[Adopted 10-3-2017 by Ord. No. 4-2017]
This chapter was adopted to implement the Route 208 Access Management Plan, such that the purpose of this chapter is to:
A. 
Accommodate safe and efficient vehicular, pedestrian, and bicycle traffic;
B. 
Provide for convenient and controlled access points to existing and future commercial development;
C. 
Integrate physical infrastructure (road lanes, multimodal trails, and road crossings) with technological infrastructure (traffic signal timing and coordination) to promote safe and efficient travel along the corridor;
D. 
Coordinate existing and proposed transportation infrastructure with the current and future land use patterns along the corridor; and
E. 
Encourage shared access between adjacent property owners.
A. 
The requirements of this article apply within Springfield Township, Mercer County, Pennsylvania for access to State Route 208 within the limits of Old Ash Road to the west and the Springfield Township/Pine Township border to the east, hereafter the "access management area."
B. 
From the effective date of this article, the provisions of this article apply to the general location and design of the public street network and access to property within the access management area. No driveway or similar access point to a public road or street shall be constructed or altered, and no zoning permit or land development plan shall be approved, except in full compliance to this article.
C. 
Any access that was legally established, but is not in conformance with the standards of this article, is considered a nonconforming access. Any nonconforming access that is in place as of the date of adoption of this article will be allowed to continue as long as the access or the land use it serves is not expanded, discontinued, or changed. The terms "changed" or "expanded" shall include any circumstances where the property owner or applicant applies for a permit under Chapter 425, Zoning, or the Uniform Construction Code that will generate additional peak hour vehicle trips, or any expansion of the existing use that will result in an increase in peak hour vehicle trip generation. Any development that requires Township land development approval and is served by a nonconforming access, the nonconforming access must either be eliminated or brought into conformance with the standards of this article.
D. 
This article supplements the requirements of Chapter 370, Subdivision and Land Development. Therefore, all standards and requirements of this article are in addition to the requirements of Chapter 370, Subdivision and Land Development, and Chapter 425, Zoning.
E. 
If there is a conflict between any provision of this article and any provision of Chapter 370, Subdivision and Land Development, Chapter 425, Zoning, or Pennsylvania Department of Transportation regulations, the more restrictive provision will apply.
A. 
It is the intent of this article to limit the number of vehicular conflict points created by offset and uncoordinated access points, while simultaneously providing adequate access to parcels along SR 208. As such, provision of a two-way left-turn lane (TWLTL) along the SR 208 corridor within the access management area is encouraged. All left turns from SR 208 should be made within the TWLTL or within an exclusive left-turn lane.
B. 
At locations where a significant number of left turns from SR 208 into a driveway are anticipated, an exclusive left-turn lane should be considered in place of the TWLTL. The need for such turn lanes shall be considered based on the criteria set forth in the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's Publication 46 Traffic Engineering Manual auxiliary turn lane guidelines or any other applicable regulations or publications then in place. Expansion of the existing TWLTL along SR 208 within the access management area, including the following sections, should be constructed through PennDOT, grant, development, or other funding sources. This design standard shall not impose any construction obligation on the Township.
(1) 
Includes new TWLTL section from Old Ash Road to Oakley-Kelly Drive.
(2) 
Includes new TWLTL section east of SR 258 to Pine Township border.
C. 
Parallel Supporting Service Road. It is the intent of this article to limit the number of access connections to SR 208 while providing adequate access to parcels as well as improved access for adjacent parcels (or through subdivisions) that currently do not abut SR 208. As such, provision of a parallel supporting service road shall be constructed through the development process, incrementally as development occurs.
(1) 
Due to the level of development along SR 208, a parallel access road is recommended south of SR 208 from Veterans Road to an intersection with Route 208 opposite of the Wendell August Forge driveway. Parcels located along the intended location of the parallel access road shall be designed to accommodate this future road according to this article and Township standards.
(2) 
The parallel access road shall be designed to the standards found in Chapter 370, Subdivision and Land Development.
D. 
