Southern York County I-83 Park N Ride Study York County I-83 Park N Ride Study 1 Introduction The...

Southern York County I-83 Park N Ride Study

January 2011

Table of Contents

Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1

York County Commuter Travel .................................................................................................... 3

Commuter Programs ..................................................................................................................... 6

York County Park N Ride Facilities .............................................................................................. 9

Future Commuters ...................................................................................................................... 13

Existing Parking Inventory.......................................................................................................... 17

Constructing a Park N Ride Facility ............................................................................................ 28

Summary ..................................................................................................................................... 33

Appendix..................................................................................................................................... 37

List of Maps

Map 1 – Study Area Map .............................................................................................................. 2

Map 2 – York County Outbound Commuter Shed 2008 ............................................................... 3

Map 3 – York County Park N Ride Map ....................................................................................... 9

Map 4 – Existing Parking Inventory: Exit 16 Queen Street ......................................................... 17

Map 5 – Existing Parking Inventory: Exit 14 Leader Heights ..................................................... 18

Map 6 – Existing Parking Inventory: Exit 10 Loganville ............................................................ 18

Map 7 – Existing Parking Inventory: Exit 8 Glen Rock .............................................................. 19

Map 8 – Existing Parking Inventory: Exit 4 Shrewsbury ............................................................ 19

List of Figures

Figure 1 – Top Ten Commuter Destinations ................................................................................. 4

Figure 2 – rabbitExpress One Way Trips (Combined) .................................................................. 6

Figure 3 – Commuter Services of PA Database Membership ....................................................... 7

Figure 4 – Exit 33 Yocumtown Park N Ride Vehicle Count ....................................................... 10

Figure 5 – Exit 24 Board Rd Hop N Ride Vehicle Count ............................................................ 11

Figure 6 – Exit 4 Shrewsbury Park N Ride Vehicle Count .......................................................... 11

Figure 7 – Southbound Commuter Projections............................................................................ 15

Figure 8 – South Central York County Population Projections ................................................... 16

Figure 9 – Commuter Mode (All Responders) ............................................................................ 29

Figure 10 – Question 10 (All Responders) .................................................................................. 30

Figure 11 – Question 10 (Southbound Responders) .................................................................... 31

Figure 12 – Question 11 (All Responders) .................................................................................. 31

Figure 13 – Question 11 (Southbound Responders) .................................................................... 32

List of Tables

Table 1 – Population Data for South Central York County ......................................................... 13

Table 2 – Southbound Commuter Projections ............................................................................. 14

Table 3 – Existing Parking Inventory: Initial Survey Locations .................................................. 20

Table 4 – Top Six Locations in the Existing Parking Inventory .................................................. 27

Table 5 – Survey Respondents’ Commute Direction................................................................... 28

Southern York County I-83 Park N Ride Study 1

Introduction

The purpose of this study is to pinpoint strategic locations for Park N Ride lots to facilitate the use of rabbittransit’s Express Bus Service to Maryland and to compliment the alternative transportation advocacy efforts of Commuter Services of Pennsylvania.

This study was funded through PennDOT’s Pennsylvania Communities Transportation Intitiative (PCTI) grant program. The PCTI program is intended to fund planning and construction projects that demonstrate creative and efficient ways of addressing various transportation challenges through Smart Transportation. PennDOT’s Smart Transportation program has ten Smart Transportation themes:

1. Money counts 2. Understand the context; plan and design within the context 3. Choose projects with high value/price ratio 4. Enhance the local network 5. Look beyond level-of-service 6. Safety first and maybe safety only 7. Accommodate all modes 8. Leverage and preserve existing investments 9. Build towns not sprawl 10. Develop local governments as strong land use partners

The study area involves the I-83 corridor south of York City from Exit 16 Queen Street south to the Maryland line and is shown on the map below, Map 1.

The following deficiencies or needs have been identified for the study area:

• The growing number of York County residents commuting to the Baltimore area through the I-83 corridor via single occupancy vehicles creates continuously rising levels of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and particulate matter.

• The demand for Park N Ride spaces between I-83 Exit 24 and the Maryland line far exceeds the number of Park N Ride spaces available.

• The lack of adequate Park N Ride facilities contributes to the high percentage of single occupancy vehicle commuters and their reluctance to explore alternative modes, such as rabbitExpress, carpooling, and vanpooling.

2 Southern York County I-83 Park N Ride Study

Map 1


York County Commuter Travel

York County has a large and growing commuter population. According to the 2000 Census Transportation Planning Package (2000 CTPP) data, some 51,000 York County residents traveled outside of York County to work each day. The recently released 2006-2008 American Community Survey (2008 ACS) shows that this number has risen to just under 65,000 residents. This out-of-county commuting population has grown in both number and as a percentage of the total number of York County workers. In 2000, the split between the number of workers who lived and worked in York County and the number of workers who lived in but worked outside of York County was 73.6% and 26.4%, respectively. By 2008, the percentages moved to 69.6% worked in York County and 30.4% worked outside of York County.

