HOT TOPIC: VMT - Health, Climate Change, Land Use & Community

HOT TOPIC: VMT - Health, Climate Change, Land Use & Community

7-lane bumper-to-bumper traffic backup shown, text "Why are we choosing this?"
Wednesday, January 25, 2023 - 12:00pm to 1:30pm

The Importance of VMT (Vehicle Miles Traveled)

An Exploration of Health, Climate Change, Land Use and Community

Virtual forum on Wednesday, January 25, 2023 12-1:30 p.m.

Please join the LWVDE Land Use and Transportation Committee on a deep dive into transportation and land use with local experts Pamela Steinebach, PE (Director of Planning for the DE Dept of Transportation), Bill Swiatek, AICP (Principal Planner at the Wilmington Area Planning Council) and Rich Hall, AICP (Land Use General Manager for New Castle County).

We will learn: What is VMT (vehicle miles traveled)? How does VMT relate to climate change, health and community? In the context of Delaware’s increasing VMT, high rates of traffic pedestrian fatalities, high levels of traffic related air pollution, and detrimental impacts from increasing car commutes, is there another way? Have we had any local successes? And what can we do about all of this?

Video Posting

The full video for this presentation is now available below:

Minute markers for your convenience:
0:00:00 - Welcome, LWV Land Use Chair Anna Quisel
0:02:40 - Intro Pamela Steinbach from DelDOT
0:04:10 - Intro Rich Hall from NCC Dept of Land Use
0:05:20 - Intro Bill Swiatek from WILMAPCO
0:06:45 - Pre-planned questions...
     What is VMT? Reducing VMT. Government policies.
0:47:00 - Q&A
1:07:00 - How the public can help.

1:15:18 - End of video.

Also available on our YouTube Channel.

2050 Draft RTP

Speaker Bill Swiatek invited the public to provide input on the draft 2050 Regional Transportation Plan at a hearing on Feb 8, 2023. More information here: http://www.wilmapco.org/ourtown

VMT Notes and Links

A short summary of major points plus links and figures that were shared in the presentation chat are provided here.

PDF icon LWVDE_VMT_HotTopic_Jan2023_NotesAndLinks.pdf