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THE COUNTY’S TRANSPORTATION NETWORK
What’s New
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Several major roadways have benefitted from dramatic
improvements in the last ten years. The Pennsylvania
Turnpike was reconstructed and widened from four to
six lanes between the Mid-County interchange in
Plymouth Township and the Valley Forge interchange
in Upper Merion Township. The new US 202
Parkway connecting Lower Gwynedd Township with
PA 611 in Bucks County was built with an adjacent
multi-purpose trail. And the Fort Washington
Expressway (PA 309) was reconstructed between
Greenwood Avenue in Cheltenham Township and PA
63 in Lower Gwynedd Township.
•
Federal and state gas taxes provide most of the
funding for road and bridge projects. At a time when
the service life of many of our highways is running out
(increasing the need for funding), increased popularity
of hybrid and fuel-efficient vehicles has reduced the
number of gallons of gas purchased, resulting in fewer
available dollars for transportation projects.
•
Because of inadequate funding levels, many projects -
some of them major - have had to be pushed back.
These include: Phase 2 of the PA 309 Connector
Project in Franconia and Hatfield Townships, portions
of the US 422 Reconstruction near Pottstown, and the
reconstruction and widening of Ridge Pike between
Norristown Borough and Philadelphia in Plymouth
and Whitemarsh Townships. The total cost of deferred
projects in Montgomery County alone is nearly $500
million; regionally, that amount is several billion.
•
Since its adoption in 2008, Smart Transportation has
become an integrated part of PennDOT’s design
manual. Smart Transportation is a way to design and
implement fiscally-constrained and context-sensitive
transportation planning projects so that solutions are
tailored to the local context of a roadway’s service
area. It also provides strategies for planning for
alternate transportation modes.
Vehicles
Transit
Pedestrian Mobility
Bicycle Mobility
Aviation
Freight
Vehicles
For more than 60 years, the personal auto has been the
dominant mode of transportation for suburban workers
and residents. According to the 2011 American
Community Survey (ACS), 80% of Montgomery County
workers got to work by driving alone. More than half of
all county residents have access to two or more vehicles,
and 32% have access to at least one vehicle. Only 6%
lack access to a vehicle.
The county’s low-density suburban development impedes
the use of alternative modes like transit and walking,
forcing many residents to use vehicles for all of their
transportation needs, even for short trips. As the county
grows, increased traffic congestion will grow as well.
Between 2000 and 2007, the total number of vehicle
miles traveled (VMT) in Montgomery County increased
by 8.5%. While the economic downturn reduced this
demand after 2007, by 2010 the VMT was still 1.5%
above 2000 levels.
Traffic congestion has many negative impacts on the
economic and environmental well-being of county
workers and residents. Limiting its impacts is vital to the
health and wellness of all.
An approach to curbing congestion is Travel Demand
Management (TDM), which strives to minimize single-
driver automobile use as a principal mode of
transportation, especially during rush hours. By
providing commuters flexibility in their choice of
workplace location, commute time-of-day, and route and
mode taken, it’s possible to reduce congestion. TDM can
include different tools such as carpools, park and ride
lots, car sharing, and workplace flexibility like
compressed workweeks, flextime, or telecommuting.
Additional mobility options are provided by non-profit
membership organizations called transportation
management associations or TMAs. TMAs advocate for
viable transportation networks in their communities and
provide supplemental transit service where needed. Two
TMAs serve Montgomery County - the Greater Valley
PLANNING ISSUE
Available funding for vital road
and bridge projects is at a
critical low while significant
traffic congestion still remains
around the county. Strategies
to reduce congestion must be
cost-effective.