Map 2 details the Outbound Commuter Shed for York County residents for 2008. This map shows the counties to which York County residents traveled to for work using the 2008 ACS data. Approximately 83.5% of these out-of-county commuters traveled to a county adjacent to York County for work, and the remaining 16.5% traveled further than an adjoining county.

Map 2


The chart below, Figure 1, shows the top ten commuter destinations outside of York County and the number of York County residents who commute to work there for the years of 1990, 2000 and 2008. This information comes from the 1990 US Census Journey to Work (1990 JTW) data, the 2000 CTTP and the 2008 ACS. From the 2008 ACS data, these ten destinations account for 93.3% of the total number of out-of-county commuters.

Cumberland County continues to be the number one out-of-county employment destination for York County residents. The fastest growing out-of-county employment destination for York County residents is Baltimore County with an increase of 78.3% since 1990.

It is worth noting that the four Pennsylvania county destinations are all adjacent to York County. Yet, of the six Maryland county destinations, three are adjacent to York County, and three are beyond the adjacent counties. Between 2000 and 2008, the number of York County residents commuting to Maryland counties for work has increased by some 8,700 commuters, while the increase to the Pennsylvania counties was just under 4,200 commuters. For the same time period, the number of York County residents commuting north to the Harrisburg area increased

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Top Ten Commuter Destinations

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Figure 1


by 8%, while the number of York County residents commuting south to the Baltimore area increased by 48%.

In the nine years since the 2000 Census, estimates show that approximately 47,000 new residents have come to York County. Municipal managers agree that a significant portion of these York County newcomers commute out of the County to work. Key segments of I-83 show traffic volume increases from 2000 to 2009 between 14% - 18% in both the northbound and southbound directions. Secondary roadways in the study area that provide access to I-83 show traffic volume increase of up to 108% for the same time period.

This continuing increase in the number of commuters traveling the I-83 corridor on a daily basis stresses the York County transportation network and continuously adds to the levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and particulate matter. PennDOT’s Smart Transportation principles call for a sound policy to strategically find cost effective approaches that enhance the current network, emphasize intermodal connections, and preserve existing investments. In York County, there are currently three programs working to reduce the number of single occupant vehicles traveling the I-83 corrridor: rabbittransit Express Bus service to Harrisburg, rabbittransit Express Bus service to Maryland, and Commuter Services of Pennsylvania. All of these programs provide alternatives to the single occupant vehicle commute, aimed at reducing the number of vehicles on I-83 and secondary roads.


Commuter Programs The rabbittransit express bus service, known as rabbitExpress, travels both north and south on I-83, providing commuter service to both the Harrisburg and the Baltimore area. Both service routes are shown in the Appendix.

The rabbitExpress service to Harrisburg began in July 2006. At a cash price of $3.50 per trip, there are currently four buses primarily serving York-Harrisburg office commuters. In August 2010, the service showed a high ridership level of 229 trips in one day and an average of 204 trips per day. This level is a 0.9% increase over August 2009.

The rabbitExpress service to Baltimore began in February 2009. At a cash price of $5.00 per trip, there are currently three buses. Unlike the Harrisburg express service, this route serves a variety of riders, including office-working commuters, various hospital shift staff, light-rail transfers to Baltimore City, and BWI-bound travelers. In August 2010, the service showed a high ridership level of 90 trips in one day and an average of 71 trips per day. This level is a 37.4% increase over the ridership level in August 2009.

Figure 2 below shows four full years of rabbitExpress ridership levels by quarter through June 2010. From the first quarter of operation in the Summer of 2006 through the end of Spring 2010, the ridership levels rose from 7,856 to 17,333 – that’s 120.6%. Overall, measuring the July-August-September quarters from 2006 through 2009, average growth in ridership has increased steadily by just under 30% annually.

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7,856 7,944 8,594

7,803

10,439 10,249

11,717

13,360 13,795 12,917 13,321

14,867

16,881 15,561

15,364

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rabbitExpress One Way Trips (combined)

JAS: July, Aug, Sept (Summer) OND: Oct, Nov, Dec JFM: Jan, Feb, Mar AMJ: April, May, June (Spring)

Start of rabbitExpress to Baltimore

Figure 2

http://www.rabbittransit.org/express�


Commuter Services of Pennsylvania (Commuter Services) promotes carpooling, vanpooling, and transit use as an alternative to driving alone throughout their 9-county service area in central Pennsylvania. This non-profit organization, funded through the metropolitan planning organziations (MPO’s) in their services area, has garnered the support of more than 14,000 commuters for potential carpool/vanpool matches through their ridesharing database and advocates transit use in areas with transit service. Currently, the Commuter Service’s service area covers the following nine counties in central Pennsylvania: Adams, Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry and York. By working with area employers, Commuter Services is able to reach thousands of commuters at their commute destination points, as well as helping area employers to tailor commuter incentive programs. One key to their success is Commuter Service’s Emergency Ride Home (ERH) program. Commuters often say that one of the barriers to using transit or carpooling to work is that they may need to make last minute schedule changes due to family emergencies or unscheduled overtime. Using transit or carpooling does not provide the flexibility that driving alone does under these circumstances. Under the ERH program, registered commuters- carpoolers, vanpoolers, transit riders alike - in the Commuter Service’s database can be reimbursed for travel expenses incurred when encountering these last-minute schedule changes. The chart below, Figure 3, shows the increase in the Commuter Services database membership since the start of their outreach program in the fall of 2005. From the beginning of the program’s second year, there has been an average database increase of 87% annually, ranging from 15% to 161% yearly. Overall, membership has grown a total of 824% in about five years. The database membership includes those commuters looking for a carpool or vanpool match through the ride-matching software, along with transit riders who are registered for the Emergency Ride Home program.

