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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlan Appendix B 09 Transportation  Town  of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan B‐93 B.9 Transportation  resources  A transportation system includes physical infrastructure, such as roads and walkways, as well as intangible aspects, such as the government’s policies on transportation and transportation-related demographics. A transportation network refers to physical infrastructure, like roadways and sidewalks. Many non-transportation related factors affect the transportation system, including the history, geography, and demographics of an area and policies at the national, state, regional, and local level. B.9.1 Demographics and transportation  Demographics such as population distribution, household size, and age distribution affect the transportation system. Trip generation rates are related to the number of persons per household, because small households tend to generate more trips per person than larger households. This translates to more vehicle trips with lower vehicle occupancy. According to the National Personal Transportation Survey (1995) and the National Household Travel Survey (2001), the highest percentage of trips made by Ithaca area residents are for family or personal business, social or recreational business, and work, in that order. Residents travel the greatest number of miles for weekend social or recreational trips, followed by weekday or weekend family or personal business and weekday trips to earn a living. Finally, the average length of a vehicle trip is longest for earning a living during the week, or social and recreational trips on the weekend. The privately owned motor vehicle is the most popular mode choice for Town of Ithaca residents, followed by walking. Between 1995 and 2001, however, the percentage of trips made in private vehicle dropped from 83% to 70%, while the percentage of trips made on foot increased from 11% to 15% and the percentage of trips made using public transit rose from 1.5% to almost 10%. According to the American Community Survey (2006-2009), residents between the ages of 18 and 24 account for nearly 36% of the Town’s population; not surprising, given the presence of Ithaca College and Cornell University. According to statistics from the Census Bureau, students are more likely to walk and less likely to drive to work or to school. The American Community Survey shows that the total number of employees in Tompkins County was 52,609. Nearly one in four people employed in Tompkins County live outside the county; 14,901 workers, or 24% of the county workforce. This means that Tompkins County imports workers or commuters, and exports income, as workers spend their income in their county of residence. The Town of Ithaca is home to many major employers including Cornell University, the largest employer in the County. To get to work, or to move from one side of Cayuga Lake to the other, commuters must pass through the Town and City of Ithaca. The Town’s unique circumstances—as a doughnut with the City in the center—mean that Town planners have little control over much of the development that creates traffic on its roads. Forest Home.  Town  of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan B‐94  For more information about the demographic and transportation profile of Town residents, refer to the Town of Ithaca 2007 Transportation Plan. B.9.2 Metropolitan Planning Organization  The Ithaca Tompkins County Transportation Council (ITCTC) is designated as the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Town of Ithaca and Tompkins County as a whole. All urbanized areas with a population of greater than 50,000 people are required by the federal government to be represented by an MPO. The ITCTC is charged with facilitating county-wide transportation planning and works jointly and cooperatively with all transportation-related agencies in Tompkins County.46 A primary responsibility of the ITCTC is preparing and updating three critical documents on a regular basis: a Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP), a Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP), and a Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). These three documents are critical because the US Department of Transportation will only allocate transportation