Delaware County Unveils Walk Roll Delco Active Transportation Plan

Plan recommends improvements to make travel throughout the County safer for pedestrians and cyclists

Media, PA — Delaware County recently unveiled Walk Roll Delco, their Active Transportation Plan that will improve safety and convenience for residents who walk, bike, or use mobility devices throughout the County. The plan was finalized by the Delaware County Planning Department in April and approved at Delaware County Council’s July meeting.

The plan, which will be implemented in the coming years, will institute a variety of infrastructure improvements and strategies alongside municipalities and PennDOT to make walking and cycling safer across the county.

“The plan establishes a long-term vision to create a balanced transportation plan that prioritizes safety, accessibility, and comfort for pedestrians and cyclists of all ages and abilities while outlining specific infrastructure improvements, programs, and strategies that will achieve these goals,” said Delaware County Planning Director Gina Burritt.

Research done as part of Walk Roll Delco determined that between 2018 and 2022, there were 1,035 reported crashes involving a cyclist or pedestrian in Delaware County. Further, 19% of pedestrian crashes involved serious injury or fatality, and half of pedestrians involved in all crashes were walking in the street.

Throughout the process, the Planning Department has engaged the public in the process outlining the vision, goals, design guidelines, policy recommendations, and implementation strategies. They received more than 1,700 responses to a public survey, which included safety ambassadors going into communities across Delaware County to learn about traffic safety issues in different neighborhoods. The survey determined that 35% of Delco residents walk, bike, use transit, or a mobility device every day. Meanwhile, 13.7% of respondents said they might bike more if there were protected bike lanes.

The survey identified three main issues plaguing Delaware County’s transportation network: missing infrastructure (ex: lack of sidewalks or separated bike lanes), inadequate protection from danger in existing infrastructure, and missing connectivity.

Research found that Delaware County currently has 24 miles of shared lanes, four miles of bike lanes, 61 miles of paved trails, and 3,845 miles of sidewalk. The proposed network would add 261.4 miles of connections to the existing network, which would include:

• 65 miles of greenways (routes through open space for walking and biking)
• 72 miles of bikeways (on-road biking facilities)
• 55 miles of bike boulevards (routes that provide a comfortable biking experience for all riding abilities through signage, intersection improvements, and volume/speed management techniques
• 34 miles of sidepaths (shared use paths parallel to a roadway)
• 39 miles of reimagined high-volume roads that reimagine road segments to comfortably accommodate multiple modes of transportation, increase safety, and provide a greater sense of place

“I’m really glad we are moving forward with this plan,” said Delaware County Council member Elaine Paul Schaefer. “This will not only allow us to achieve many of the goals of Walk Roll Delco, but it will also help us check off a lot of the boxes in our Sustainability Plan. They align very closely, and it’s not just about active transportation. It’s about getting the vehicles off the road and reducing carbon emissions as well.”

Walk Roll Delco further advances the work of the Vision Zero Delco Safety Action Plan, which was approved by Council in February 2025 and aims to eliminate traffic-related fatalities by evaluating road design, speed limits, infrastructure, and more to prevent crashes.

Council’s adoption of the plan allows the Planning Department to move forward with recommendations and seek grant funding while working with local and statewide partners to implement the recommendations.

To learn more visit Walk Roll Delco and read the full 72-page report.
Learn more about the work of the Planning Department.