Mercer County Regional Planning Commission, Hermitage, Pennsylvania

 

Mercer County Transportation Planning

Mercer / Lawrence Counties

Bicycle/Pedestrian Transportation Plan

Prepared For:

Mercer County Regional Planning Commission and the
Lawrence County Planning Commission

By:


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Gannett Fleming, Inc. wishes to thank the members of the Lawrence/Mercer County Bicycle/Pedestrian Committee and its guests for their insights, knowledge, and ongoing participation as we conduct this study. We appreciate your constructive dialog, active review of materials, and attendance at the meetings.

Dave Bachman, PA Statewide Bike/Ped Coordinator
Bret Baronak, Indiana County Office of Planning & Development
Mike Bolt, Mercer County Rails to Trails
Clair Bruce, Lawrence County Bike/Ped
Steve Craig, AICP Lawrence County Planning Commission
Bjorn Gabrielsson
Daniel Gracenin, MCRPC
Lotte Herwig-Erhardt
Marcia Hirschmann, City of Hermitage
Gary Lilly, Westminster College
Richard Lutz, North Country Trail Assn. (Wampum Chapter)
Patti Marshall, PennDOT Central Office
JoAnn McBride
John McGoldrick, Shenango Outing Club
Floyd Newingham, Bicycles and More
Gary Roberts, Mercer County
Gary Semroc, Mercer County Rails to Trails
Don Stoner, Lawrence County Committee on Disability
Tim Wofford, Two-Tired Bike Club

Gannett Fleming Staff:

Patrick Wright
Brian Funkhouser
Michael Ferraro

Rails to Trails Conservancy:

Tom Sexton
Jamie Bridges

 

Table of Contents

1. Bicycle/Pedestrian Overview
2. Introduction
2.1 Vision Statement
2.2 Goals/Objectives
3. The Action Plans
3.1 Action Plan Format
4. Conclusion

 

Lawrence/Mercer Counties Bicycle/Pedestrian Plan

The Lawrence/Mercer County Bicycle/Pedestrian Committee began meeting on October 25, 1999. The two counties began the effort to bring together knowledgeable and interested individuals to look at both on and off road bicycling opportunities in the region and how these opportunities can be facilitated, supported and promoted.

As with any plan, the Lawrence/Mercer County Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan begins with a vision statement, followed by a list of goals and objectives that support the intent of the planning vision. These planning goals and objectives are in turn followed by a section of strategies, or "action steps" that must be taken by a variety of agencies and organizations in meeting the plan’s objectives.

2.1 Vision Statement

"Organizations in the Lawrence and Mercer County region value the importance of walking and bicycling for transportation, recreation, health and wellness, and will actively plan and provide for the safe integration of waking and bicycling into transportation, recreation and tourism."

2.2 Goals/Objectives

Committee members developed a list of planning goals that, if realized, would make the Lawrence/Mercer bike/ped plan a success.

After much discussion, the committee offered the following examples:

  • Better connections from within the region to outside of the region

  • Getting shoulders paved

  • Better berm maintenance

  • Encourage children to ride to school

  • County planning commissions receive more volunteer help

  • Berms that will hold up under steel wheels of buggies

  • Better signage ("Share The Road")

  • Tourism mapping

  • Better maintenance of trails

  • Establishment of connector trails between proposed and established trails

  • Mainstream bicycle and pedestrian planning at the local level

  • Get local decision-makers on board

Marketing plan for bicycle and pedestrian to encourage involvement and progressiveness

  • Bring developers on board

  • A good network that identifies missing links

  • Resolve conflicts with property rights issues (especially rail trails)

  • Provide safe places to ride in business districts

  • Provide education programs

  • Better maintenance of shoulders

  • A greater sensitivity by those in the profession

  • Better maintenance of existing infrastructure

 

It was mentioned that Lawrence County is getting 14 new buses at the end of October 1999 with bicycle racks, so bike racks is not much of an issue for the region.

It was explained that some of the success factors could conceivably become planning goals. Each committee member was given the opportunity to vote for the top three bike/ped issues he/she believed to be the most important in the region. After much discussion, the goals were revised to those listed below (with plan objectives sub-bulleted):

  • Develop roadway/trail network

  • Provide connections with other regions (e.g. Ohio, Pittsburgh, etc.)