funds to MPOs which engage in this planning process. Transportation  Improvement Program  The TIP identifies the agreed-upon timing and funding of all specific transportation projects scheduled for implementation in the Ithaca metropolitan area over a five-year period for which Federal funds are anticipated. Projects outlined in the TIP must be consistent with goals and objectives identified in the current Long Range Transportation Plan for the region. The TIP must be updated and adopted by the ITCTC at least every four years.47 Town of Ithaca’s projects in the 2011-2015 TIP include: improvements to Hanshaw Road from the Village of Cayuga Heights border to Sapsucker Woods Road; construction of the Gateway Trail; and the planning and design of the reconstruction of NY 13 from NY 13A to NY 327.48 B.9.3 Existing road network  Official highway map and road network design  The Town of Ithaca is shaped like a square with a hole in it. The City of Ithaca is in the center, and the remainder of the County surrounds the perimeter. This means that much of the traffic in the Town is traveling into or out of the City. Furthermore, the Town is segmented like a pie cut into slices by the creeks and gorges that converge in the Inlet of Cayuga Lake. This unique geography and hydrology means that many roads in the Town radiate outward from the City of Ithaca, while circulation in the Town is restricted because of the gorges. The current road network of the Town is shown in its Official Highway Map. The purpose of an official map is to state in the public record the specific locations of existing and proposed streets, highways, parks, and sometimes drainage systems. By fixing the location of both existing and proposed infrastructure, the official map helps to prevent development in planned rights-of-way. The 1993 Comprehensive Plan reported that there were about 117 miles of roads in the Town in the early 1990s. New York State owned 22.2 miles, Tompkins County 23.9 miles, the Town 45.6 miles, Cornell 3.1, and Ithaca College 2.3 miles. Nearly 20 later, all of these mileage measurements have increased slightly except for roads owned 46 ITCTC website. http://www.tompkins‐co.org/itctc/about.html  47 Transportation Improvement Program Guidebook, Fall 2006.  48 ITCTC. 2011‐2015 Transportation Improvement Program.    Town  of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan B‐95 by New York State. As of 2007, the state owns approximately 20 miles of road within the Town’s municipal boundaries, while Tompkins County owns about 25 miles, and the Town approximately 50 miles. Cornell University owns about 15 miles of road, and Ithaca College about 11 miles. Roads owned and maintained by the Town are mostly low- to moderate-speed, two-lane roads serving residential land uses. Driveways connecting to Town owned and Town-maintained roads generally do not have access controls. Existing Town roadways do not have bike lanes, and most do not have sidewalks adjacent to the roadway. Unless otherwise posted, the default speed limit for Town roads is the state 55 MPH speed limit. The Town has successfully appealed to NYSDOT to lower the limit to 25-45 mph in most areas. The Town anticipates only a few new major roads outside of subdivisions. Roads that have been approved but not yet built include the extension of Conifer Drive from Mecklenburg Road to Bundy Road and the future road shown on the Overlook at West Hill Subdivision map, which loops from Trumansburg Road to Hayts Road. On the Official Highway Map, these roads are shown with a dashed line. The Official Highway Map also indicates the location of a potential future roadway corridor that connects the extension of Conifer Drive to Overlook using a cross-hatched strip. This rights-of-way has not been formally proposed or approved. Another potential roadway that has received attention in recent years is a northeast bypass road, which could help to keep traffic out of residential areas on East Hill in the towns of Ithaca, Dryden, and Lansing. The 1999 Northeast Subarea Transportation Study (NESTS) called for a design and feasibility analysis for this potential connector. Finally, Recommendation 7 of NESTS called for a connector road between Pleasant Grove Road and the Thurston Avenue bridge that would act as a “gateway” to the Cornell campus and would help to divert unnecessary through traffic