ACCESSACCESS MANAGEMENTMANAGEMENT Along Pennsylvania Highways IN THE DELAWARE VALLEY City Avenue/US1 Case Study Corridor 2005 ACCESSACCESS MANAGEMENTMANAGEMENT Along Pennsylvania Highways IN THE DELAWARE VALLEY City Avenue/US1 Case Study Corridor 2005 Created in 1965, the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) is an interstate, intercounty and intercity agency that provides continuing, comprehensive and coordinated planning to shape a vision for the future growth of the Delaware Valley region. The region includes Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties, as well as the City of Philadelphia, in Pennsylvania; and Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and Mercer counties in New Jersey. DVRPC provides technical assistance and services; conducts high priority studies that respond to the requests and demands of member state and local governments; fosters cooperation among various constituents to forge a consensus on diverse regional issues; determines and meets the needs of the private sector; and practices public outreach efforts to promote two-way communication and public awareness of regional issues and the Commission. Our logo is adapted from the official DVRPC seal, and is designed as a stylized image of the Delaware Valley. The outer ring symbolizes the region as a whole, while the diagonal bar signifies the Delaware River. The two adjoining crescents represent the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of New Jersey. DVRPC is funded by a variety of funding sources including federal grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA), the Pennsylvania and New Jersey departments of transportation, as well as by DVRPC’s state and local member governments. The authors, however, are solely responsible for its findings and conclusions, which may not represent the official views or policies of the funding agencies. ACCESS MANAGEMENT ALONG PENNSYLVANIA HIGHWAYS IN THE DELAWARE VALLEY Case Study Corridor: City Avenue, US 1 i TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ……………………………… …………………. 1 1 INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………………. 3 2 ROADWAY CHARACTERISTICS ……………………………………… 4 3 TRAFFIC SAFETY EVALUATION ……………………………………… 9 LOCATIONS………………………………….…………………………… 9 PATTERNS……………………………………………………………….. 10 CAUSATION FACTORS…………………………………………………… 14 COUNTERMEASURES……………………………………………………. 15 4 CONCEPTUAL PLAN …………………………………………………….. 16 5 CONCLUSIONS …………………………………………………………… 19 LIST OF FIGURES 1 Traffic Volumes & Land Use ……………………………………………… 7 2 Traffic Accident Types at Priority Locations ……………………………. 11 3 Conceptual Highway Access Management Plan ………………… Back Pocket LIST OF TABLES 1 Accident Locations ………………………………………………………… 10 2 Accident Patterns …………………………………………………………. 13 3 Access Management Strategies ………………………………………… 16 ACCESS MANAGEMENT ALONG PENNSYLVANIA HIGHWAYS IN THE DELAWARE VALLEY Case Study Corridor: City Avenue, US 1 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report presents a conceptual plan for the improvement of congestion and safety along City Avenue / US 1 between 54th Street and the I-76 interchange ramps. The project began in support of PENNDOT’s effort to create model access management ordinances for implementation by municipalities statewide. Because of its relation to PENNDOT’s statewide access management project, this report and the recommended improvement strategies focus largely on access management principles. DVRPC’s access management work program involved a regional steering committee comprised of regional and county transportation and community planners, and representatives from the City of Philadelphia’s Streets department, PENNDOT District 6-0 Traffic Engineering and Highway Permits units, and SEPTA Service Planning department. This steering committee helped DVRPC staff during all of the steps of this project. With the help of the steering committee members, DVRPC staff identified two corridors for case study evaluation – City Avenue, US 1 (63rd Street to I-76 interchange ramps) and County Line Road, PA 3 (North Wales Road to the Sellersville Bypass). Each corridor illustrates a different area type and development pattern, and therefore, are good examples of access management implementation in diverse circumstances. Initially, PENNDOTs’ ordinances were to be organized around “area type”, which is one reason why the case study corridors are so diverse. The current project plan calls for the ordinances to be based on functional class. Even with this change in emphasis, the chosen corridors are useful for illustrating the applications of access management in diverse settings. This Technical Memorandum focuses on City Avenue, which is a densely developed roadway with mixed land uses directly abutting sidewalks. The presence of St Joseph’s University within this corridor contributes to a high level of pedestrian use in some areas. This corridor represents a more urban area type and would primarily require retrofit access management strategies. DVRPC staff evaluated PENNDOT’s model ordinances in relation to the current conditions along the City Avenue case study corridor and identified the access management approaches that would have the greatest impact on the corridor through retrofit implementation. These approaches were then assembled into a theoretical conceptual plan. During the evaluation of the case study corridor, it was found that the northern portion of the corridor — where traffic volume is highest — recorded a distinct decline in the number of traffic accidents. In this area many access management strategies, such as a non-traversable median, designated left turn lanes, joint driveways with cross access, service roads, and bus pullouts, are already being employed. The combination of these access management practices reveals the expected outcome of traffic accident reduction even in a high congestion area. ACCESS MANAGEMENT ALONG PENNSYLVANIA HIGHWAYS IN THE DELAWARE VALLEY 2 Case Study Corridor: City Avenue, US 1 The conceptual plan cites several access management related improvements that aim to increase safety and efficiency along City Avenue. Since the northern portion of the corridor already exhibits many access management principles, most of the recommendations relate to the area between 54th Street and 50th Street. This case study corridor of City Avenue is just one example of the potential impact of access management. This case study focuses on a densely developed, mixed use area, which is one of the hardest environments in which to make meaningful changes. The challenges of retrofit implementation further illustrate the value of establishing access management ordinances prior to the development of an area whenever possible. The case study conceptual plan exercise for City Avenue demonstrated, in real terms, the traffic safety benefits of the access management practices already in place along the corridor. Even in areas with relatively high volumes of traffic and congestion, traffic safety can be improved through the implementation of simple access management techniques such as medians, designated turn lanes, service roads, and joint access. It is hoped that the City Avenue corridor conceptual plan’s proposals will foster coordination between municipal leaders, PENNDOT personnel, and the development community. These partners can work together to establish comprehensive municipal plans and land development practices, develop official maps for future roadway rights of way, and locate and design sensible access points along state and local highways in Lower Merion Township and the City of Philadelphia. ACCESS MANAGEMENT ALONG PENNSYLVANIA HIGHWAYS IN THE DELAWARE VALLEY Case Study Corridor: City Avenue, US 1 3 1 INTRODUCTION Access Management is one of many strategies that a municipality can use to improve the function of its roadways. The methods employed in access management seek to optimize and maintain the existing transportation system while preparing for its future growth. Access management is a relatively low cost strategy to reduce congestion and increase both the efficiency and safety of a roadway. When consistently implemented, these strategies produce impressive results. National studies show that access management techniques can contribute to a 40 percent reduction in highway collisions and increase vehicular mobility by 30 percent. The methodology behind DVRPC’s work program emphasized the implementation of appropriate access management strategies in association with PENNDOT’s Model Access Management Ordinances project to extend the serviceability and improve the traffic safety along state and local roads. The methodology of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission’s (DVRPC) Access Management Planning is based in its regional Congestion Management System (CMS) Planning. The aim of the Congestion Management System is to minimize congestion and enhance the mobility of both people and goods. Additionally, the Congestion Management System acts as a connection between the region’s Long Range Plan and the region’s Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) to ensure that the appropriate regional transportation facilities are improved. An initial step of Congestion Management System Planning was to define congested corridors and subcorridors within the Delaware Valley. The system plan then considered the characteristics of each subcorridor and provided strategies for congestion mitigation at each location — one being access management strategies. DVRPC’s access management work program was created to support the effort of PENNDOT’s