Access connection (driveways) standards. Access for a group of parcels having a single tax ID number or contiguous parcels under common ownership as of the effective date of this article are entitled to one access connection to serve the parcels as a group. Additional access may be considered at the discretion of the Township if adequate road frontage exists that meets the spacing requirements set forth in this article. However, one access is encouraged. Subdivisions approved after the effective date of this article do not create the right to a new access connection for each resulting parcel unless approved by the Township as part of an access plan for the development. The number of access connections shall be the minimum number necessary to provide reasonable access to these properties, not the maximum permissible based on the frontage. Parcels that do not meet the spacing requirements set forth in this article, shall be given access via connection to an alternate lower classification roadway or via a shared access with a parcel that has conforming access to SR 208 through adoption of a cross-access easement with the property deed. The easement must include a joint operating and maintenance agreement defining the responsibilities of the property owners. When a parcel abuts more than one road, access is encouraged to be made via the lower classification road except where such access is determined to be impractical. Access connections must not be located within an exclusive turn lane, including taper sections, except where no other reasonable access is available.
E. 
Access connection spacing. Access connections shall be located to provide adequate spacing and offset between adjacent connections, while considering both existing and potential future connections needed to adequately serve future developments. Wherever possible, access connections on opposite sides of Route 208 should be aligned opposite from each other to minimize conflict points. Access connections located between signalized intersections must maintain the following minimum spacing standards:
(1) 
Minimum access connection spacing of 400 feet along SR 208 (minor arterial).
(2) 
Access connections shall be located to maintain maximum distance from any existing intersection of public roads.
F. 
Access connection design. Access driveways are recommended to operate as 3/4 or limited-access driveways; left-in, right-in, right-out movements only, to reduce the number of conflict points. Access driveways shall be designed so as to provide for the safe and efficient movement of traffic between SR 208 and the parcel, and to minimize the potential for queuing of vehicles along SR 208 due to congestion on or at the driveway. Driveway throat length must maintain the following minimum standards based on driveway type, as defined by PennDOT:
(1) 
Minimum use driveway: 25 feet.
(2) 
Low volume driveway: 50 feet or as determined by a vehicle queuing/stacking analysis.
(3) 
Medium volume driveway: 120 feet or as determined by a vehicle queuing/stacking analysis.
(4) 
High volume driveway: 150 feet or as determined by a vehicle queuing/stacking analysis.
G. 
Intersection spacing standards. It is the intent of this article to maintain a progressive movement of through traffic along SR 208 within the access management area. As such, all future signalized intersections within the access management area are to be considered based on the criteria set forth in the most recent edition of the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices, and any revisions thereto, signal warrant criteria. Furthermore, all future signalized intersections shall maintain the following spacing standards as determined through the research published by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program in Report 420, Impacts of Access Management Techniques and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Publication 46 Traffic Engineering Manual.
(1) 
Minimum signalized intersection spacing of 1/4 mile.
(2) 
Optimum signalized intersection spacing of 1/2 mile.
(3) 
It is the intent of this article to limit all potential future signalized intersections at locations that have four approach legs through either the creation of new roadways and/or through the realignment of existing roadways.
(4) 
All proposed intersections must be located to provide adequate intersection sight distance as defined in the most recent editions of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's Publication 13M, Design Manual Part 2, Highway Design and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials' (AASHTO) A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets.
(5) 
Public intersections and access driveways are measured from the center line of the intersection/driveway to the center line of the next intersection/driveway.
H. 
Sidewalks and multi-use trail. Adequate visibility of pedestrians and bicyclists on sidewalks and/or multi-use trails shall be provided through an appropriate setback from the SR 208 traveled way. Provision of pedestrian safety treatments, including marked pedestrian crosswalks, ADA-compliant features, appropriate pedestrian crossing warning signage compliant with the most recent edition of the FHWA MUTCD, and pedestrian crossing equipment at signalized intersections shall be provided.
The penalty provision set forth in Ordinance No. 2-2017, the Springfield Township Mercer County Subdivision and Land Development 2017 Ordinance, at Section 704, entitled Enforcement Remedies,[1] is hereby incorporated in this article and shall pertain to and be the enforcement remedies set forth in this article, with the exception that this article is not enacted under the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code but is a stand-alone and separate ordinance enacted pursuant to the Pennsylvania Second Class Township Code. The incorporation of the enforcement remedies herein to be penalties for a violation of this article shall survive any amendment or repeal of Ordinance No. 2-2017.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 370, Subdivision and Land Development, § 370-67, Violations and penalties.
This article shall be in effect five days following its adoption.
All ordinances, Code sections or parts thereof in conflict herewith are hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict.
Should any sentence, section, clause, part or provision of this article be declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the same shall not affect the validity of the article as a whole, or any part thereof other than the part declared to be invalid.