars	Number of People Wearing Seatbelts	Number of People Not Wearing Seatbelts	Percentage of People Not Wearing Seatbelts
Methacton Senior High School (fall semester)	173	387	323	64	17%
Methacton Senior High School (spring semester)	211	373	337	36	10%

School	Number of Cars Surveyed	Number of People in the Cars	Number of People Wearing Seatbelts	Number of People Not Wearing Seatbelts	Percentage of People Not Wearing Seatbelts
Upper Merion High School (fall semester)	129	232	138	94	41%
Upper Merion High School (spring semester)	143	248	191	57	23%

GVF is already underway in planning next school year's Challenge. If you're interested in participating, contact us at info@gvftma.com or 610-354-8899.

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April Events at GVF

There's a lot of exciting things going on at GVF during the month of April!

GVF TMA Foundation's Third Annual Bike to Work Challenge begins on April 30. Registration is now open, so if you haven't registered yet, visit www.gvfbiketowork.com to do so. The Bike to Work Challenge is a 20 week-long program that encourages employees to commute to work by bike. The ultimate goal is to see the environmental impact by keeping vehicles off the roadways while maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Last year, 164 participants:

biked 42,651 miles

saved 1,975 gallons of fuel

prevented 38,307 tons of CO2 emissions into our air.

The best part is, anyone who registers to participate and rides to work by Bike to Work Day, which is observed on May 18, will be entered to win a “Platinum Bike Fit” from Cadence Cycling and Multisport, valued at $299! Events, recognition and prizes are all part of this event, to keep participants engaged and excited about biking to work.

Earth Day is also observed this month on April 22. Although it falls on a Sunday this year, GVF has numerous outreach events planned to promote sustainable transportation. Earth Day is a great catalyst to start the conversation about different commuting options, aside from driving to and from work alone. We can help to get your employees thinking about changing their commutes by carpooling, public transit and biking. Reach out to us today to learn more!

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Top Five Reasons to Ride your Bike to Work

The weather around Philadelphia has been absolutely gorgeous the past few days. It has been unseasonably warm and because of this – or maybe because we are getting ready to start our fourth annual GVF Bike to Work Challenge (have you signed up yet?) I have never been more excited to get back on the old bike.

One of my goals for this summer is to commute to work by bike much more than I did last year. I thought I would make a list of my top five reasons I ride to work in hopes of inspiring more people to take the plunge and ride!

Top Five Reasons to Ride your Bike to Work

1. Save Money

With the cost of gas approaching or even exceeding $4 a gallon, riding a bike just makes sense. No gas required, not to mention the extremely reduced costs of maintaining a bike as opposed to an automobile.

2. Get in Shape

Bicycling is an excellent way to exercise, and if it is part of your everyday commute it is automatically built into your schedule. The World Health Organization suggests that increasing physical activity is a public health 'best buy', and that cycling is a 'highly suitable activity' for this purpose.

3. Relieve Stress

Traffic, pollution, road rage, congestion – all of these make up most American’s daily commute. Long commutes have been linked with obesity, neck pain, loneliness, divorce, stress and insomnia. Ride a bike, enjoy being outside, arrive less stressed and get more work done.

4. It’s fun!

“Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of riding a bike.” - John F. Kennedy

Riding a bike is just plain fun. There are few greater joys in life then cruising around on a warm spring day on a bicycle. Don’t believe me? Try it!

5. Be a part of GVF’s Bike to Work Challenge

If you decide to try bike commuting, make sure you are registered for the GVF Bike to Work Challenge. This is our fourth year running the challenge and it is a great way to keep track of your miles, savings and progress! In addition, it provides us with data we can use to improve cycling in the greater Philadelphia area!

Register Today!

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Did You Observe National Telework Week?

This week (March 5-9) is the second-annual National Telework Week, observed and promoted by Telework Exchange: http://www.teleworkexchange.com/.

For those who don't know, telecommuting is working from home or a "telecommute center" instead of driving into the office everyday. Staying home decreases your out-of-pocket transportation costs (gas, wear and tear on your vehicle, tolls, etc.) but also improves air quality and lessens the impact on our aging roadways. According to the National Telework Web site, more than 64,000 pledges have signed up for Telework Week this week, collectively saving more than $4.7 million in commuting costs in just one week!