out of the residential Forest Home neighborhood. The Town is currently exploring this option with Cornell University, but it is not shown on the Official Highway Map. Roadway functional classification and right‐of‐way design  Functional classification is the system that attempts to classify each road according to its role in the road network. The functional classification system is made up of arterial roads, collector roads, and local roads. Ideally, an arterial road carries relatively intense traffic, and land access to arterials is subordinate to the traffic flow on the arterial itself. Conversely, local roads are intended to carry lower traffic volumes with lower speeds and should provide the highest level of access to land uses. Collectors fall in between. The Distance of roads by functional classification table shows the total roadway mileage for each functional classification in the Town and gives a few examples for each functional classification.49 The Functional classifications of roads map shows roads in the Town by their functional classification. Many Town-owned roads are classified as local roads. While these roads are ineligible for Federal aid for maintenance or improvement projects, the Town has more flexibility in the design of the roadway. The Town’s current design standards are limited to road construction specifications, which relate to the actual construction of roads, including substrate needs, pavement thickness, and so on. There are no criteria to guide design of the cross- section of the rights-of-way, nor guidelines for how to provide for multimodal travel, including non-motorized travel. 49 Data were generated by the Ithaca‐Tompkins  County Transportation Council (ITCTC), distributed by the Tompkins  County Information  Technology Services, GIS Division, and compiled by the Town  of Ithaca Planning Department.  Town  of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan B‐96 Road functional classification | Town  of Ithaca   Town  of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan B‐97 A lack of sidewalks, bicycle lanes, adequate shoulders, and other infrastructure for non-motorized travel sets a dangerous precedent for the long-term development of the Town’s transportation system. Many existing neighborhoods have no bike or pedestrian infrastructure; not even for circulation within a subdivision. Often the reserved right-of-way width is inadequate for facilities beyond a two-lane road. As the number of subdivisions and commercial centers across the Town increases, it will be difficult to link nodes of activity with facilities for non- motorized travel if the basic physical and policy infrastructure for non-motorized transportation is not in place. B.9.4 Traffic  Volume  and congestion  In fall 2003, the Town Transportation Committee initiated a survey to gauge residents’ travel habits and attitudes. 46% of respondents cited a generally high volume of traffic as the most obvious transportation problem in the Town. Roadway capacity  Vehicle over capacity (V/C), the ratio of traffic volume on a road to its design capacity, is one measurement of traffic congestion. A V/C of 1.00 indicates traffic volume on a road is at its design capacity, a lower number indicates traffic is below design capacity; and a higher number that the road is carrying more traffic than it was designed to handle. Volume over capacity during the 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM peak hour for selected roads in the Town, as measured by the ITCTC in 2011, is as follows. Volume  over capacity: west | Town  of Ithaca  Road segment Peak hour V/C Elm Street: West Haven Road to Ithaca city line 0.05 Five Mile Drive: Ithaca city line to Bostwick Road 0.12 Five Mile Drive: Bostwick Road to Elmira Road (NY 13/34/96) 0.14 Hayts Road: Enfield town line to Trumansburg Road (NY 96)0.12 Mecklenburg Road (NY 79): Enfield town line to Rachel Carson Way 0.33 Mecklenburg Road (NY 79): Rachel Carson Way to West Haven Road 0.42 Mecklenburg Road (NY 79): West Haven Road to Ithaca city line 0.43 Taughannock Boulevard (NY 89): Ulysses town line to Ithaca city line 0.25 Trumansburg  Road (NY 96): Ulysses town line to Hayts Road 0.36 Trumansburg  Road (NY 96): Hayts Road to Cayuga Medical Center 0.52 Trumansburg  Road (NY 96): Cayuga Medical Center to Bundy Road 0.53 Trumansburg  Road (NY 96): Bundy Road to Ithaca