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11,660 11,593

12,535 13,393

13,066 13,682

14,440 Commuter Services of PA Database Membership

Figure 3


Millions of vehicle miles have been taken off the roads throughout central Pennsylvania due to the efforts of Commuter Services. According to the 2009 database survey conducted by Susquehanna Polling and Research, survey respondents who said that Commuter Services directly influenced their decision to change their commuting pattern from driving alone credited them with reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by just under 6.5 million miles. From an air quality perspective, this reduction in VMT translates to the prevention of tons of air pollutants including just over three tons of the volitile organic compounds that lead to ozone production and approximately 50 tons of carbon monoxide. The increasing number of commuters traveling to work by rabbitExpress and registering for ride-matching and the ERH program shows that, given viable alternatives and facilites, York County commuters will chose an alternative to driving alone.


York County Park N Ride Facilities

A key to the continuing success of both rabbitExpress and Commuter Services programs is the support system of Park N Ride facilities. Map 3, above, shows the location of both official and non-official Park N Ride facilities in York County. These facilities provide the gathering points for rabbitExpress stops, as well as meeting places for carpool and vanpool commuters. Surveys by Commuter Services show that the availability of convenient parking facilities directly influences commuters’ willingness to try transit services or carpool/vanpool alternatives. There are three types of facilities shown on Map 3. The green symbols denote the three locations where the transit agency has made arrangements with private property owners to use a portion of retail parking areas for use by transit riders: the Giant parking lot in New Cumberland at the entrance to Capital City Airport, across the street from Northern High School on Route 74, the Kmart parking lot on Haines Road, the South York Value Center on South Queen Street, and the former Crown gas station lot on E. Forrest Avenue (SR 851).

Map 3


The red symbols show places where commuters have created pull-off parking areas alongside roadways to use for parking, usually without the property owners permission. The non-offical parking areas located on this map are along York County’s major thrufares: I-83, Route 30, and Route 15. No doubt there are other non-official parking areas being used around the County along the secondary roadways. While these parking areas are often just off the roadway and provoke safety concerns for both the parked vehicles and passing traffic, they are also temporary in nature, should the property owner choose to prohibit access to the property. There is increasing reluctance among property owners to allow commuter parking on private property. No Trespassing/ Private Property signs were recently posted at a parking area off of I-83 Exit 8 (Glen Rock); while small, that parking area had been used for years. There are only three official Park N Ride facilities in York County, denoted by the blue symbols. The northernmost facility located at I-83 Exit 33Yocumtown and southernmost facility off of I-83 Exit 4 Shrewsbury on Route 851 are owned by PennDOT. The middle location off of I-83 Exit 24 Emigsville on Board Road is a rabbittranist Hop N Ride facility. Two of the three facilities are rabbitExpress stops and are also used by carpools/vanpools. The graphs below, Figures 4-6, show vehicle parking data for each of the three official Park N Ride facilites. This data is collected sporadically by the York County Planning Commission staff. The three lots combined provide a total of 267 spaces, including handicap spaces. While the Exit 4 Shrewsbury Park N Ride was originally striped for 37 spaces, the line striping has faded away and currently provides parking for approximately 22 to 25 vehicles.

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Exit 33 Yocumtown Park N Ride Vehicle Count105 spacess total

6/2006:rabbittExpress service to Harrisburg begins

Figure 4


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Exit 4 Shrewsbury Park N Ride Vehicle Count37 spaces total

Figure 5

Figure 6


The locations marked by both the green and red symbols are non-official Park N Ride facilities. They are not designated by or maintained through normal highway funding as are the official Park N Ride facilities are denoted by the blue symbols.With just those known and documented locations shown on this map, there are three times as many non-official parking areas as official facilities, showing that the demand for Park N Ride lots quite exceeds the supply. With the loss of the Glen Rock parking area and the anticipated development plans for the temporary Hop N Ride lot at Exit 4, it is easy to see that the southern section of I-83 is underserved by Park N Ride facilities with only 25 official spaces available for the 16 miles of highway south of Exit 16 Queen Street, carrying a combined directional traffic volume of approximately 40,000 to 60,000 vehicles each day with heavy peak hour commuter usage. Traffic counts on the I-83 exit ramps of Exit 16 to Exit 4 show an average of 18,000 vehicles leaving I-83 during the PM-Peak hour on a daily basis. Of these 18,000 PM-Peak drivers, the split between northbound and southbound travelers on I-83 is pretty even at 48% and 52% respectively. The origin of the southbound commuters is difficult to determine as they could be coming from anywhere within York County as well as outside the County. For the northbound commuters, however, it is easier to determine that the majority of them are coming from jobs in Maryland. The highest PM-Peak period exit traffic volumes is at Exit 4 Shrewsbury. As the closest entrance to I-83 is Maryland Exit 36, it is reasonable to assume that 5,000 commuters exiting I-83 at this location came from Maryland. This assumption can also be applied to the majority of the vehicles leaving I-83 exits north through Exit 16 Queen Street.


