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CHAPTER 3 PART 3.Pdf Chapter 3 – State of the System In 2015, Norfolk Southern generated 60% of their revenues from shipping general merchandise, 23% from intermodal freight, and 17% from coal. Several short line railroads provide service in the county. Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad (RBM&N) currently provides service on the line previously owned by Conrail along the west side of the Schuylkill River, north of Reading into northeastern Pennsylvania. The RBM&N also controls the Schuylkill Secondary Line that runs between Temple and Hamburg on the east side of the Schuylkill River. Service on this line is currently suspended. The railroad handled 28,940 carloads in 2015, up 19% from 2014. East Penn Railroad owns and operates the Lancaster Line that runs from Sinking Spring to Ephrata, Lancaster County, and the Perkiomen Branch that runs from Allentown through Hereford Township to Pennsburg. East Penn also provides service on the The Colebrookdale Railroad serves tourist and freight customers between Boyertown Kutztown Transportation Authority- and Pottstown. Courtesy of the Colebrookdale Railroad owned Kutztown Branch Line that runs between Topton and Kutztown. The Eastern Berks Gateway Railroad provides service on the Berks County owned Colebrookdale Branch Line that runs from the Norfolk Southern Line in Pottstown to Boyertown. The Wanamaker, Kempton and Southern Railroad is a tourist carrier which operates between Wanamaker in Lehigh County and Kempton in Berks County, over tracks formerly part of the Reading Railroad’s Schuylkill and Lehigh branch. The Wanamaker, Kempton and Southern is rail isolated. It does not connect to other rail lines or haul freight. The Allentown and Auburn Railroad is a tourist carrier that operates between Topton and Kutztown on tracks owned by the Kutztown Transportation Authority. The railroad is not isolated as it shares an interchange with the Norfolk Southern Reading line in Topton. Reading MPO | Long Range Transportation Plan 129 Berks County Planning Commission Long Range Transportation Plan FFY 2017 - 2040 Map 42 Freight Corridors BC737 ´ ¦¨§78 BC143 ¤£222 wn utzto K ch Bran P A B e ra ding Lin n Rea c BC662 h h 78 c n Perkiomen ¨§ a Evansville I ¦ r .T. BC645 Branch B BC501 A P M a . BC29 i e n .T Lin BC662 I ng L e adi i ll Re n vi e s n a M v BC73 BC419 a E in L BC183 in e 222B 222 ¤£ BC100 ¤£ BC12 BC73 Pottsville H Branch ar ris bu rg L ine ¤£422B rg Line BC562 arrisbu Class I Railroad (Norfolk Southern) H ¤£422B Colebrookdale 222B Lancast £ Line Regional Railroad (Reading Blue Mountain and Northern) er ¤ 422 Bra BC662 nch H ¤£ ar Short Line Railroad (East Penn Railroad) risb BC345 BC10 urg BC568 Li Short Line Railroad (Eastern Berks Gateway Railroad) ¤£222 ne BC625 BC724 Major Truck Corridors (as defined by RATS CMP) National Highway Freight Network BC568 Interstate BC345 US Route ¦¨§176 State Route BC10 Municipal Boundaries Source: Berks County Planning Commmission GIS, Berks County Mapping, Berks County GIS, Berks County DES, PennDOT March 3, 2016, Draft Pennsylvania Comprehensive Freight Movement Plan, FHWA 0 5 10 BAB 7/16 Miles www.countyofberks.com/planning Chapter 3 – State of the System Road-Rail Crossings A railroad at-grade crossing is an intersection where a roadway crosses railroad tracks at the same level (grade). At-grade crossings can also have significant impacts on the transportation network. The "gate-down delay" creates delays caused when passing trains block the crossing. In addition, grade crossings can reduce road capacity. The uneven surfaces at grade crossings require vehicles to cross at lower speeds, and passing trains can preclude coordinating nearby traffic signals as they pass through that area. There are 91 public and 64 private at-grade highway-rail Nearly 7,700 vehicles cross the Norfolk Southern line a day at Columbia Avenue in Sinking Spring. intersections in Berks County. Despite the number of crossings, the county has a low number of crashes at them, with 18 since 2009, resulting in one fatality and three injuries. The annual average daily trips (AADT) on roadways with at-grade crossings are typically below 5,000 vehicles in Berks County, with the exception of the crossings shown below: Berks County Road/Rail Crossings with > 5,000 ADT Railroad Municipality Street 2015 AADT Norfolk Southern Reading 11th Street 16,413 Norfolk Southern Cumru Route 724 11,015 East Penn Spring Fritztown Road 8,933 Reading/Blue Mountain Shoemakersville Route 61 8,921 Norfolk Southern Reading Kutztown Road 8,611 Norfolk Southern Sinking Spring Columbia Avenue 7,685 Norfolk Southern Blandon Main Street 7,490 Norfolk Southern Reading Franklin Street 6,966 East Penn Sinking Spring Fritztown Road 6,934 Norfolk Southern Fleetwood Richmond Street 6,818 Norfolk Southern Reading Rockland Street 6,153 Norfolk Southern Lyons Kemp Street 5,937 Norfolk Southern Reading 7th and Chestnut 5,661 Reading/Blue Mountain Leesport Railroad Avenue 5,186 Source: Federal Railroad Administration, Office of Safety Analysis Reading MPO | Long Range Transportation Plan 131 Chapter 3 – State of the System Note that changes to railroad