city line 0.57 Distance of roads by functional classification | Town  of Ithaca  Classification Distance Examples Urban principal arterial 4.51 mi Elmira Road (NY 13) Urban minor arterial 16.38 mi Slaterville Road (NY 79), Trumansburg  Road (NY 96)  Urban collector 19.10 mi Ellis Hollow Road, Coddington Road (Burns Road to Ithaca C/L)  Urban local 48.60 mi Honness Lane, Indian Creek Road, Winthrop Drive  Rural minor arterial 3.46 mi Mecklenburg Road (NY 79) Rural major collector 2.55 mi Enfield Falls Road (town line to entrance of Treman  Park)  Rural minor collector 2.76 mi Bostwick Road, Sheffield Road Rural local 14.01 mi West King Road (west of Buttermilk Falls Park), Culver Road  Unknown / not available 11.93 mi Approved but not yet built roads, some small subdivision roads Total  123.3 mi Town  of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan B‐98 Volume  over capacity: west | Town  of Ithaca  West  Haven Road: Mecklenburg Road (NY 79) to Elm Street 0.01 Volume  over capacity: southwest / Inlet Valley | Town  of Ithaca  Road segment Peak hour V/C Elmira Road (NY 13/34/96): Ithaca city line to Five Mile Drive 0.49 Elmira Road (NY 13/34/96): Five Mile Drive to Enfield Falls Road 0.50 Elmira Road (NY 13/34/96): Enfield Falls Road to Newfield town line 0.13 Enfield Falls Road: Elmira Road (NY 13/34/96) to Treman  State Park entrance 0.02 Enfield Falls Road: Treman  State Park entrance to Enfield town line 0.01 Volume  over capacity: south | Town  of Ithaca  Road segment Peak hour V/C Burns Road: Coddington Road to Slaterville Road (NY 79)0.12 Coddington Road: Ithaca city line to Troy  Road 0.09 Coddington Road: Troy  Road to King Road East 0.07 Coddington Road: King Road East to Updike  Road 0.10 Coddington Road: Updike Road to Danby town line 0.05 Danby Road (NY 96B): Ithaca city line to Ithaca College entrance 0.48 Danby Road (NY 96B): Ithaca College entrance to College Circle Drive 0.23 Danby Road (NY 96B): College Circle Drive to King Road East/West 0.28 Danby Road (NY 96B): King Road East/West to Danby town line 0.26 King Road East: Danby Road (NY 96B) to Troy  Road 0.10 King Road East: Troy  Road to Coddington Road 0.09 Volume  over capacity: east / northeast | Town  of Ithaca  Road segment Peak hour V/C Caldwell Drive: Forest Home Drive to Dryden Road (NY 366)0.55 Dryden Road (NY 366): Ithaca city line to Pine Tree  Road 0.27 Dryden Road (NY 366): Pine Tree  Road to Tower  Road 0.30 Dryden Road (NY 366): Tower  Road to Caldwell Road 0.35 Dryden Road (NY 366): Caldwell Road to Dryden town line 0.33 Ellis Hollow Road: Pine Tree  Road to Dryden town line 0.38 Hanshaw Road: Cayuga Heights village line to Warren Road 0.23 Hanshaw Road: Warren Road to Dryden town line 0.31 Mitchell Street: Ithaca city line to Pine Tree  Road 0.34 Pine Tree  Road: Dryden Rd (NY 366) to Ellis Hollow Road 0.10 Pine Tree  Road: Ellis Hollow Road/Mitchell Street to Honness Lane 0.18 Pine Tree  Road: Honness Lane to Slaterville Road (NY 79)0.14 Slaterville Road (NY 79): Ithaca city line to Honness Lane 0.23 Slaterville Road (NY 79): Honness Lane to Pine Tree  Road 0.17 Slaterville Road (NY 79): Pine Tree  Road to Burns Road 0.24 Warren Road: Lansing V/L  to Christopher Lane 0.28 Warren Road: Christopher Lane to Hanshaw Road 0.20 Warren Road: Hanshaw Road to Bluegrass Lane 0.26 Warren Road: Bluegrass Lane to Forest Home Drive 0.38   Town  of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan B‐99 Traffic volume  Annual average daily traffic (AADT) is the number of vehicles that would be assumed counted on a typical day of the year. Based on established formulas, a measured traffic count is factored to an AADT by adjusting it for seasonality and vehicle classifications. AADT for selected roads in the Town, obtained from data compiled by the ITCTC in 2011 and other noted sources, is as follows. Road segments are approximate, based on where traffic counting devices were placed. Some segments will be different than segments where V/C was determined. Annual average daily traffic: west | Town  of Ithaca  Road segment AADT Elm Street: West Haven Road to Ithaca city line (NYSDOT 2010)892 Five Mile Drive: Ithaca city line to Bostwick Road (NYSDOT 2010)4,653 Five Mile Drive: Bostwick Rd to Elmira Road (NY 13/34/96) (NYSDOT 2010)4,995 Hayts Road: Enfield town line to Trumansburg Road (NY 96) (Town of Ithaca 4/2004)1,265 Mecklenburg