GVF currently offers telecommuting options for all full time employees who are able to work away from the office. Since we started the telecommute program in 2010, which allows us to work from home two days per month, I have personally telecommuted 22 days. That's a whole month of saved gas, mileage on my aging car and sanity -- staying off Route 422 at rush hour is definitely a good way to start and end the work day!

A quick estimate on my savings include:

• nearly $100
• 600 miles saved on my car
• 25.6 gallons of fuel
• 498 pounds of CO2 emissions saved

I know a handful of GVF's partners offer telecommuting options to their employees, and we encourage telecommuting at all levels - even if it rarely that you can work from home.

Does your employer offer telecommuting options? Do you need assistance in getting a telecommuting program started, or just need some statistics to bring to your manager or boss to encourage them to consider it? GVF is happy to help - we have a full policy in place, as well as employee agreements to ensure work is getting done even when we're not in the office.

If you need any assistance in getting this started at your company, please reach out to us!

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Secretary Barry Schoch addresses GVF's Public Policy Committee

Barry J. Schoch, P.E., and Secretary of Transportation for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), recently presented an update on transportation funding at GVF’s Public Policy Committee meeting at Arcadia University, King of Prussia campus.

Because one of GVF’s major priorities is advocating for a comprehensive transportation funding solution, Secretary Schoch updated the 50 attendees on the progress being made on the state level. Secretary Schoch touched on the following points:

· Identifying Governor Corbett’s four main priorities for 2011, transportation, along with privatization, unfortunately falls to the bottom of the “short list.”

· The Governor doesn’t want the legislators to get distracted from Marcellus Shale and education vouchers; therefore, finding a dedicated funding source for transportation will be tabled until 2012.

· In the interim, transportation funding continues to be Secretary Schoch’s number one priority. A vehicle mileage traveled study will be conducted in 2012 to examine if this could provide additional revenue towards transportation.

An overview video recording of Secretary Schoch’s is available on GVF’s YouTube page.

As Secretary Schoch is working on several initiatives for 2012, GVF looks forward to working with the Secretary so we can ultimately find a solution to this critical issue.

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GVF's 2011 Sustainable Awards

GVF, a transportation management association dedicated to achieving a desirable quality of life and a healthy, competitive economic environment by developing multi-faceted transportation strategies, hosted its fall partner breakfast yesterday at the Scanticon Hotel in King of Prussia.

GVF presented its second-annual Sustainable Awards to the companies and organizations listed below. GVF’s Sustainable Awards recognize companies on four levels for their outstanding achievements in implementing programs that provide and promote commuting alternatives for their employees and its community, thus reducing congestion and improving air quality.

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Congratulations to the Sustainable Award Winners!

At GVF's Fall Partner Breakfast yesterday morning, we were proud to award
* one college
* one municipality
* one developer
* one state agency
* one national park
* two retailers
* four engineering firms
* six corporate businesses
with the second annual GVF Sustainable Awards!

In its second year, the Sustainable Awards recognize different organizations for their outstanding achievements in implementing programs that provide and promote commuting alternatives for their employees and its community, thus reducing congestion and improving air quality throughout the region.

That means that 17 area companies and organizations are making a real difference in reducing single occupancy vehicles on our roadways, and improving the quality of life for employees and residents alike! Take a look on what some of these companies are doing:
• Actively participates in GVF’s Climate Change Task Force
• Display or include commuter information and/or provide transit schedules in that worksite or on the intranet.
• Disseminate traffic alerts to employees
• Host commuter events at your worksite
• Host on-site vanpool or carpool formation meetings
• Implementation of a company sustainability plan
• Install bike racks or other storage bicycles
• Member of GVF
• Participate in the Emergency Ride Home Program, which can be offered through GVF
• Place alternative commute information in new hire packets
• Recycling Program
• Regularly promote commute options at the worksite via memo postings, email, Intranet or other employee communication
• Ridesharing or carpool matching, either in-house or through an outside organization
• Use Alternative Fuel Vehicles
• Company participates in the Air Quality Partnership (AQP) by raising the AQP on action alert day
Offer a flextime policy, such as telecommuting and/or compressed workweek
• Offer onsite amenities such as food service, dry cleaner, ATM/bank
• One or more than one representatives are signed up for EnviroFlash, which sends an electronic receive alert on air quality action days
• Participate in GVF’s Bike to Work Challenge, which occurs April – September (see www.gvfbiketowork.com for details)
• Provide a commuting subsidy to employees
• Provide a site specific innovative service or program to improve employee commutation and reduce traffic congestion
• Provide preferential parking for vanpoolers or carpoolers
• Provide preferential parking if employee drives an alternative fuel vehicle
• Provide pretax payroll deductions for commuting cost for employees
• Provide showers and/or lockers for bicycles
• Sell transit passes on site
• Assessed and tracked company
• Offer a telecommuting or compressed workweek program that reduces commute trips by at least 6 %.
• Offers a subsidized shuttle operations or provide an employer sponsored shuttle
• Offers to pay at least $30 per month towards a transit pass (or full cost of a pass if it is less than $30) to each employee who commutes using transit
• Offers to pay at least $30 per month towards vanpool pass (or full cost of a pass if it is less than $30) to each employee who commutes in a vanpool
• Office is accessible to public transit (should it be required that they have to know that employees are taking it)
• Provide at least $30 per month to each employee who chooses to receive cash in lieu of a parking space