Future Commuters While there are commuters to Maryland living throughout the County, the highest concentrations live in the municipalities in the south central area of York County along the I-83 corridor. The municipalities in this area are shown on the study area map on page 2. In the rabbittransit survey that was conducted in order to set up the route and schedule for the rabbitExpress to Maryland, the majority of survey respondents claimed residence in this area. Also, the 2009 PA Commuter Services database reflects a commuting distribution that mirrors the County commuting habits: of the 2507 commuters registered for the ridematching service, approximately 8% of these commuters travel south out of Pennsylvania to work. Of this group, the majority of them live in the municipalities in the south central York County area. These 26 municipalities comprise just over one third of the total municipalities in York County and have just over one third of the total County population. According to Census estimates from 2000 – 2009, the area saw an overall population increase of 12% or over 15,000 new residents, which is in line with the County’s increase of 12.4% or 47,000 new residents. The population numbers for the County and the individual municipalities in the area are shown in the table below.

Table 1 Population Data for South Central York County

Geographic Area 2000

Census

2009 Census

Estimate

Change in

Population

% Change in

Population Pennsylvania 12,281,054 York County 381,751 428,937 47,186 12.4% Codorus Township 3,646 3,946 300 8.2% Cross Roads Borough 518 555 37 7.1% Dallastown Borough 4,087 4,081 (6) (0.1%) East Hopewell Township 2,209 2,527 318 14.4% Felton Borough 449 485 36 8.0% Glen Rock Borough 1,809 1,841 32 1.8% Hopewell Township 5,062 5,862 800 15.8% Jacobus Borough 1,203 1,188 (15) (1.2%) Loganville Borough 908 1,025 117 12.9% New Freedom Borough 3,512 4,253 741 21.1% North Codorus Township 7,915 9,185 1,270 16.0% North Hopewell Township 2,507 2,951 444 17.7% Railroad Borough 300 303 3 1.0% Red Lion Borough 6,149 6,067 (82) (1.3%) Seven Valleys Borough 492 508 16 3.3% Shrewsbury Borough 3,378 3,582 204 6.0% Shrewsbury Township 5,947 7,076 1,129 19.0%


The anticipated population growth in this area foretells the amount of growth in southbound commuters and can give us an estimate of the number of future southbound commuters. Table 2 and Figure 7 below show the projection ranges for 2010 through 2040 for southbound commuters calculated by two methods. First, the percentages of the 2000 York County Census and Journey-to-Work data were calculated and applied to the population estimates for the decennial years of 2010 through 2040 (Countywide JTW). These figures are shown in the Countywide JTW column. The second method was derived through the professional guidance of some of the area’s municipal managers who estimated that approximately 70% of their new resident households have a family member who works in Maryland. Using the populations projections for 2010 through 2040, the number of additional households was calculated with 70% of these households having one southbound commuter (Muni Mgr Est).

Table 2 Southbound Commuter Projections

Year Countywide JTW Method Muni Mgr Est Method 1990 (actual) 9,682 9,682 2000 (actual) 12,075 12,075 2010 20,207 17,968 2020 22,170 22,504 2030 24,142 26,870 2040 26,234 31,348

These projection methods show the southbound commuter population increasing by a range of 8% to 67% annually, eventually leading to a range of 117% to 160% increase over 2000 levels by 2040.

Having looked at the travel patterns and location of current southbound York County commuters and projected the number of future southbound commuters, it is important to look at the location or origin of these future southbound commuters. The graphic below (Figure 8) has three maps

Geographic Area 2000

Census

2009 Census

Estimate

Change in

Population

% Change in

Population Spring Garden Township 11,974 12,099 125 1.0% Springettsbury Township 23,883 24,968 1,085 4.5% Springfield Township 3,889 5,138 1,249 32.1% Stewartstown Borough 1,752 2,002 250 14.3% Windsor Borough 1,331 1,314 (17) (1.3%) Windsor Township 12,807 16,730 3,923 30.6% Winterstown Borough 546 542 (4) (0.7%) Yoe Borough 1,022 1,020 (2) (0.2%) York Township 23,637 27,339 3,702 15.7%

Area Total 130,932 146,587 15,655 12.0% Area % of Total

York County Population 34.3% 34.2% 33.2%


showing the population data by 2000 Census block group for the 2000 Census, 2020 population projections, and 2040 population projections. All three maps use the same scale and are shaded light to dark for the number of people in each block group. Basically, the darker the area, the more people live there and the more southbound commuters are likely to live there.

