bookmark_borderMontgomery County 10 Year Plan

Communities that grow and prosper have one major thing in common—they plan for the future. They decide where new housing will be built, which roads will be expanded, the types of parks they would like, what redevelopment should be like, where farms should be preserved, and how to reduce flooding, among other important decisions.

The first step in planning for the future is to create a comprehensive plan to guide overall growth and development. Montgomery County is in the process of preparing a comprehensive plan for the entire county. This plan will provide an overall framework for local municipal plans and will provide guidance on issues that transcend local boundaries, such as highways, public transportation, flooding, trails, growth trends, redevelopment trends, shopping needs, impact of large developments, overall housing needs, natural systems, and economic growth.

The most crucial element in the comprehensive plan process is you. Join us by taking our survey (encuesta en Español) and signing up to receive information, announcements, and plan updates. Your input will help guide the plan in creating a shared future for Montgomery County. Please submit your survey and complete our workshop planning exercises by March 1, 2014.

bookmark_borderAmbler Events Spring and Summer 2014

MAY 2014
First Friday: May 2nd
Ambler Farmers’ Market: Saturdays, May – October
18th Annual Auto Show: May 17th

JUNE 2014
First Friday: June 6th
Ambler Arts & Music Festival: June 13 & 14th

JULY 2014
First Friday: July 4th
Ambler Restaurant Week: July 14-21st

AUGUST 2014
First Friday: August 1st
Dog Days of Summer: August 9th

bookmark_borderDistracted Driving Awareness and Prevention

ABINGTON, PA — The Montgomery County Health Department (MCHD) in artnership with the County Commissioners, District Attorney’s Office, PennDOT, Abington Memorial Hospital, and Abington Police Department will hold a kick off for a year long Distracted Driving Awareness and Prevention Campaign on Wednesday.

This year, the Montgomery County Health Department is committed to community outreach efforts that will reduce distracted driving behaviors, which are preventable driving risk factors. MCHD has adopted the AT&T “It Can Wait” Distracted Driving Awareness and Prevention Campaign which consists of many different focus areas, including community events, health fairs, high school and corporate outreach, as well as involvement in the online and digital communities. The campaign’s first event is a kick off press conference with key partners in this initiative. MCHD encourages everyone to go online to www.itcanwait.com and take the pledge not to text and drive. In Montgomery County, motor vehicle crashes continue to be the leading cause of injury and death in people ages 15-25 years of age. There were 1,224 crashes attributed to distracted driving in Montgomery County in 2012. Of those crashes, five were fatal and 614 resulted in injury. One of those five fatal crashes involved a teenager. Also in 2012, State Route 63 and State Route 73 had the highest number of distracted driving crashes.

The Montgomery County Health Department’s Community Traffic Safety Project is focused on safety programming regarding seat belt usage, school bus safety and etiquette, teen driving, impaired driving, and pedestrian safety, which are available to all schools in Montgomery County. In addition, other educational opportunities are available through MCHD covering topics such as child passenger safety, aggressive driving, vehicle safety for seniors, bicycle and motorcycle safety. All of these programs are provided to the community free of charge through
a funding initiative from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.