Check out pictures from yesterday's event here!

Bryan Havir, Assitant Cheltenham Township Manager said it best -- “Being green is good for everyone. An organization that cares enough to be green cares about its employees."

Congratulations again to our winners and if you're interested in learning more about the Sustainable Awards and how you can implement some of these changes, contact GVF today!

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IBM Releases Global Commuter Pain Survey just in time for Car Free Day

It is no secret that traffic is a drag, but on Thursday Sept. 8 IBM confirmed this by releasing the results of their Global Commuter Pain Survey. Eight thousand commuters in twenty cities across the world surveyed that:

• Drivers report more stress and frustration related to commuting worldwide
• Forty one percent of commuters globally said improved public transportation would help reduce stress
• Perception of traffic in emerging economies vs. more developed economies is improving

The survey did show some areas of improvement however, a number of cities reported that more people are utilizing public transportation and there was also a large increase in the percentage of respondents who reported that roadway traffic has improved “somewhat” or “substantially” over the past three years.

With the current world population estimated at 6.94 billion and the possibility that this could reach 10 billion by 2050, we have to start thinking about alternative modes of transportation on a global scale.

A great way to spread awareness for alternative transportation is through World Carfree Day, held every September 22 and celebrated by people around the world. World Carfree Day showcases to our city planners and politicians a city without cars and promotes cycling, walking, and public transportation projects.

Need help going car free? GVF has all the information you need to leave the car at home. So walk, bike, bus, carpool, train, hop, skip, or jump to where you’re going on September 22, and spread the word!

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Back to School is Almost Here -- Why Not Walk to School?

Summer's nearly over, and back to school is upon us. Time to dust off your sneakers and mark your calendar for October 5, 2011 for Walk to School Day!

Internationally recognized the first Wednesday of every October, Walk to School Day encourages and celebrates children who walk and bike to school. Marketing materials and ideas will be posted on the Pennsylvania Safe Routes to School Web site soon. Information kits are available when you register your event.

If your school or community is looking for fun and creative ways to get children to walk and bike to school, GVF would be happy to assist with your efforts and ideas, as well as promote your event. Contact GVF today and we can help make Walk to School Day a success in your community!

For the latest info, follow the Twitter tag #SRTS here- Twitter .

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Royesford-Spring City Bridge Stakeholders Meeting [Video]

On Monday, July 11th, Royersford Borough hosted officials from PennDOT Engineering District 6-0 to discuss the status of repair work on the Royersford-Spring City Bridge with the public and business owners in the immediate area. During this briefing, Steve Laws, Assistant Construction Engineer with PennDOT, and Michael Cuddy of TranSystems noted that since a previous stakeholder meeting in February, additional damage found on the deck of the bridge has necessitated a change in PennDOT's repair plans. Construction of an eight-inch reinforced concrete deck on the bridge will require a complete shutdown of structure beginning on July 18th and lasting roughly eight weeks. PennDOT staff discussed the detour plans for the bridge, and addressed the questions/concerns of those in attendance.

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GVF TMA Foundation Hosts First Golf Outing [Video]

King of Prussia, PA- The newly formed GVF TMA Foundation, a 501 c 3 subsidiary of the Greater Valley Forge Transportation Management Association (GVF), held its first golf outing at The Club at Shannondell last Friday, June 24.