The first map on the left depicts the population distribution by Census block group from the 2000 Census and shows the higher concentrations of people living in the northern part of the study area closest to Exit 16 and just north of Exit 14. The east side of I-83 also shows a higher population concentration than the west side.

The second map shows the population projection for the year 2020. All new population growth from 2000-2020 was distributed to census block group areas throughout the residentially zoned areas that are not developed. Then, the same scale as the 2000 Census map was applied to the 2020 projection. According to the 2000 Census, the municipal occupancy rates in York County range from 92% to 94%. Thus, the majority of population increases within a municipalitiy will occupy new dwelling units that will be built on land that is zoned for residential development and is currently not developed. From the 2020 population projection map, the higher population concentrations are in the northeast section of the study area east of Exits 16 and 14 and now extending to just north of Exit 10.

The third map shows the population projection for the year 2040. New population growth was distributed using the same methodology as for the 2020 map detailed above. Again, the same

9,682

12,075

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Southbound Commuter Projections

Ctywide JTW

Muni Mrg Est

2008 Data:19,425

Southbound Commuters

Figure 7


scale was applied as on the 2000 and 2020 maps, and the darker the area, the more people that live there and the more likely that southbound commuters will be traveling from that area to access I-83 South. The 2040 map shows a continued increase in population in the northeast section of the study area east of Exits 16 and 14 and also in the southeast section east of Exit 4. The increase in population on the west side is primarily between Exits 10 and 8.

From these maps, we can see the origin points of current and futue southbound commuters. In order to look at where they access I-83, we need to look at the study area map in Exhibit 1. The southbound commuters coming from the northern and northeastern sections of the study area may access I-83 anywhere from Exit 16 to Maryland Exit 36 by utilizing the secondary roadways and depending on the amount of congestion experienced and driving preferences. The secondary roadway is shown as the red roads in the Exhibit 1 map. For example, commuters coming from the northeast section of the study area could use Route 74 to use Exit 16, Route 182 to use Exit 14, Route 214 to use Exit 10, Route 216 to use Exit 8, or Route 24 or Route 851 to use Exit 4. A similar secondary network is available on the west side of I-83 also. Therefore, Exit 16, the most northern exit in the study area would potentially attract only those southbound commuters who live near that exit; however, those commuters could choose that exit or any exit in the direction of their destination. This holds for each successive exit in that direction. Thus, the southern exits, Exit 10, Exit 8, and Exit 4 would attract more and more southbound commuters with Exit 4 potentially attracting the most southbound commuters accessing I-83 of any of the exits.

Figure 8


Existing Parking Inventory

In employing PennDOT’s Smart Transportation principles, the most cost-effective solution would be to use existing parking areas for a ParkN Ride facility.

Using aerial photographs, individual maps were made of each area surrounding the following interchanges along I-83: Exit 16 Queen Street Exit 14 Leader Heights Road Exit 10 Loganville Exit 8 Glen Rock Exit 4 Shrewsbury As shown on Map 4 through Map 8, the ½ mile and 1 mile distances from the interchanges were marked. In the first phase of identifying existing parking inventory, all parking areas of significant size inside 1 mile distances were marked and data collected to create an initial inventory list of 31 locations. The locations are shown by number on the following maps of each Exit along I-83.

Map 4


Map 5

Map 6


Map 7

Map 8


An initial survey of these 31 locations was performed and gathered the following information: drive time to the Southbound I-83 ramp, number of parking spaces, and ease of access. During the survey, high activity events were noted, along with an initial list of site amenities. Fourteen locations were deemed unacceptable due to various reasons such as poor access, lack of striping or poor pavement condition in the parking area, low number of total parking spaces, and consistent activity from the pre-school on site.

Table 3 Existing Parking Inventory: Initial Survey Locations

ID # I-83

Exit # Distance Category Location Name Location

Access Designation

1 16 ½ mile Ruby Tuesday’s St. Charles Way Poor 2 16 ½ mile Office Building/JMT St. Charles Way Good 3 16 ½ mile Tailgater’s St. Charles Way Poor 4 16 ½ mile South York Plaza Pauline Drive Good 5 16 ½ mile South York Value Center Queen Street Good 6 16 1 mile Queensgate Springwood Road Good 7 16 ½ mile Aldersgate U.M. Church Tyler Run Road Good 8 14 ½ mile Temple Baptist Church Pine Grove Road Other 9 14 ½ mile Quarter Deck Partners Keyway Drive Good

