SALEM COUNTY TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION PLAN ELEMENT June, 2012 SALEM COUNTY PLANNING BOARD SALEM COUNTY OFFICES 164 Route 45 Salem, NJ 08079 SALEM COUNTY TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION PLAN ELEMENT June, 2012 Board of Chosen Freeholders Julie A. Acton, Director Benjamin H. Laury, Deputy Director Bruce L. Bobbitt Dale Cross Beth E. Timberman Robert Vanderslice Lee R. Ware Salem County Planning Board John Willadsen, Chairman John Humphreys, II, Vice- Chair Brian Demarest Bill Stoms Charles Tisa Robert Widdifield Julie A. Acton, Freeholder Director Lee R. Ware, Freeholder Dale Cross, Alt. Freeholder Brent Rowand, Alt. 1 Guy Waddington, Alt. 2 James McKelvie, PE County Engineer Charles Munyon, Secretary Salem County Department of Planning and Agriculture Louis C. Joyce, PP, AICP, Director of Planning Charles Munyon, Supervising Planner Matt Goff, Principal Planning Aide Kris Alexander, Agriculture Program Coordinator The preparation of this report has been financed in part by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The United States Government assumes no liability for its contents of its use thereof. Table of Contents SECTION I. INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………..1 SECTION II. EXISTING FACILITIES AND CONDITIONS………………………... 3 County Road Network……………………………………………………… 3 Traffic Problem Areas ……………………………………………………...14 Other Modes of Transportation……………………………………………..19 SECTION III. GROWTH TRENDS AND PROJECTIONS …………………………28 Past Trends…………………………………………………………………. 28 Population Projections……………………………………………………... 29 SECTION IV. TRANSPORTATION OVERVIEW………………………………… 35 SJ Transportation Planning Organization………………………………….. 35 State Transportation Plan …………………………………………………. 35 State Management System…………………………………………………. 35 State Strategic Plan………………………………………………………… 36 State Access Management Code…………………………………………… 38 State Functional Classification System ………………………………… 40 National Highway System ………………………………………………… 40 SECTION V. COUNTY TRANSPORTATION PLAN……………………………… 45 Goals……………………………………………………………………….. 45 Summary of Problems and Needs …………………………………………. 51 County Transportation Plan……………………………………………… 52 TABLES 1 Road Mileage by Jurisdiction……………………………………………….. 3 2 Road Mileage……………………………………………………………….. 7 3 Required Minimum Widths…………………………………………………. 8 4 Intersections with 10 Accidents or More - 2008-2010…………………….. 14 5 Municipalities with Leading Growth………………………………………. 28 6 Projected Census…………………………………………………………… 29 7 Growth Trends and Projections …………………………………………… 30 8 Population Trends and Projections………………………………………… 31 FIGURES 1 Regional Location Map………. ………………………………………...... 5 2 Traffic Counts …………………………………………………………… 6 i FIGURES (continued) 3 Inter-County Commuting Patterns ………………………………………… 9 4 Existing Functional Classification ………………………………………… 11 5 Existing Shoulder Widths ………………………………………………… 12 6 Existing Road Right-of-Ways …………………………………………….. 13 7 Traffic Signals and Flashing Beacons ……………………………………... 16 8 High Accident Intersections ………………………………………………. 17 9 Structurally Deficient Bridges …………………………………………….. 22 10 Public Transportation Routes …………………………………………… 23 11 Bicycle Facilities………………………………………………………… 24 12 Rail & Other Modes of Transportation …………………………………… 25 13 Municipal Growth Trends ………………………………………………… 32 14 SJTPO RTP - Problem Areas …………………………………………… 37 15 State Development/Redevelopment Plan …………………………………. 39 16 Highway Access Management Code ……………………………….……. 41 17 State Functional Classification System …………………………………… 42 18 National Highway System ……………………………………………… 43 19 Future Functional Classification System …………………………………. 55 ii I. INTRODUCTION TO THE SALEM COUNTY TRANSPORTATION PLAN The primary concern of the Salem County Transportation Plan is the maintenance and improvement of a transportation system that provides for the safe and efficient movement of vehicles and people. Its focus is facilities under County jurisdiction, as well as the total interconnected county system of roads, mass transit and pedestrian and cycling facilities. In addition to the responding to problems created by increasing traffic volumes and system deterioration, the Plan recognizes the general importance of: Supporting economic development (including movement of goods and services) Providing service to transit-dependents and others Reducing vehicular-related air pollution (e.g., by developing strategies to discourage growth in traffic volumes and encourage alternative means of transportation such as mass transit) Providing safe and user-friendly facilities for pedestrians and bicyclists Preserving the rural character of the County and its towns and villages (e.g., by mitigating the disruptive effects of increasing