The event, which included more than 40 golfers, raised more than $1,000 for the Foundation. GVF established this Foundation to secure funding for educational seminars, training, outreach and environmental awareness for the general public in support of livability activities. The Peter P. Quinn Scholarship, created when GVF founder Peter P. Quinn retired in 2008, is incorporated into the GVF TMA Foundation and creates a scholarship fund for college students to expose them to the public and private transportation sectors.

Check out pictures from the event here.

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Steve Wray Keynote on World Class Greater Philadelphia [Video]

Did you miss our annual meeting?

No problem!

Now you can see the entire keynote presentation from GVF's Annual Meeting on the World Class Greater Philadelphia Intiative by Steve Wray, Executive Director of the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia.

World Class Greater Philadelphia is an initiative that convenes business, nonprofit, government, labor, and community leaders to establish a set of long-term priorities and focused strategies to better our region. Facilitated by the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, this multi-year initiative strives to make the region a world class place to live, work, and play by 2026 - the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

For more information go to www.worldclassgreaterphila.org

Music: "Pling" by Jaspertine

jaspertine / CC BY-NC 3.0

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Get ready to tee off at the GVF TMA Foundation Golf Outing!

The newly formed GVF TMA Foundation, a 501 c 3 subsidiary of the Greater Valley Forge Transportation Management Association (GVF) will hold its first golf outing at The Club at Shannondell on Friday, June 24.

The GVF TMA Foundation will secure funding for educational seminars, training, outreach and environmental awareness for the general public in support of livability initiatives. The foundation will create a scholarship fund for college students to expose them to the public and private transportation sectors.

For all detailed event information, including sponsorship opportunities, click here.

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GVF's 2011 Annual Meeting [Video]

Last week, GVF held their annual meeting at the BEST WESTERN PLUS the Inn at King of Prussia. The night included cocktails, hors d’ oeuvres, our award ceremony, and a keynote speech by Steven Wray (@STWray) of the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia on the World Class Greater Philadelphia Initiative.

This initiative is an effort for the Greater Philadelphia Region to achieve World Class Status by 2026- the 250^th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Steve gave a presentation on four possible futures for the region and how we can thrive in all of them.

GVF also presented awards that evening to the following organizations and individuals:

• Engineering and Design Award - Boles Smyth Associates Inc. Awarded for their design of the Henderson Road ramps currently being constructed off of I-76
• Environmental Leadership Award- Montgomery County Community College Awarded for their investment in the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment
• Legislative Leadership Award - Senator Daylin Leach Awarded for his ongoing support and involvement in the Norristown High Speed Line Project
• Peter P. Quinn Leadership Award- Jeff Guzy, URS Awarded for his dedication to GVF and its Board of Directors
• Planning Leadership Award - Limerick Township and Simone Collins Awarded for completing the Sanatoga Master Plan
• Private Sector Leadership Award - The CEO Council For Growth Awarded for their leadership along the Route 422 Corridor

“I would like to once again congratulate all of our award winners from this year’s annual meeting. I would also like to thank our sponsors again who continue to support GVF and its mission. As we continue our work to make our region’s transportation system world-class, we feel it’s important to recognize all of those who are improving our mission and making our region a better place to work and live,” said GVF Executive Director Rob Henry.

Did you miss the event? That’s ok; we also have some video footage of the evening’s highlights:

Did you attend our annual meeting? Please, let us know in the comments how we did. Thanks to everyone who attended and I hope to see you all again next year.

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New I-76 Ramp From Henderson Road [Video]

On May 4^th at 11:00 a.m., PennDOT opened a new on-ramp to I-76 Westbound from the intersection of Henderson Road and South Gulph Road. This marks the successful completion of the first phase of the Henderson Road Ramps Project, a $10.5 million project funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to create a new interchange with I-76 Westbound in Upper Merion Township. PennDOT plans to open the new off-ramp from I-76 Westbound to Henderson and South Gulph Roads at some point in the Fall of 2011.

“This new interchange connects the westbound expressway with a key intersection in the King of Prussia area, and the new ramps will help relieve traffic pressure from the Gulph Mills Interchange,” PennDOT District 6-0 Executive Les Toaso noted.

The Upper Merion Transportation Authority partnered with PennDOT to provide preliminary design, environmental clearance, and right-of-way funding for the project. This allowed the project to achieve the “shovel-ready” designation necessary to receive funding under the federal stimulus program.