Road (NY 79): Enfield town line to Ithaca city line (NYSDOT 2010)4,077 Taughannock Boulevard (NY 89): Ulysses town line to Ithaca city line (NYSDOT 2010)3,169 Trumansburg  Road (NY 96): Ulysses town line to Ithaca city line (NYSDOT 2010)9.104 West  Haven Road: Mecklenburg Road (NY 79) to Elm Street 419 Annual average daily traffic: southwest / Inlet Valley  | Town  of Ithaca  Road segment AADT Elmira Road (NY 13/34/96): Ithaca city line to Five Mile Drive 16,715 Elmira Road (NY 13/34/96): Five Mile Drive to Enfield Falls Road 18,703 Elmira Road (NY 13/34/96): Enfield Falls Road to Newfield town line 18.418 Enfield Falls Road: Elmira Rd (NY 13/34/96) to Enfield town line (NYSDOT 2010)904 Annual average daily traffic: south  Road segment AADT Burns Road: Coddington Road to Slaterville Road (NY 79)2,007 Coddington Road: Ithaca city line to Troy  Rd 3,192 Coddington Road: Rich Road to King Road East 1,309 Coddington Road: King Road East to Danby town line 2,478 Danby Road (NY 96B): Ithaca city line to King Road East/West 7.943 King Road East: Danby Road (NY 96B) to Coddington Road (NYSDOT 2010)2,758 Annual average daily traffic: east / northeast  Road segment AADT Dryden Road (NY 366): Ithaca city line to Game Farm Road (Dryden town line)7,758 Hanshaw Road: Cayuga Heights village line to Warren Rd 6,315 Hanshaw Road: Warren Road to Dryden town line 6,357 Muriel Street: Hanshaw Road to Rose Hill Road 837 Pine Tree  Road: Dryden Road (NY 366) to Maple Avenue 7,196 Pine Tree  Road: Maple Avenue to Ellis Hollow Road 9,657 Pine Tree  Road: Maple Avenue to Snyder Hill Road 6,030 Pine Tree  Road: Snyder Hill Road to Slaterville Road (NY 79)4,499 Slaterville Road (NY 79): Honness Lane to Pine Tree  Road 5,245 Warren Road: Lansing V/L  to Hanshaw Road 5,347 Warren Road: Hanshaw Road to Forest Home Drive 5,543 Winthrop Road: Warren  Road to Cayuga Heights village line 695 Town  of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan B‐100 Speeding  Like traffic volume and congestion, speeding is quantified in several ways, including the percentage of vehicles that speed and the 85th percentile speed (the speed that 15% of drivers exceed). There is a distinction between the extent and severity of speeding: the extent of speeding refers to the percentage of motorists exceeding the speed limit, while the severity of speeding also considers the characteristics of the adjacent land uses and the impacts of speeding on those land uses. Thus, prioritizing locations for speed mitigation is not as simple as determining the location with the highest ratio of the 85th percentile speed to the speed limit. Based on the data collected for the 2007 Transportation Plan, some areas in the Town that may need speed mitigation include the Northeast, the southern part of Pine Tree Road, Forest Home, and Coddington Road near Ithaca College. All of these areas are in neighborhoods of medium density with significant pedestrian activity. Accidents  1,900 vehicle accidents were reported in the Town of Ithaca between 2000 and 2007. 655 accidents (34.5%) involved another vehicle. 27 accidents (1.27%) involved a collision with a deer, while 153 (8.0%) a collision with another animal. Six accidents involved a crash with a cyclist, and 13 with a pedestrian. The remainder involved collisions with trees, ditches, signs, and other stationery objects; or other types of accidents not involving other vehicles or objects. 478 accidents (25.1%) resulted in injuries, while five accidents resulted in fatalities. 836 accidents (44.0%) resulted in property damage. Locations of crash clusters in the Town are fairly predictable; the vast majority occur on state routes where volumes and speed limits are highest. Small clusters of crashes on county roads occur on Coddington Road, East King Road, Pine Tree Road, Warren Road, and Hanshaw Road. Very few crashes occur on Town roads; most were one-vehicle crashes involving an animal or object. In the fall of 2005, the Town of Ithaca Transportation Committee worked with Fisher Associates (a consulting firm from Rochester) to analyze safety at several intersections and along several road segments in the Town. Building on Fisher Associates’ work, Town Planning staff evaluated the crashes at the locations to determine if there was a pattern. The crash screenings showed no obvious, immediate safety hazards. In most cases, possible