THE PLAN FOR TRANSPORTATION
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GOAL: PROVIDE A SAFE AND EFFICIENT NETWORK THAT IS VERY CLOSELY COORDINATED WITH THE PLANS FOR LAND USES.
Palmer’s road system forms the framework for development. The location and types of roads influence the directions and types of development. The network of roads and highways in the Township should address the following purposes:
· The road system should permit safe movements of traffic within and through Palmer without excessive delay or congestion.
· The network should provide at least two methods to move between any two areas so that no one route becomes congestion and so there are alternatives in case of construction or accidents.
· Local residential streets should handle lower speed traffic, while through-traffic and truck traffic is directed to more suitable routes. This involves making sure that the through-roads are sufficiently free-flowing - so that motorists are not encouraged to seek alternative routes through residential neighborhoods. Traditionally, local residential streets have been designed in a curvilinear fashion that does not provide direct through-routes and thereby discourages through-traffic.
The Township should continue to carefully plan road patterns and access from development according to the function each road is intended to serve within the overall road network. Roads in the Township are classified by four major types: Expressways, Arterial Roads, Collector Roads and Local Roads.
Expressways - These major highways connect cities and metropolitan areas. An expressway only allows traffic access at interchanges. These highways service high volumes of traffic at high speeds. The expressways are Routes 22 and 33.
Arterial
Roads - These
roads provide access between major commercial developments and parts of the
metropolitan area. Arterials are designed for high volumes of traffic at
moderate speeds. Arterial roads include Nazareth Route/Route 248,
Collector Roads - These roads provide connections between arterial roads, connect together residential neighborhoods and gather traffic from local roads. Collector roads are intended to provide for moderate volumes of traffic at low speeds.
Local Roads - These roads provide direct access from many adjacent properties, and channel traffic towards collector roads.
The
following is a list of the most accident-prone intersections in
Route 248/Sales Road -53
25th
Route 248/Park Avenue - 31
Route 22/25th Street Ramps - 29
25th
25th
Route 248/Northwood Avenue - 15
Route 248/Newburg Road - 13
Cost-effective solutions are needed to address problem road segments, in cooperation with PennDOT and adjacent landowners/developers. The following road improvements are critical to allowing safe and efficient traffic movements throughout the Township:
- New Route 33 Interchange - As discussed in the Land Use and Housing Plan section, a new interchange of Route 33 should be constructed before any intensive development is allowed in the northwest corner of the Township, northwest of Route 33. The expectation is that this interchange would occur with the full cooperation of the adjacent property-owners, including providing a substantial percentage of the funding. However, this interchange appears to be at least 10 to 15 years away. In the interim, the land areas needed for ramps should be kept open, which is the stated intent of the landowner of most of the affected land
- There
are two logical locations for an interchange along Route 33: a) along Main Street, and b) west of the
Palmer Industrial Park using a westward extension of Danforth
Road. An extension of Danforth holds an advantage because: a) all of the adjacent land is controlled by one property-owner, and b) PennDOT
already owns substantial excess right-of-way on the west side of Route 33 at
this location. If a decision is made to
locate an interchange at
- The
intent is to extend
- Hollo Road
Improvements -
There is a need for a better connection between the northern part
of Palmer and the Route 248 interchange with Route 33. An industrial developer is currently planning
to reconstruct
- These
improvements to
- These improvements would provide a very good east-west route through the northern part of Palmer. This route would also direct traffic onto Route 248 at a location that can access Route 33 with minimal congestion.
- In
2002, the Pidcock Company conducted an extensive
transportation study of the northern part of
- Corriere Road Extension - Most traffic from the northern part of Palmer
currently travels along
-
- All of the improvements required by the Township and PennDOT to accommodate two commercial developments will be funded by those developers, with some financial assistance intended to be provided from County economic development funds.
- However,
these improvements do not address the changes that are necessary to
- Route 33/191 Ramps - There is a need to signalize one or both sets of Route 33 ramps at Route 191. These ramps are in Stockertown Borough.
- Turn Lanes and Traffic Signals - The Circulation and Recreation Improvements Map highlights a number of locations where new turn lanes and/or traffic signals have been proposed by developers or were found to be needed in traffic studies. These improvements should be carried out by nearby developers whenever feasible.