volumes of through-traffic on rural communities) Preserving and protecting the natural environment, farmland, and historic sites and structures As a result of these concerns, the County Planning staff, Planning Board, and other County departments, committees and officials are involved in a wide range of transportation planning activities. These activities include the maintenance and improvement of the County road system, land use planning, e.g., State Plan development process, the improvement and upgrading of the mass transit system, promotion of strategies that reduce the volume of single occupancy automobiles (ridesharing, bicycling), and improvement of intermodal connections between the various modes of goods movement The transportation planning process must balance conflicting goals and values and limited financial resources in an effort to deal with a wide range of transportation needs and problems. While the apparent solution to a traffic problem might be widening of an existing road, this increased capacity can result in an increase in traffic volumes and vehicular air pollution. The traffic increase can also have a negative impact on the rural character of towns and villages, and the new construction can impact on wetlands, T & E species habitat areas or farmland. Due to the complex and regional nature of the issues, the planning process must have both a local and regional perspective. County planning must consider and be coordinated with the plans and programs of adjacent counties, the State Department of Transportation, New Jersey Transit, the State Plan, and the County’s metropolitan planning organization (MPO) and others. The South Jersey Transportation Planning Organization (SJTPO), which is the four-county MPO that serves Salem County, helps to provide this regional approach and inter-county coordination, as well as the coordination of state and federal funding for transportation projects and studies. SJTPO is responsible for the development of a regional transportation plan (RTP) and an annual transportation improvement program. The basic elements of the Salem County Transportation Plan are – June, 2012 1 Traffic and Transportation Plan General statement of purpose and objectives of the Plan Identification of existing facilities Identification of problems and needs The Transportation Plan – which includes a statement of goals and objectives, the County Circulation Plan, and a review of proposed/recommended major road improvements June, 2012 2 Traffic and Transportation Plan II. EXISTING FACILITIES AND CONDITIONS The purpose of this section is to identify and define the County transportation system including the State and US routes that impact on the County road network, and to identify existing deficiencies and problem areas, such as congestion and high accident locations, along this system. COUNTY ROAD NETWORK Total Road Mileage A network of municipal, County, State and Federal routes serve local and inter-county travel. Table 1 lists total route mileage of each County, State and Federal route, and total mileage of local routes within each municipality. The following is a summary of the mileage breakdown from Table 1: TABLE 1 Road Mileage by Jurisdiction Percent of Total Jurisdiction Mileage Mileage Municipal 447 50 % County 354 40 % State + 47 5 % Federal 32 4 % I-295 9 1 % NJ Turnpike 7 <1 % Total 893 100 % + Although NJ 55 serves the travel needs of residents in the eastern portion of the County, it cannot be viewed as being located within Salem County and so its mileage is not included in this table. Regional System As can be seen in Figure 1 the County is well situated with respect to a regional transportation system. The Delaware Memorial Bridge links Salem County with Wilmington, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. via Interstate 95 Highway access from the County to Philadelphia and to central/northern New Jersey is provided by the New Jersey Turnpike and I-295 in the west and by NJ 55 in the east (which connects with I-295 via NJ 42.) US 40 connects the Delaware Memorial Bridge and the western urbanized portion of the County to the cities of Vineland and to Atlantic County and City NJ 49 shares approximately the same western terminus as US 40, providing access to the cities of Bridgeton and Millville, and to the shore area of Cape May County The regional north-south routes in the County, which serve inter-county travel to Gloucester County and beyond, are US 130 in the west and NJ 45 in the central portion of the County. NJ 77 connects the Bridgeton area in Cumberland County to NJ 45 in Mullica Hill. June, 2012 3 Traffic and Transportation Plan County Route 540 also serves as a major inter-county east-west route, linking the County’s western urban