Bethlehem Pike Traffic Taming

The following is excerpted from the "Problem Identification" document (see right).

Location: The study area is a section of Bethlehem Pike, approximately 2.5 miles long, running through Springfield and Whitemarsh Townships, in Montgomery County. The study area extends along Bethlehem Pike from the intersection of Paper Mill Road and Stenton Avenue, north to the intersection of Skippack Pike. The southern end of the study area is adjacent to the City of Philadelphia border. Bethlehem Pike is used as a commuter corridor, and is also critical for local traffic to access shopping and recreation destinations. It intersects with Church Road, Stenton Avenue, Skippack Pike, and Germantown Avenue — all major commuter roadways.

Highway Access: The study area is within close proximity to the Route 309 Expressway, and approximately two miles from the Fort Washington interchange of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Transit Access: The study area is served by SEPTA's L Bus that runs from Chestnut Hill to the Motgomeryville Mall. The southern end of the corridor is less than half a mile from the Chestnut Hill East SEPTA regional rail station on the R7 Line.

Roadway: Bethlehem Pike, within the study area, is a state road that varies in width from about 38 to 48 feet. Between the intersection of Paper Mill Road / Stenton Avenue and the Whitemarsh Township border (at the northern end of the Genuardi's shopping center), the roadway is configured as two travel lanes in each direction. From the Whitemarsh border to a point about 200 feet south of Church Road, the roadway has a three-lane configuration, also known as a "road diet," with a center two-way turning lane. The northern end of the study area includes two through lanes for southbound traffic, and one through lane and a left-turn-only lane for northbound traffic.

Neighboring Amenities: The study area is lined with two major strip shopping centers and a number of street-edge businesses and historic structures. It is within close proximity to Fort Washington State Park, a local park with ball fields on Bysher Avenue, and several country clubs. The southern end of the study area is close to Germantown Avenue in Chestnut Hill, a popular shopping avenue. Two private schools sit on the corridor, with several other public and private schools nearby. The study area is also close to Chestnut Hill College and the Morris Arboretum.

History: What is now Springfield Township was a gift from William Penn to his wife, and was first designated on a map in 1681. One of the oldest roadways in Pennsylvania, Bethlehem Pike was originally a Native-American trail. Completed as a modern roadway in 1734, it was traversed by both Colonial and British troops during the Revolutionary War. A number of historic buildings still line the study corridor, including the Black Horse Inn (1744) and the Wheelpump Inn (1725).

Case For Study: Bethlehem Pike within the study area presents the foundation to become a vibrant and prosperous corridor. It already has the types of mixed-use, street-edge, historic buildings and thriving commercial infrastructure that make places like neighboring Chestnut Hill and Ambler attractive to locals and visitors. However, corridor improvements are needed to achieve this potential.

Providing guidance for these improvements was the basis for the Bethlehem Pike Vision Plan, completed in 2004 by Kise, Straw and Koladner (consultants) for the Flourtown-Erdenheim Enhancement Association. The Vision Plan proposes a collection of elements — roadway changes, streetscaping, design guidelines, and development components — that together would transform the study area into an attractive and distinctive set of walkable town centers.

DVRPC actively assisted Springfield Township in realizing one of the first major elements of the Vision Plan through a Transportation Enhancements (TE) grant to build gateway treatments at Valley Green Road, at the entrance to Cisco Park from Bethlehem Pike, and at Penn Oak and East Mill Road. The Township also obtained a grant and has been working with Michael Baker & Associates and Carter Van Dyke (consultants) to create a Streetscape Master Plan for Bethlehem Pike.

The DVRPC study team recognizes the opportunity to contribute a complementary element to the Streetscape Plan (which does not look at the cartway) through the Taming Traffic study, recommending strategies for altering the roadway to match its emerging new context as a pedestrian-friendly, vibrant commercial corridor. This study may also add value to DVRPC's capital investment in the TE grant project.

IDENTIFIED PROBLEMS

1. Excessive vehicle speeds northbound due to steep grade between Stenton Avenue and Gordon Lane.
2. Potentially dangerous conditions created by Bethlehem Pike's inconsistent parking scheme.
3. Retail hub in the vicinity of Bysher Avenue experiences high volume of traffic and pedestrians, and has a demonstrated crash history.
4. Town center area lacks a distinctive sense of place.
5. Conflicts with turning and through traffic at major destinations.
6. Shortage of safe and highly visible pedestrian crossings, especially in the vicinity of heavily used bus stops.
7. Corridor lacks adequate bicycle amenities.
8. Lack of accommodations and safety considerations for transit users / minimal presence of transit amenities along the corridor.