  • Improve safety/signage in the region for safety and tourism

  • Education of general public and authorities

  • Develop a map/graphics as an outreach tool

  • Tourism mapping for people who want to ride the back roads

  • Conduct promotional/awareness events

  • More public events to create public awareness of bicycle and pedestrian issues such as "Ride Your Bike to Work Day" or maybe through the promotion of the new bicycle racks on the buses

  • Encourage pedestrian travel by enhancement of facilities

  • Bicycle racks on buses

  • Advocate more funding at state/federal level

  • Explore alternative funding opportunities

  • Provide more planning staff support for bike/ped planning

  • Develop a maintenance policy to take care of what exists - berm maintenance in Lawrence County could be better

The committee deemed the plan’s top goals to be:

  • Education of general public and authorities

  • Development of a Bike/Ped Network

  • Development of a maintenance policy to take care of what exists

Education of General Public and Authorities

The engagement of the general public and local/county government is critical. Working with local communities in the planning and design of facilities is important for two different purposes to: 1) engage those who do not understand the needs and may react negatively, and 2) to embrace those who do understand the needs and solicit their ideas/input.

Some key issues for the plan related to local government

involvement are as follows:

  • The plan should build off the respective county’s existing long-range plan and other state agency policy documents, such as PennPlan.

  • Plan goals must be developed with specific and measurable targets.

  • Annual work plans for the counties should be developed based on the strategic plan goals and local priorities.

  • A systems process to monitor implementation and refine the plan should be developed, such as annual bike/ped report card, which can be based on accomplishments of the annual work plans.

  • The bi-county plan should be maintained through an interactive facilitated process with the two member county planning commissions.

  • The plan should address bike/ped-related elements, including tourism, economic development, recreation, employers, community involvement, transit and other stakeholders.

  • The plan must be multimodal – maximizing opportunities to improve bike/ped vis a vis highways, transit, intercity bus/rail and airports.

Development of a Bicycle/Pedestrian Network

The identification of a bike/ped network is an essential component of any bicycle and pedestrian transportation plan. Network links should include roadway and non-roadway facilities, greenways and/or hiker-only trails. The network should consider point-to-point travel within the region, as well as intra- and inter-regional bike/ped travel. Planning for these routes should be a cooperative planning effort among planning jurisdictions so that logical routes are not left incomplete. The network will serve not as a county-recommended bicycle route guide, but rather as a planning tool to be used by the Lawrence/Mercer County Planning Commissions, PennDOT, and local municipalities in their capital improvement and maintenance programs.

Mapping is one of the important end products of bicycle/pedestrian planning and can be used for a wide variety purposes. The key to developing good maps is to clearly define the purpose and intended audience. As previously noted, there is a significant difference of needed information between a map developed as a planning and programming tool versus one developed to provide touring route information. The essential purpose of map design and development is for improved planning and programming.

The Lawrence/Mercer Bicycle/Pedestrian Committee developed a priority bicycle/pedestrian network at its December 6, 1999 meeting. This network is dynamic in nature, and is subject to continual refinement. At the time of this writing, the network is being digitized by the respective planning commission staffs of the two counties.

The network is composed of a variety of facilities, including existing and proposed trails and roadway-based facilities. Committee members were divided into four groups (two for each county). The two county groups were then responsible to identify any existing and proposed facilities for inclusion on a proposed bike/ped network for the bi-county region. Municipal and/or state policies were also considered.

After a 45-minute period, committee members reconvened. Each group had a spokesperson explain the work that had been done for both counties. Highlights from both groups included:

Deficient Shoulders

  • PA 208 between Grove City Borough and Leesburg

  • PA 258 between Mercer and Exit 31 on I-79

  • PA 158 between Mercer and the Lawrence County line

  • SR 3011 (Keel Ridge Road) between City of Hermitage and the Lawrence County line

  • PA 846 between Greenville Borough and City of Hermitage

  • SR 4027 (Fredonia Road) between Fredonia Borough and Greenville Borough

  • SR 1008 (District Road) between PA 58 and Stoneboro Borough

  • SR 4005 (Jamestown Road) between Jamestown Borough and Greenville Borough

  • PA 173 between Sandy Lake Borough and intersection of Prospect Road

  • Portions of Prospect, Georgetown and Sheakleyville Roads between PA 173 and Sheakleyville Borough

Proposed trails

  • A trail linking Ellwood City with Beaver Falls

  • A trail linking New Castle with Bessemer and the Cardinal Trail in Ohio

  • Trails along the Shenango River and Neshannock Creek north of New Castle

  • Along Neshannock and Cool Spring Creek between Jackson Center Borough and the Lawrence County line

  • From Sandy Lake Borough to the proposed Allegheny Valley Trails system

  • A trail linking Jamestown Borough with Stoneboro/Sandy Lake Boroughs

Additionally, the committee identified 26 areas of pedestrian concern in each county.

Development of a Maintenance Policy

The bi-county bicycle/pedestrian committee should monitor and maintain a list of high priority bike/ped projects and/or maintenance issues for placement on PennDOT’s Betterment Program, Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) as well as the Twelve Year Program. PennDOT District 1-0 should conduct periodic inspections of state-owned portions of the roadway-based links of the Lawrence/Mercer Bicycle Pedestrian Network, and especially on the Western North-South route of the "Bicycle PA" network of touring corridors.