mitigation measures are as simple as improving signage to alert drivers to unexpected intersections or road curves. In other cases, the crash screening showed that mitigation measures might be needed in the future, such as improved traffic controls like a traffic light. (See the Town of Ithaca 2007 Transportation Plan for Fisher Associates’ final report and the Town’s Crash Screening Report.) B.9.5 Road maintenance  During the summer of 2004, the Town of Ithaca Highway Department conducted an inventory of the condition of every Town-owned road. Each road or road segment received a Pavement Condition Index (PCI), which is a measure of several signs of pavement deterioration, including several types of cracking, patching/potholes, drainage, and roughness. The goals of the project were to prioritize Town roads in greatest need of maintenance, to create a regular maintenance schedule, and to assist the budgeting of Town resources. The information in the PCI shows that most of the Town-owned roads are in good to excellent condition.   Town  of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan B‐101 Location of serious crashes 2000‐2007 | Town  of Ithaca Town  of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan B‐102 According to a road condition study conducted by the Town of Peterborough, New Hampshire, pavement quality drops only 40% over the first 75% of the pavement lifespan (i.e. after 10 to12 years, the pavement is still in acceptable or “good’ quality). Over the next four years, however, pavement quality drops another 40% from “fair” to “very poor.” More importantly, allowing pavement to degrade from “fair” to “very poor” increases repair costs at least five- fold. Considering that pavement condition inventory was conducted eight years ago as of 2012, Town-owned roads in good to excellent condition in 2004 might now be degrading to “fair” or “poor” conditions. The Town is currently on a 33-year reconstruction schedule. Every year, the Public Works Department repaves about 1.5 miles of road of the approximately 50 miles the Town owns and performs preventive maintenance on five to seven miles. This schedule is sufficient to maintain high quality roads, but there is little room for putting off necessary maintenance. B.9.6 Automobile alternatives  Alternatives to the private automobile provide choice, protect safety and health, and reduce congestion. Alternatives can be available for everyone (including the young, old, disabled, and low income), and protect the natural environment by keeping air clean, conserving fossil fuels, reducing wear-and-tear on the roads which can negatively affect water quality due to increased runoff, preserving open space by avoiding the need to build new roads, and so on. Public transportation  Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit, Inc. (TCAT) is a not-for-profit corporation that provides public transportation for Tompkins County. TCAT’s annual ridership is nearly 4 million, covering a distance of 1.7 million miles. The fleet of approximately 55 buses includes eight hybrid electric-diesel buses.50 TCAT also offers complementary ADA Paratransit services through Gadabout. In 2011 operated 35 routes (34 fixed routes and one hybrid fixed/demand 50 Doug Swarts, TCAT Service Development Manager, 8 June 2012 email   Maintenance activity on Stone Quarry Road.  TCAT bus at the Pew Trail.    Town  of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan B‐103 responsive route) with a diverse range of schedules for academic year, summer, and yearlong service.51 Routes change periodically based on need. Currently, TCAT’s Zone 1 single-ride fares, which apply to travel within the City of Ithaca and most of the Town, are $1.50 for adults, $0.75 for youth, and $0.75 for seniors.52 Zone 2 fares, which generally apply to areas outside of the City and Town, are $2.50 for adults, $1.25 for youth, and $1.25 for seniors. In addition to single-ride fares, TCAT also offers 15-ride cards, along with day, weekly, monthly and annual passes. These passes can provide substantial savings for frequent riders. TCAT additionally contracts with Cornell University and Ithaca College to craft special offers for students, faculty, and staff to encourage them to use transit. The TCAT routes in the Town of Ithaca table summarizes select destinations within the Town of Ithaca and the TCAT routes that serve them, as of summer 2012. TCAT routes | Town  of Ithaca  Route Origin / destination / corridor 11 Ithaca College, South Hill Business Campus 14 Linderman Creek, Cayuga Medical Center, Overlook Apartments.  