It is important for municipalities to take the lead in identifying needed improvements on State roads. An improvement to a State road is much more likely to be funded by PennDOT in a timely manner if the Township takes the initiative to pay for the initial engineering of improvements. A project is even more likely to receive State funding if the adjacent property owners donate the needed right-of-way. In such case, the value of the engineering and the donated right-of-way count as a “local match” that allows a project to receive priority for State funding.
Palmer should work with neighboring municipalities to jointly plan road improvements and jointly seek funding for the projects.
The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission has published an excellent report recommending ways to manage traffic access in new development. This section highlights a few of the recommendations in that report.
Special attention needs to be paid to controlling the number, design and location of driveways onto major roads. PennDOT controls the actual engineering of a driveway onto a State road after a lot is created or a use is allowed by the Township. However, the Township has the primary control over where different uses are allowed and how land is allowed to be subdivided. This authority can be used to control traffic access management onto major roads.
For example, rear or side driveway access should be used where practical to reduce the number of turning movements directly onto major roads. This method works best when uses are able to gain access to a traffic signal. Connections between adjacent uses should be completed parallel to main roads to allow traffic to enter the road at carefully designed locations, where feasible.
The Township should seek inter-connections between adjacent non-residential uses along major roads, including interconnected parking lots or use of a rear service road. These interconnections allow motorists to visit more than one use without needing to enter and re-enter major roads.
These inter-connections can be required for a new development. If an existing adjacent use will not allow an inter-connection, then the new development should be required to provide the link as a stub. This stub can then be opened in the future when any development approval is sought on the adjacent lot.
The current system of traffic impact fees that is authorized under State law is cumbersome and includes many limitations. It is also rather expensive to complete the studies that are needed to justify the fees. Many municipalities believe that they can more efficiently obtain road improvements from developers through a process of negotiation than through a formal fee system.
However, an impact fee system may make sense in the northern part of the Township to fairly distribute the costs of constructing a new interchange among different property-owners. If the Township would consider establishing traffic impact fees, State law allows the levying of interim impact fees during a period of up to 18 months. This 18 month period allows time to complete al of the studies that are required by the State law.
The Board of Supervisors should evaluate the pros and cons of establishing an official traffic impact fee system.
Most traffic impact systems are based upon a fee charged at the time of development approval. The fee is typically based upon the amount of traffic that a development is expected to create during the afternoon peak hour.
The Township recognizes that there is a need for a Township-wide traffic analysis. In addition, a major traffic study will be needed at some point before plans for a new interchange could start to advance through the Lehigh Valley Transportation Study (LVTS) and PennDOT approval and funding processes. However, the Township does not wish to delay the adoption of this Comprehensive Plan until after a Township-wide traffic study is completed.
Over
20 traffic studies have been completed in recent years in
Public
transit services are provided by the LANTA Metro
system, mainly through fixed-route bus service. Center Square Easton and Center City Bethlehem
serve as major transfer centers between different bus routes. Bus service is generally provided between
Opportunities should sought to continue to expand bus service from major residential centers to expanding employment centers. This is not only important to reduce traffic, but also to increase access of lower income persons to jobs. The Land Use and Housing Plan section includes recommendations to promote use of public transit.
In addition, flexible "para-transit" service is available through the Metro-Plus service. This service is primarily intended to serve persons with disabilities that make it difficult for them to use the regular bus routes. Although there are no restrictions on the purposes of the trips, this system is particularly valuable to help persons reach medical offices, human services and other necessary services. Advance reservations are required, but door-to-door service is possible.
The Community Facilities Plan section (see above) addresses recreation trails for bicycling and walking. However, bicycling and walking can also be important methods of transportation.
Efforts are needed to improve opportunities throughout the region for safe bicycle and pedestrian travel. In most new developments along most roads, sidewalks should be required. However, where sidewalks are not practical, new development should include cleared flat grass pathways along roads that are suitable for safe walking.
Roads should be wide enough to provide room for bicyclists. Where curbing is not provided, shoulders should be provided that are wide enough and smooth enough for bicyclists. Cooperative efforts are needed with PennDOT to seek shoulders along the most heavily traveled State roads. These shoulders should be separated from the travel lanes by white lines.