3.1.1 TEA-21

In June 1998, a new federal surface transportation funding act was signed into law. The Transportation Efficiency Act for the 21st Century, or TEA-21 was landmark legislation, in that it not only continued the visionary policies of its predecessor, ISTEA, but it provided more funding than ever before for non-motorized transportation modes, specifically, bicycle and pedestrian modes. Under the new law, Pennsylvania will receive nearly $1.3 billion in transportation funding, a significant increase over ISTEA levels.

TEA-21 has extended the visionary legislation of its predecessor by continuing the multimodal emphasis of transportation planning and programming on non-motorized modes of travel, particularly for cyclists and pedestrians. Bike/ped planning is no longer the unwanted stepchild of transportation planning. In fact, there is a greater realization and even a greater receptivity among transportation professionals to improve the bike-ped modes and in so doing improve the overall transportation system. Bicycle/pedestrian planning is neither generic, nor "cookie cutter" in its application.

3.1.2 The Transportation Enhancements Program

The Transportation Enhancements Program continues under the new law, providing more funds for a greater variety of projects. Pennsylvania is expected to receive $120 million over the six-year life of TEA-21 for Transportation Enhancements. A few of the more popular projects that are funded include:

  • The provision of facilities for pedestrians and bicycles,

  • Provision of safety and education activities for pedestrians and bicycles, and

  • Preservation of abandoned railroad corridors for pedestrian and bicycle trails.

The Lawrence/Mercer County region saw 4 applications during the first round of the program in 1998 and 5 in 1999. (There is one more funding round to submit projects during the life of TEA-21 until it expires in 2003.) Individual applicants present their projects to the Shenango Valley Area Transportation Study (for Mercer) and Rural Transportation Planning Committee (in Lawrence County). All Enhancement projects are then reviewed and prioritized by SVATS. The prioritized list is then forwarded to PennDOT’s District and Central offices for final review and finally adoption by the State Transportation Commission.

3.1.3 Revisions to the State Vehicle Code

In December 1998, Title 75 of the state vehicle code was amended to allow for more bicycle and pedestrian-friendly policies. There had been no changes to Title 75 for nearly three years, but the PA House of Representatives passed this new 109-page bill. Some of the highlights include:

  • The legalization of installing bicycle racks on buses

  • Motorized wheelchairs are no longer considered motor vehicles

  • Both motorized as well as hand powered wheelchairs are now permitted on sidewalks but are not considered pedestrians

  • Act 1998-151, a mandatory bike lane/side path law, has now been instituted in Pennsylvania. Prior to 1995, the law stated that if a bike lane/side path exists, bicyclists were required to use it. This law no longer exists. Bicyclists are no longer required to use the bike lane/side path

These changes went into effect in February 1999.

3.1.4 Bicycle PA

"Bicycle PA," the movement to sign and designate six intra-state bicycle routes in Pennsylvania, continues. The Bicycle PA effort includes one route through the Lawrence/Mercer County region, the Western North-South Route. Approximately $800,000 has been requested from enhancement money to fund the signing portion of this project. Acceptance of this application would mean that all six routes in the state would be furnished with "Bicycle PA" signs by the year 2000. (The application was sent in on November 20, 1998.) This effort has been designed for the Type "A" (touring) cyclist (long distance tourer, racer, or fitness rider).

3.1.5 Other

As part of the implementation of its statewide bicycle/pedestrian master plan, PennDOT recently sponsored free training sessions in five locations around the state, which were an outstanding success. PennDOT believes that every designer should be able to recognize what the needs are, when to include them, what type of facility is best, how to design that facility, how it meshes safely with other modes, and the potential to provide intermodal connections and multimodal options. The courses received a 95 % approval rating from attendees. Designers and representatives from PennDOT District 1-0 participated in the training sessions.

4 The Action Plans

Action plans were developed for each of the three planning goals. The action plan outlines implementation steps and related issues.

4.1 Action Plan Format

Each action plan consists of several elements as follows:

  • Issue Area – The name of the planning goal, listed in bold across the top of the action plan.

  • Lawrence/Mercer County Bicycle/Pedestrian Committee Objectives – The committee’s stake in implementing the recommendation

  • Strategies and Actions – Steps that may be necessary to implement the recommendation.

  • Coordination Issues – A list of the stakeholders who will play a role in the implementation process.

  • Resource Issues and Timing – Examines the additional resources and time that may be required to implement the recommendation.

  • Progress and Performance Measurement and Monitoring – Suggested procedures that can be used to judge the effectiveness of the recommendation after it is implemented.

Goal 1: Identify, Prioritize and Implement North/South Bicycle/Pedestrian Routes

Lawrence/Mercer County Bicycle/Pedestrian Committee Objectives:

  • PennDOT District 1-0 will conduct periodic inspections of the state-owned, roadway-based portion of the bikeway network to identify areas in need of repairs and improvements.