Conifer Senior Apartments  20 EcoVillage, Mecklenburg Road (NY 79)corridor, Cornell University 21 Trumansburg  Road (NY 96) corridor, Cornell University 22 Taughannock Boulevard (NY 89 – summer service only) 30, 90 Cornell University and Cayuga Heights 31 Northeast neighborhood, BOCES, DeWitt Middle and Northeast Elementary Schools, Forest Home, Cornell 36 East Shore Drive (NY 34) corridor, Cornell University 40, 43 Dryden Road (NY 366) corridor, Cornell University 41 Hanshaw Road, Sapsucker Woods  51, 93 Eastern Heights neighborhood, East Hill Plaza, Honness Lane 52 Slaterville Road (Route 79E), Pine Tree  Road, Cornell University 53 Slaterville Road (NY 79E), Cornell University, Dryden Road (NY 366) 65 Danby Road (NY 96B), Ithaca College, Longview 67 Elmira Road (NY 13), Cornell University 81, 82 Cornell University, East Hill Plaza, Maplewood Apartments The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 requires public transit operators to offer equal services for those with disabilities. Paratransit is an alternative mode of flexible passenger transportation that does not follow fixed routes or schedules, and is often used to increase mobility options for people with disabilities and the elderly. TCAT contracts paratransit service out to Gadabout, a not-for-profit private service demand-responsive transportation service. Gadabout provides vans specially equipped for wheelchairs and volunteer drivers who are sensitive to the needs of the disabled. Gadabout also serves the senior population of Tompkins County (aged 60 and over) by providing on-demand service in a comfortable atmosphere. This indispensable service provides opportunities for education, employment, personal and health care, and social interaction for vulnerable populations. Founded in 1976 with just one bus, the Gadabout service has grown to 26 small buses which provide an average of 60,000 rides per year, traveling over 330,000 miles.53 A 67% ridership increase in the decade 1999-2008 culminated in a record 63,809 riders in 2008.54 To request a ride, patrons call a local number (607-277-1878) the morning before the day of the trip. In 2012, the Town provided $12,000 in funding to Gadabout for services to Town residents. 51 Tompkins  Consolidated Area Transit, Ithaca, New York, ITCTC, 2011 Yearbook  52 TCAT, Frequently Asked Questions  53 Szudzik, Christine, Gadabout Gets…  54 ITCTC, 2030 Long Range Transportation  Plan, pages 4.6  Town  of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan B‐104 TCAT integrates different modes of transport with public transit through the bikes on bus program, park-and-ride lots, and service to local bus stations and airports. In 1996, TCAT purchased 64 bike racks for installation on the front of buses, a project known as BobCat (“Bob” is an acronym for “bikes on buses”). The bike racks hold two bicycles each and are easy to operate. The racks serve riders who might not otherwise incorporate bicycling into their commute or travels because of Ithaca’s hilly terrain. The racks are very popular—they now sit on the front of every TCAT bus—and the program has become the most successful intermodal effort in the county. Park-and-ride lots across the County capture commuters to Ithaca from outlying rural areas. TCAT has routes running past fourteen formal park-and-ride lots. TCAT also offers routes that serve the airport (32 and 72) and the bus station in the City of Ithaca (14, 20, and 21). The greatest concentration and frequency of public transit service is in the City of Ithaca and the Cornell campus. Many Town residents expressed a desire for greater transit coverage in the Town in the aforementioned Town transportation survey. Transit provision for many parts of the Town, especially West Hill and South Hill, is difficult; because of low residential densities, buses must travel long distances to pick up few persons at each stop. This can make routes prohibitively long for riders and prohibitively costly for the transit provider. Also, routes through West Hill and South Hill only run on major state and county roads. This puts bus stops too far away from many residential homes to be convenient. Bus-based