A pair of multi-million dollar grants were announced for Lancaster city this week: One for transportation, one for home repair.
The state Department of Transportation said this week that the city will receive $3 million for its Water Street bicycle boulevard project, which calls for extensively reconfiguring the street between Harrisburg Avenue and Seymour Street to promote bicycle and pedestrian use.
Components include raised intersections, bump-outs, flashing beacons and green infrastructure. Two off-road segments will extend the bike path south to Fairview Avenue.
The grant is among 55 totaling $49.5 million awarded through PennDOT’s Surface Transportation Block Grant program.
Meanwhile, Mayor Danene Sorace told City Council on Tuesday that the city is receiving a $2 million Healthy Homes grant from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development.
The funding supports repairs and remediation in low- and moderate-income housing that target safety and health issues. It is a broad-based program that allows multiple issues to be addressed at the same time.
In 2019, Lancaster received $600,00 in Healthy Homes funding in conjunction with its $9.1 million Lead Hazard Reduction grant, at the time the largest grant in city history. That funding targeted census tracts on the city’s south side; the new funding can be applied citywide and is enough for renovations at 145 houses.
“This grant means more dollars are going to our neighborhoods where help is needed most,” Sorace said.