10 14 ½ mile Glatfelter Associates Drive Good 11 14 ½ mile Leader Commons Leader Heights Road Poor 12 14 ½ mile Holiday Inn Express Pine Grove Circle Good 13 14 1 mile Greek Orthodox Church Pine Grove Road Good 14 10 ½ mile State Police Trooper Court Poor 15 10 ½ mile Interco Print LLC North Street Good 16 10 ½ mile True Value Ssqhna Trail/North St Other 17 8 1 mile Penn Mar Organization Susquehanna Trail Poor 18 8 ½ mile Motel Seaks Run Road Other 19 8 1 mile Freedom Armory Seaks Run Rd/2nd Am Good 20 4 1 mile Saubels E. Forrest Avenue Poor 21 4 ½ mile Old Giant E. Forrest Avenue Good 22 4 ½ mile Shrewsbury Commons Shrewsbury Cmns Ave Good 23 4 ½ mile New Giant Mt Airy Road Good 24 4 ½ mile Cracker Barrel Wolfe Road Poor 25 4 ½ mile Gold’s Gym/ Bill Bateman’s Far Hills Drive Good 26 4 ½ mile Wellspan Wolfe Road Poor 27 4 ½ mile Hampton Inn Far Hills Drive Poor 28 4 1 mile Home Depot Far Hills Drive Good 29 4 ½ mile Tractor Supply Company Renaissance Drive Good 30 4 ½ mile Phantom Fireworks Renaissance Drive Good 31 4 ½ mile Ruby Tuesday’s Far Hills Drive Poor


In the second phase of identifying existing parking inventory, each of the 17 locations remaining was surveyed during a one-week period at various intervals, and then at AM peak and PM peak hours. The number of vehicles parked at each location was tallied. These figures were then used to calculate the most number of parking spaces occupied and the least number of parking spaces available during three times of day: AM hours, Mid-Day hours, and PM hours. The AM hours are the hours of 8am - 12pm; Mid-Day hours are 12pm – 3pm; and the PM hours are 3pm – 6pm. The results of the inventory are found below.

Location Photo Location Details #2 Exit 16 Professional Building/ JMT St. Charles Way

Access: Good Drive Time to Ramp: 94 sec Total Non-Handicapped Spaces: 262 Least # of Parking Spaces Available: 151 Time: Mid Day hours

Amenities: None

Location Photo Location Details #4 Exit 16 South York Plaza Pauline Drive

Access: Good Drive Time to Ramp: 127 sec

Total Non-Handicapped Spaces: 747 Least # of Parking Spaces Available: 449 Time: PM hours

Amenities: Grocery, Restaurant, Retail, Movies, Bank, Gas


Location Photo Location Details #5 Exit 16 South York Value Center S. Queen Street


Amenities: Grocery, Restaurant, Retail, Bank Location Photo Location Details #6 Exit 16 Queensgate Springwood Road

Access: Good Drive Time to Ramp: 168 sec Total Non-Handicapped Spaces: 857 Least # of Parking Spaces Available: 644 Time: AM Hours

Amenities: Grocery, Restaurant, Retail, Movies

Location Photo Location Details #7 Exit 16 Aldersgate United Methodist Church Tyler Run Road

Access: Good Drive Time to Ramp: 86 sec Total Non-Handicapped Spaces: 229 Least # of Parking Spaces Available: 208 Time: AM hours

Amenities:


Location Photo Location Details #10 Exit 14 Glatfelter Associates Drive

Access: Good Drive Time to Ramp: 141 sec Total Non-Handicapped Spaces: 447 Least # of Parking Spaces Available: 156 Time: AM hours

Amenities: None Location Photo Location Details #12 Exit 14 Holiday Inn Express Pine Grove Circle

Access: Good Drive Time to Ramp: 85 sec Total Non-Handicapped Spaces: 153 Least # of Parking Spaces Available: 108 Time: AM and PM hours

Amenities: None

Location Photo Location Details #13 Exit 14 Greek Orthodox Church Pine Grove Road

Access: Good Drive Time to Ramp:170 sec Total Non-Handicapped Spaces: 114 Least # of Parking Spaces Available: 106 Time: Mid-day hours

Amenities: None


Location Photo Location Details #15 Exit 10 Interco Print LLC North Street

Access: Good Drive Time to Ramp:39 sec

Total Non-Handicapped Spaces: 146 Least # of Parking Spaces Available: 127 Time: AM and Mid-day hours

Amenities: None

Location Photo Location Details #19 Exit 8 Freedom Armory Seaks Run Road/ 2nd Amendment Drive

Access: Good Drive Time to Ramp: 67 sec

Total Non-Handicapped Spaces: 41 Least # of Parking Spaces Available: 33 Time: Mid-day PM hours

Amenities: None

Location Photo Location Details #21 Exit 4 Old Giant/CVS Shopping Center E. Forrest Avenue

Access: Good Drive Time to Ramp:127 sec Total Non-Handicapped Spaces: 436 Least # of Parking Spaces Available: 421 Time: Mid Day hours

Amenities: None


Location Photo Location Details #22 Exit 4 Shrewsbury Commons Shrewsbury Commons Avenue


Amenities: Grocery, Restaurant, Retail, Bank Location Photo Location Details #23 Exit 4 New Giant Mt. Airy Road

Access: Good Drive Time to Ramp:199 sec Total Non-Handicapped Spaces: 394 Least # of Parking Spaces Available: 199 Time: AM hours

Amenities: Grocery, Restaurant, Retail, Bank Location Photo Location Details #25 Exit 4 Gold’s Gym/Bill Bateman’s Far Hills Drive