Immediately after opening the new on-ramp, PennDOT and Glasgow Inc., the general contractor, closed the existing on-ramp to I-76 Westbound from South Gulph Road near its intersection with Crooked Lane. As Tom Loughery of Glasgow Inc. explains to Ryan Jeroski of GVF in the attached video, the new on-ramp will provide motorist with a major upgrade over the older ramp. The new on-ramp is located at a signalized intersection, with a dedicated turn lane for those using the ramp, all of which was lacking in the old on-ramp. These upgrades will greatly improve traffic flow along South Gulph Road and safety for those turning on to the on-ramps.

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GVF Celebrates Earth Day

On Wednesday afternoon GVF employees attended several Earth Day events throughout the Greater Valley Forge area. GVF had a presence at local corporations and colleges to spread information about green ways to commute. From taking public transportation, carpooling, utilizing a shuttle service, or participating in GVF’s upcoming Bike to Work Challenge there are many ways to reduce your carbon footprint!

Here are some other green tips for Earth Day:

• Reuse your water bottle. Avoid buying bottled water.
• Bring your own bags to the grocery store. Given a choice between plastic and paper, choose paper.
• Go paperless. Consider reading your newspaper and magazine subscriptions online. Switch to electronic banking and credit card payment, too.
• Turn your car off if you’re going to be idle for more than one minute.
• Recycle your technology. Dell, Hewlett Packard, Apple, and IBM, among others, offer recycling programs.

Remember, small changes can add up to make a BIG difference! How do you celebrate Earth Day?

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US 202 Section 300 Groundbreaking Ceremony [Video]

Groundbreaking Ceremony for the US 202 Section 300 held April 2011.

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GVF's 2011 Sustainable Awards - Submit Application Now!

GVF is pleased to announce its 2011 Sustainable Awards nomination period! GVF seeks nominations to recognize its partners for their outstanding achievements in implementing programs that provide and promote commuting alternatives for their employees and its community, thus reducing congestion and improving air quality. When we launched this program in 2010, we were excited to see 11 partners participate, which employee over 16,000 employees. This year we hope to exceed these numbers!




Take a moment to view the application by clicking here or visit http://www.gvftma.com/, to see how you qualify for either the Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum recognition level. Upon review of the application, partners will be recognized at GVF’s Fall Partner Breakfast, which will be held in September 2011.


If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. We look forward to receiving your applications!

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2011 Sustainable Awards

For the second year, GVF is seeking nominations to recognize its partners for their outstanding achievements in implementing programs that provide and promote commuting alternatives for their employees and its community, thus reducing congestion and improving air quality. The program was launched in 2010, we were excited to see 11 partners participate, which, combined, employee over 16,000 employees. This year we hope to exceed these numbers!

To view the application, click here or visit http://www.gvftma.com/, to see if your company qualifies for either the Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum recognition level. Once the application has been completed, please e-mail the application, along with at least one picture of your workplace’s sustainability initiative, to Carissa Bobenchik by August 12th. Upon review of the application, partners will be recognized at GVF’s Fall Partner Breakfast, which will be held in September 2011.

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GVF is excited to launch its new program Commuter Challenge BINGO!

Looking for a fun and interactive way to change your commuting habits, and win some great prizes doing it? Sign up today for GVF’s Commuter Challenge Bingo, which we launched on January 3rd and goes until March 31, 2011!


Below GVF Project Manager, Carissa Bobenchik explains that the purpose of the Commuter Challenge is to improve mobility and sustain the environment by utilizing commuting alternatives. GVF encourages all residents of the Delaware Valley to walk, cycle, take transit, carpool, telecommute and/or utilize relevant commuter resources to make commuting easier and more sustainable.



Here’s how it works:


When you log onto Phillytraffic.com, click on 'How to Play' to register today!  Each participant will receive an electronic bingo card in the form of a PDF that shows different commuting alternatives and ways to improve commuting overall. Once a participant “gets bingo” (completes all of the challenges in straight or diagonal line) they will submit the completed card to GVF. The first 10 participants to submit a completed card will win a prize.

We hope this Challenge exposes all participants to commuting alternatives, as well as different resources avaialble.  Remember – you can make a difference in improving air quality, reducing congestion and enhancing mobility by making small changes in your daily commute!

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