Kittery Area Comprehensive Transportation System Long Range Transportation Plan 2019 As approved by the KACTS Policy Committee on May 15, 2019 This page intentionally left blank KACTS 2019 Long Range Transportation Plan Table of Contents 1. Introduction……………………………………………………………….. ……... 1 2. Vision for 2045 and Plan Goals…………………………………………............... 6 3. Existing Conditions…………..…………………………………………………... 28 4. Planning for Future Conditions and Growth………….……………………….... 63 5. Implementation: Goals and Actions……………………………………... ……... 71 Vision and Purpose The KACTS Long Range Transportation Plan is a reference document designed to guide the region’s long-range decision making in regards to its transportation network. It involves various transportation trends, priorities and projects and reflects a greater need to plan for the region’s future. The plan is a blueprint that identifies and describes goals, objectives and options for meeting current and future needs, thereby ensuring quality of life for all residents of the region. This page intentionally left blank 1. Introduction The Kittery Area Comprehensive Transportation System (KACTS) is the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) covering the Kittery, Maine urban area and Maine portions of the Dover-Rochester, New Hampshire urban area since 1982. MPOs are required by federal law to be established in urbanized regions with 50,000 or more people. In its role as an MPO, KACTS oversees transportation planning and initiatives in the towns of Berwick, Eliot, Kittery, South Berwick and York, Maine. Taking a regional approach, KACTS works to address issues in the areas of transit, traffic incident management, and transportation demand management. This includes working with our Maine counterparts, the Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation System, Androscoggin Transportation Resource Center, and the Bangor Area Comprehensive Transportation system. Similarly, KACTS works with its New Hampshire equivalents across the state line, the Strafford MPO and Rockingham MPO. KACTS is primarily funded through the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Surface Transportation Program, but it also receives funds from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) to oversee projects in the region. Each of these agencies promote transportation systems that are safe, accessible, multi-modal and comprehensive, with additional requirements changing upon the reauthorization of federal funding bills. Previously, the funding authorization came from a bill called Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century, or MAP-21. Upon its expiration in 2015, Congress authorized MAP-21’s successor, Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, or FAST Act. Under the FAST Act, MPOs are required to outline Performance Measures to track their progress over time, as well as evaluate their assets and outline capital improvements and investments. The KACTS region changes with each decennial census. Changes in population and road networks affect the urban area, and consequently the MPO area. Most recently, the 2010 census added York to the Kittery urban area, incorporating it into the KACTS region. Similarly, the 2000 census divided the Dover-Rochester-Portsmouth, New Hampshire urban area into two separate urban areas: Dover-Rochester and Portsmouth, both of which bleed into the KACTS geographic area. The KACTS Region Located at the tip of Southern Maine, the region boasts coastal and rural amenities while simultaneously being in proximity to Boston and Haverhill, Massachusetts, Portland, Maine and Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Harsh New England winter weather conditions and high volumes of traffic during summer months strain the major road networks in the KACTS region. Mainly, Interstate 95, U.S. Route 1, and several state highways such as Route 236 and Route 91 which span from Berwick to York. According to the 2017 American Community Survey, the KACTS region has KACTS Long Range Transportation Plan 2019 1 a population of 47,071 and covers 161.8 square miles of land. The largest town in the region is York, with a population of 13,750 and the smallest, Eliot, has a population of 6,412. South Berwick, Berwick, and Kittery each have similar populations at 7,286, 7,919, and 9,687, respectively. Each community has its own unique characteristics. Most notably, York and Kittery have several commercial areas, including York Village along Route 1A, the York and Kittery Outlets on Route 1, and Kittery Foreside, which harbors the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, one of the largest employers in the region. Other clusters of residential developments also exist in the south central part of Berwick, Cape Neddick in York Beach, and along Route 103 in Eliot and Kittery. Primary road networks that experience large traffic flows include Route 236 in Eliot, Route 9 in Berwick, and Route 1. Source: Esri Population Trends by Town 16000 14000 12000 10000 8000 6000 4000 2000 0 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2014 2015 2016 2017 Berwick Eliot Kittery South Berwick York Source: American Community Survey KACTS Long Range Transportation Plan 2019 2 As is the trend across the country, much of the region’s population is comprised of “baby boomers”, or those born between roughly 1954 and 1964. Maine also has the 7th highest percentage of its population over the age of 65, with an estimated 14.4% of the state’s population age 65 or older. In the KACTS region, about 20% of the population is between age 55 and 59, as illustrated in the age pyramid on the right side of this page. With much of the population approaching retirement age, there are important considerations and planning strategies that must be incorporated into the transportation system. Increasing the walkability of our transportation system and transit opportunities will be crucial in preparing for this significant shift in demographics. Source: Esri, 2017 KACTS Administration KACTS operates based on its work plan, or Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP). The UPWP outlines costs and how planning funds will be used for a two-year period. Similarly, the KACTS Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) outlines a list of upcoming projects for a period of four years. Each project is selected by the KACTS Policy Committee and appropriated based on town matching and MaineDOT funds. The Policy Committee has 2 voting members each for the towns of Kittery and York, and 1 voting member each for Eliot, South Berwick, Berwick, MaineDOT, Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission (SMPDC), the Maine Turnpike Authority (MTA) and a public transportation representative. In the case of KACTS, the public transportation representative is the York County Community Action Corporation. The committee also has the following non-voting members: Strafford Regional Planning Commission, Rockingham Planning Commission, New Hampshire Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, and Federal Transit Administration. Under the provisions of 23 U.S. Code § 134 (23 CFR Part 450.306), MPOs are required to, in cooperation with State and regional planning partners: “develop long-range transportation plans and TIPs through a performance-driven, outcome-based approach to planning for metropolitan areas of the state”. This performance-based approach is required to be in support of the national performance goals described in 23 USC § 150(b): 1. Safety – To achieve a significant reduction in traffic fatalities and serious injuries on all public roads. KACTS Long Range Transportation Plan 2019 3 2. Infrastructure Condition – To maintain the highway infrastructure asset system in a state of good repair 3. Congestion Reduction – To achieve a significant reduction in congestion on the National Highway System 4. System Reliability – To improve the efficiency of the surface transportation system 5. Freight Movement and Economic Vitality – To improve the national freight network, strengthen the ability of rural communities to access national and international trade markets, and support regional economic development 6. Environmental Sustainability – To enhance the performance of the transportation system while protecting and enhancing the natural environment 7. Reduced Project Delivery Delays – To reduce project costs, promote jobs and the economy, and expedite the movement of people and goods by accelerating project completion through eliminating delays in the project development and delivery process, including reducing regulatory burdens and improving agencies’ work practices. KACTS Planning Area KACTS Long Range Transportation Plan 2019 4 KACTS operates to carry out the provisions of governing Federal laws. This allows the KACTS Policy Committee to make decisions at the local level, while collaborating with MaineDOT and the Southern Maine Planning & Development Commission (SMPDC) to provide technical and administrative support. FHWA, FTA and local and state matching revenues fund KACTS, and require the following administrative documents to be published: The Long Range Transportation Plan Updated every five years, the Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) covers transportation planning, policy and fiscal issues over at least a twenty-year period. All modes of transportation are considered including highways, transit services, airports, shipping and freight facilities, and bicycle and pedestrian networks. Looking at these networks and their relative safety, security and services in the long term is beneficial to KACTS. It allows for planning for network expansion,