Amenities: Restaurant, Gym


Location Photo Location Details #28 Exit 4 Home Depot Far Hills Drive


Amenities: None

Location Photo Location Details #29 Exit 4 Tractor Supply Company Renaissance Drive

Access: Good Drive Time to Ramp:132 sec Total Non-Handicapped Spaces: 105 Least # of Parking Spaces Available: 88 Time: Mid Day hours

Amenities: None Location Photo Location Details #30 Exit 4 Phantom Fireworks Renaissance Drive

Access: Good Drive Time to Ramp:133 sec Total Non-Handicapped Spaces: 52 Least # of Parking Spaces Available: 50 Time: All hours

Amenities: None


From the information gathered, each location could serve as a viable option for a Park N Ride facility; however, one set of locations could more easily accommodate commuter parking than the others. By sorting the 17 locations by the highest values in the Least Number of Parking Spaces Available category during the three different time periods, six locations form a natural break from the rest of the locations:

Table 4 Top Six Locations in the Existing Parking Inventory

ID # Exit Location Least #of Parking Spaces Available

#22 Exit 4 Shrewsbury Commons 696 #6 Exit 16 Queensgate 644 #4 Exit 16 South York Plaza 449

#21 Exit 4 Old Giant/CVS 421 #28 Exit 4 Home Depot 353 #5 Exit 16 South York Value Center 316


Constructing a Park N Ride Facility In constructing a Park N Ride facility, its location plays a crucial role in its successful use by commuters. A Park N Ride facility must be easily accessible and convenient for the greatest number of potential users. As part of this study, a survey was conducted to determine certain preferences of the commuting public. The 20-question survey was accessible on Survey Monkey via the internet at www.myparkandride.com. Yard signs directing commuters to this website were distributed throughout the study area, concentrated at the I-83 exits. The survey questions are listed in the Appendix. The survey asked for the origin and destination points of each responder. Responders had the option of not answering any individual question, and a few of the questions allowed more than one particular answer. There were 146 responses total. Table 5 below shows the breakdown for the destination direction of the responders.

Table 5 Survey Respondents Commute Direction

Destination Direction Number of Responders East 7 West 3 North 79 South 47 Unknown 8 While all but a few responders gave the zipcode area of the origin and destination of their commute, approximately half the responders did not respond to Question 5 If you use I-83 for your commute, where do you access the Interstate when going to work (A.M.)? or Question 6 If you use I-83 for your commute, where do you exit the Interstate when returning from work (P.M.)?, rendering these questions useless in determining how the commuters were utilizing the secondary roads.

All of the responders answered Question 7 How do you travel? (commuter mode). The results are shown in Figure 9 below. The top three responses, comprising 93%, are Drive Alone (63%), Carpool (20%), and Transit (10%).

http://www.myparkandride.com/�


In survey Question 12 If you drive alone, have you ever considered using rabbittransit Express bus, carpooling or vanpooling?, the responder could chose any or all of the alternatives. There were 148 responses to this question. Approximately 80% of these single occupancy vehicle commuters said that they have considered using the express bus (39%), carpooling (30%), or vanpooling (11%). Tied for the third most common obstacle to using one of these commuting options, asked in Question 13 If yes, what are the obstacles to using rabbittransit Express bus, carpooling or vanpooling, was lack of convenient Park N Ride location. For Question 14 Would you be more likely to start using rabbittransit Express bus, carpooling or vanpooling if there was a Park N Ride facility conveniently located close to your commute?, 83% replied that they would.

The location of a convenient Park N Ride facility as defined by each respondent and how far each one would travel to access this facility were covered in Questions 10 If you could build a Park N Ride facility in a location most convenient for you, near which exit location would you build it? and Question 11 How far would you be willing to drive to access a Park N Ride Facility?. The responses are shown below, Figure 10 and Figure 11, in two variations for each question: All Responders and Southbound Responders. According to all of the survey responders, the top three most popular convenient exit locations for a Park N Ride facility are Exit 16 (33%), Exit 14 (22%), and Exit 4 (21%). For the southbound commuters only, the top three most popular exit locations are Exit 4 (34%), Exit 14 (23%), and Exit 10 (21%). The difference in responses obviously comes from the large number of northbound commuters that responded to the survey.

The responses to Question 11 How far would you be willing to drive to access a Park N Ride Facility?, however, are nearly identical. The responders were able to choose more than one answer for this question. Approximately 1/4 of all of the responders are willling to travel in

92

29

14

2

5

4

0 20 40 60 80 100

Drive Alone

Carpool

Transit

Vanpool

Other

No Response

Commuter Mode(All Responders)

Commuter Mode

Figure 9


the opposite direction of their commute (25% for all responders, 23% for southbound responders). Half or more of both groups are willing to travel one exit in the direction of their commute (50% for all, 59% for southbound). Twenty-five percent of all responders and 18% of southbound responders are willing to travel several exits along their normal commute in order to access a Park N Ride facility. Some responders chose all three options (7% for all, 4% for southbound).