operations may increase or decrease rail traffic at a crossing, affecting type of capital and safety improvement needs. Demand for rail service can change with the arrival or departure of industrial customers on the line. These and other economic changes can affect the volume, location and timing of rail traffic. The Federal Railroad Administration’s Accident Prediction System (WBAPS) provides the chart below. The crossings are not considered dangerous or even the most heavily used crossings in the county. However, the model provides a listing of the crossings considering their physical and operating characteristics and accident history data that may be prone to crashes in the future and warrant additional attention. According to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), the Richmond Street crossing in Fleetwood has the greatest potential for a crash between a train and a vehicle. Safety upgrades are scheduled under this plan. Top Ten Berks County Road/Rail Crossings with Greatest Potential for Crashes Railroad Municipality Street 2015 AADT Norfolk Southern Fleetwood Richmond Street 6,818 Norfolk Southern Sinking Spring Hull Street 659 Norfolk Southern Fleetwood Beech Street 372 Norfolk Southern Topton Main Street 372 Norfolk Southern Fleetwood Walnuttown Road 1,158 Norfolk Southern Sinking Spring Woodrow Avenue 659 Norfolk Southern Longswamp (Mertztown) Hilltop Road 700 Norfolk Southern Fleetwood Willow Street 372 Norfolk Southern Cumru Route 724 11,015 Norfolk Southern Sinking Spring Columbia Avenue 7,685 Source: Federal Railroad Administration, Office of Safety Analysis, Accident Prediction Report for At-Grade Highway-Rail Crossings, 2015 132 Long Range Transportation Plan | Reading MPO Berks County Planning Commission Federal Railroad Administration Office of Safety Analysis Long Range Transportation Plan FFY 2017- 2040 Road / Rail Crossings with Greatest Potential for Crashes ´ Map 43 Maxatawny !( Fleetwood !( Maidencreek Rockland !( !( !( BC662 Longswamp Richmond Topton !( Ruscombmanor Rockland Reading Lower Heidelberg ¤£422 BC10 Exeter Sinking Spring !( !( !( BC724 Cumru !( BC724 South Heidelberg 176 ¦¨§ BC724 Spring Robeson BC568 !( Top 10 Potential Crash Crossings US Route Source: Berks County Planning Commmission GIS, Berks County Mapping, Berks County GIS, Berks County Railroads State Route DES, PennDOT March 3, 2016, Federal Railroad Administration December 2015 Interstate Municipal Boundaries BAB 7/16 www.countyofberks.com/planning Chapter 3 – State of the System NON-MOTORIZED TRANSPORTATION Anytime you don’t use your car, the bus or other motorized transport, you become a “non‐ motorized” traveler. These trips take place on a variety of different facilities, some reserved exclusively for non‐motorized users such as sidewalks and trails, while others take place on multi‐function transportation facilities such as bike lanes on streets. Walking and biking are important parts of the county’s overall transportation system as they are two of the most basic and affordable forms of transportation available. The mix of rural roads, city streets, and trails across the County provide bicyclists with varied and challenging routes. Most pedestrian trips are short; therefore, municipalities have the greatest influence on creating viable pedestrian transportation networks. Continuous sidewalks are recognized as the basic network for urban pedestrian transportation. Berks County has a unique group of non‐motorized travelers – the estimated A bicyclist in Topton. Route “L” of the statewide bicycle network runs through 150 Mennonite households in the the Borough. Fleetwood/Kutztown area. They do not use cars, relying instead on horse and buggy, bicycle and walking for all of their transportation. Driving in this area of Berks County is different from driving on other roads. In and around Fleetwood, you will see horse‐drawn buggies or equipment on rural, sometimes narrow roads with cars and trucks as they travel to town or the fields. Fortunately, in Berks County, the number of crashes involving horse and buggies is low. Crashes Involving Horse and Buggy in Berks County Type 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Total Crashes 0 1 1 0 1 3 Injuries 0 1 2 0 2 5 Fatalities 0 1 0 0 0 1 Source: PennDOT Crash Statistics, 2011-2014 Several years ago, RATS, along with other community “stakeholders” drafted a regional bicycle and pedestrian plan. The Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan, adopted in 2010, evaluated the status of 134 Long Range Transportation Plan | Reading MPO Chapter 3 – State of the System bicycle and pedestrian planning in Berks County based on level of service, demand and interest, and existing policy. The plan provided goals, recommendations, and implementation strategies but did not include a prioritized project listing. The MPO commits to initiating an update of this plan by January, 2017. This plan will be both a policy and project based plan and will be a supplement to the LRTP. Non-motorized Transportation as a Means of Commuting Census data shows that walking and biking are not popular means of getting to and from work in Berks County.
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