[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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