Exit 421%

Exit 87%

Exit 1017%

Exit 1422%

Exit 1633%

Question 10: If you could build a Park N Ride facility in a location most convenient for you, near which exit location would you

build it? (All Responders)

Exit 4

Exit 8

Exit 10

Exit 14

Exit 16

Figure 10


Exit 434%

Exit 89%Exit 10

21%

Exit 1423%

Exit 1613%

Questions 10: If you could build a Park N Ride facility in a location most convenient for you, near which exit location would you build it?

(Southbound Responders)

Exit 4

Exit 8

Exit 10

Exit 14

Exit 16

One exit in the opposite direction

25%

One exit along your normal route

50%

Several exits along your normal route

25%

Question 11: How far would you be willing to drive to access a Park N Ride facility?

(All Responders)




Figure 11

Figure 12



23%


59%


18%

Question 11: How far would you be willing to drive to access a Park N Ride facility?

(Southbound Responders)




Figure 13


Summary

The purpose of this study is to pinpoint strategic locations for Park N Ride lots to facilitate the use of rabbittransit’s Express Bus Service to Maryland and to compliment the alternative transportation advocacy efforts of Commuter Services of Pennsylvania.

From the examination of the existing parking inventory, locations at Exit 16 and Exit 4 have exiting facilities that could possibly be used for the most cost-effective solution. In analyzing the location of current and future southbound commuters in the study area, a Park N Ride facility near the southernmost exit, Exit 4, will potentially attract the largest number of southbound commuters. From the survey responses, southbound responders indicate their preference for a facility near Exit 4 or Exit 14 and that 77% of them would travel one or more exits in the direction of their normal commute to access a Park N Ride facility. It is interesting to note, from the large number of survey respondents that travel north to work, that those respondents indicated a preference for a Park N Ride location near Exit 16.

APPENDIX

Appendix 37

rabbittransit Express Bus Service routes for rabbitEXPRESS – Harrisburg and rabbitEXPRESS – Maryland

rabbitEXPRESS – Harrisburg AM

rabbitEXPRESS – Harrisburg PM


rabbitEXPRESS – Maryland

Appendix 39

Survey Questions as posted on SurveyMonkey.com

rabbittransit and the York County Planning Commission are conducting a study to pinpoint strategic locations for a Park N Ride facility along the I-83 corridor between Exit 16, South Queen Street, and Exit 4, Shrewsbury. The information that you provide by taking the following survey will help in the selection of the location for the Park N Ride facility.

1. Where do you begin your commute? (commuter origin)

City

Zip Code 2. What are the nearest intersecting streets to where you begin your commute?

Street #1

Street #2 3. Approximately how long (in miles and minutes) is your commute?

Miles

Minutes Is this one way or roundtrip

4. What is your final destination? (commute destination)

City

Zip Code 5. If you use I-83 for your commute, where do you access the Interstate when going to work (A.M.)?

Exit 16-Queen Street

Exit 14-Leader Heights

Exit 10-Loganville

Exit 8-Glen Rock

Exit 4-Shrewsbury


6. If you use I-83 for your commute, where do you exit the Interstate when returning from work (P.M.)?


Exit 14-Leaders Heights

Exit 10-Loganville

Exit 8-Glen Rock

Exit 4-Shrewsbury 7. How do you travel? (commuter mode)

Drive alone in car/truck/SUV

Carpool

Vanpool

rabbittransit Express bus

Other 8. If you take the rabbittransit Express bus, where do you park to catch the bus?

9. If you carpool or vanpool, where does your carpool/vanpool meet? (shopping center, church, member's house, etc.)

10. If you could build a Park N Ride facility in a location most convenient for you, near which exit location would you build it?


Exit 14-Leaders Heights

Exit 10-Loganville

Exit 8-Glen Rock

Exit 4-Shrewsbury

Appendix 41

11. How far would you be willing to drive to access a Park N Ride facility? Would you travel:



Several exits along your normal route 12. If you drive alone, have you ever considered using rabbittransit Express bus, carpooling or vanpooling?

rabbittransit Express bus

Carpooling

Vanpooling

No, I have never considered using any of these 13. If yes, what are the obstacles to using rabbittransit Express bus, carpooling or vanpooling?

14. Would you be more likely to start using rabbittransit Express bus, carpooling or vanpooling if there was a Park N Ride facility conveniently located close to your commute?

Yes

No 15. Near what I-83 exit would that convenient location be?

16. If you have never considered using rabbittransit Express bus, carpooling or vanpooling, have you ever heard of the rabbittransit Express bus service?

Yes

No


17. If you have never considered using rabbittransit Express bus, carpooling or vanpooling, have you ever heard of Commuter Services of Pennsylvania (www.pacommuterservices.com)?

Yes

No 18. If you have never considered using rabbittransit Express bus, carpooling or vanpooling, have you ever heard of Commuter Services of PA's Emergency Ride Home program?

Yes

No 19. Would you like information on:

Would you like information on: rabbittransit Express bus

Carpooling

Vanpooling

Commuter Services of PA

Emergency Ride Home program 20. Please enter your email address so that information may be forwarded to you if requested.

Done

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