  • Provide better bicycle and pedestrian accommodation on U.S. 19.

  • Develop a bike/ped plan for the corridor linking Hermitage and New Castle.

  • A recreational trail is needed connecting Lawrence and Mercer Counties.

 

Strategies and Actions

Coordination Issues

Resource Issues

Results/Benefits/Impacts

Performance Monitoring

· The Mercer/Lawrence County B/P Committee will identify the top 3 routes in the B/P Network to pursue.

· The B/P Committee will pursue the funding and development of a project plan

· The B/P Committee must identify the (lead) players/agencies.

· Local government cooperation and approval.

· PennDOT assistance

· County planning commissions.

· Citizen/advocacy organizations.

· Additional resources may be needed to fund/implement these strategies.

· Mercer/Lawrence Co planning commissions should administer future activities of the B/P Committee.

· Lessen vehicle trips in corridors served by bike/ped routes by better connection of residential, commercial and recreational areas to one another.

· Increased potential for reduced vehicle trips / congestion reduction and safety improvement.

· Routes would supplement the Western North-South route of "Bicycle PA".

· Number of projects under design/construction within 3-5 years.

· Number of bike/ped projects on region’s TIP and statewide 12YP

·

 

 

Goal 2: Create Sample Guidelines for Developers, Planning Commissioners and Elected Officials

Lawrence/Mercer County Bicycle/Pedestrian Committee Objectives:

  • Encourage children to walk/ride to school.

  • Better signage.

  • Mainstream bicycle and pedestrian planning at the local level.

  • Provide safe places to ride in business districts.

  • Greater sensitivity to non-motorized issues by those in the community-building profession.

Strategies and Actions

Coordination Issues

Resource Issues

Results/
Benefits/
Impacts

Performance Monitoring

· County planning commissions in Lawrence and Mercer County will spearhead an effort to create a model ordinance within a year for local municipalities to adopt as part of their subdivision and land development ordinances.

· County Planning Commissions will continue to develop future land use plans that support bicycle and pedestrian travel.

· County planning commissions must take a lead role in coordinating with local planning commissions, PennDOT , the B/P Committee and those in the developer community in creating a model ordinance.

· Additional resources and personnel may be needed to fund/implement these strategies

· Better planning tools in municipal hands.

· Greater community safety.

· Greater "livability", quality of life.

· Greater travel/recreation options.

· Better partnering among agencies involved in community building

· Creation of a bi-county model ordinance.

· Number of new county/municipal policies related to B/P design.

· Number of bicycle and pedestrian-related accidents.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goal 3: Preservation/Acquisition of Abandoned Railroad Lines, Bridges,

Stations and Rights of Way

Lawrence/Mercer Bicycle/Pedestrian Committee Objectives:

  • Identify a good network that identifies missing links.

  • Resolve conflicts with property rights issues.

  • Establish connector trails between proposed and established trails.

  • Create better connections from within the region to outside the region.

Strategies and Actions

Coordination Issues

Resource Issues

Results/Benefits/Impacts

Performance Monitoring

· County planning commissions will develop a plan that promotes political action in turning abandoned lines and facilities into B/P trails.

· Identify funding sources

· Rails to Trails

· State or National Park Service

· PennDOT

· Public Utilities Commission

· Local media

· Additional resources may be needed to be established to fund/implement these objectives.

· The counties should designate a "bike/ped coordinator" or provide for additional resources to its transportation planning staff to be dedicated to these and other B/P issues.

§ Better coordination of the work among agencies and municipalities that will be implementing the Lawrence/Mercer B/P plan.

§ Burnishes tourism efforts.

§ Miles of abandoned corridor s developed into active trails.

 

The Lawrence/Mercer Bicycle/Pedestrian Transportation Plan represents a significant first step for the region in "mainstreaming" bicycle and pedestrian modes of transportation into the transportation planning process.

The "action steps" of the Plan will be dynamic and ongoing in nature, and subject to periodic review and revision by the Lawrence/Mercer Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee. This Bicycle/Pedestrian Transportation Plan should be considered as both an amendment to and element of the region’s overall Long Range Transportation Plan. This larger plan serves as the "umbrella" or planning framework for all other related transportation plans in the region. As such, the region’s bicycle/pedestrian transportation plan should be reviewed and revised in step with each update afforded to the overall plan.

It is the desire of the Lawrence/Mercer Bicycle/ Pedestrian Committee that this plan will provide the planning framework necessary to achieve the three planning goals. It should be viewed as a policy tool that municipalities and PennDOT together can use to encourage and support these non-motorized modes of transportation.

 


Mercer County Regional Planning Commission
2491 Highland Road, Hermitage, PA 16148
mail@mcrpc.com    www.mcrpc.com

 

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