New funding will support traffic safety, schools, a Boys and Girls club and a community park in the 2nd District.

PHILADELPHIA, PA, November 14, 2017 – State Sen. Christine M. Tartaglione today secured more than $1.5 million in grants for community and transportation projects in the 2nd Senatorial District, including funding for a Boys and Girls Club, school safety, traffic safety and a community park.

Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Financing Authority approved five grant requests during its board meeting in Harrisburg. The allocations will support major renovations of the Northeast Frankford Boys and Girls Club, the Frankford Community Development Corporation’s conversion of a vacant lot into a community park and the implementation of a safe streets program around local schools. Additional allocations will support the Olde Richmond Civic Association’s effort to improve lighting at five underpasses along the Lehigh Avenue railroad viaduct and will fund pedestrian safety improvements to a major Roosevelt Boulevard intersection.

“I’d like to thank the seven members of the CFA board for recognizing the value of investing in projects like these, which will benefit countless children and families in Philadelphia,” Senator Tartaglione said. “These projects satisfy many important safety needs and strengthen the fabric of our community.”

One $500,000 grant will support the Philadelphia Streets Department’s plan for pedestrian improvements along Roosevelt Boulevard (U.S. Route 1) at Adams and Summerdale avenues. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, about 78,000 vehicles a day travel that stretch of the Boulevard, a highway often cited as one of the most dangerous in the nation.

A second $500,000 grant was awarded to the Philadelphia Streets Department for implementing its Vision Zero safe streets program around schools in the district. Vision Zero is the city’s strategy to eliminate all traffic related deaths and severe injuries while increasing safety, health and mobility for all people.

A $215,290 grant was awarded to the Olde Richmond Civic Association to replace and enhance lighting in five roadway and pedestrian underpasses beneath the Lehigh Avenue viaduct, an elevated railroad that runs between Lehigh Avenue and Somerset Street from Kensington Avenue to Richmond Street.

The Boys and Girls Clubs of Philadelphia was awarded a $200,000 grant to fund Bold For Change, a major renovation project at the Northeast Frankford Boys and Girls Club, 1709 Kinsey St., which offers tutoring, daycare, arts and crafts, torch and keystone clubs, a drill team, basketball, mentoring and many other activities for youths and their families.

The Frankford Community Development Corporation was awarded a $100,000 grant to convert a former vacant lot into a pop-up “pause park” at 4671-73 Paul St. The new park is under construction and will become a hub of community activity with flexible space for public performances, art activities, gardening and social events.

The Commonwealth Financing Authority was established in 2004 as an independent agency of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development to administer the state’s economic stimulus packages. CFA holds fiduciary responsibility over the funding of programs and investments in Pennsylvania’s economic growth.

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If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Bill Kenny at 215-533-0440 or email at William.Kenny@pasenate.com.