park-and-ride facilities are an increasingly popular traffic management tool used to intercept car traffic on the periphery of an urban area by providing parking and direct bus service to the urban core or employment center. Currently there are 13 small park and ride lots in communities around Tompkins County; none within the Town of Ithaca. All of these sites are shared use (serve other parking needs) rather than exclusively planned and designed as park-and-ride facilities. While park-and-ride facilities offer a positive approach to getting people out of their cars and reducing urban highway traffic congestion and worksite parking demand, they must be part of a carefully thought out integrated transport strategy to ensure positive benefits. Any consideration of creating park-and-ride facilities in the Town needs to be carefully considered. A discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of park-and-ride can be found in the Park and Ride for Tompkins County (2004, Fernando De Aragon, Director Ithaca-Tompkins County Transportation Council). In addition to local service by TCAT and Gadabout, three private companies, Shortline, Greyhound, and Trailways, provide bus service between the Ithaca metropolitan area and other metropolitan areas. Every day, between 27 and 30 intercity buses serve the Ithaca area.55 According to a 2001 study, intercity operators have estimated that 179,000 people per year use the Ithaca bus station. Of those, 133,000 were arriving or departing passengers. 46,000 passengers transferred to another bus.56 This indicates that buses carry a significant amount of travel between the Ithaca metropolitan area and other municipalities. Bicycle and pedestrian facilities  Besides serving as a mode of transportation, biking and walking offer personal and societal benefits. Biking and walking improve personal physical fitness and well-being. Promoting walking and biking will play an important role in protecting public health; in fact, exercise is a component of the FDA’s revised food pyramid. Walking or biking instead of driving for short trips conserves fossil fuels, saves money, alleviates traffic burdens, promotes the health of the natural environment, thus protecting human health, and protects the integrity of neighborhoods. Walking and biking foster healthy communities by encouraging social interactions on the street and by getting motorists out of their cars and onto the sidewalks. The option of using a non-motorized mode provides a real choice for residents and visitors. 55 Mengel and Rakaczky, The Inter‐City…  56 Ibid.    Town  of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan B‐105 The four main types of non-motorized transportation infrastructure are: dedicated pedestrian facilities such as sidewalks, walkways, pedestrian bridges and paths; dedicated bicycle facilities such as bike lanes; multi-use trails and paths for pedestrians, bicyclists, inline skaters, parents with children in strollers, and so on; and roadway shoulders. In many rural areas, it is impractical to provide dedicated bicycle or pedestrian facilities. More often, paved roadway shoulders take the place of sidewalks and bike lanes, although some rural areas have multi-use recreation trails. The Town of Ithaca has approximately 11 miles of walkways in its jurisdiction. These walkways are owned and maintained by the Town. There are also a limited number of newer residential areas with sidewalks, such as Linderman Creek, in which property owners own sidewalks and are responsible for their upkeep and maintenance. There are some bicycle lanes on the Cornell campus, and many roadways in the Town have sufficient shoulder width to permit comfortable bicycling. Two of the longest multi-use trails owned and maintained by the Town are the East Ithaca and South Hill Recreation Ways. The Town’s 2003 Park, Recreation, and Open Space Plan called for the creation of a multi-use trail system. The Town is already in the process of implementing that plan. In fact, off-road multiuse trails in the Town are more extensive than walkways or sidewalks that run next to roadways. Walkways and paths not owned by the Town include the Plantations Path (a seven-mile network of self-guided walkways, roads, and paths through Cornell Plantations); the Circle Greenway (the Walk Ithaca path which passes through both the Town and City); the trail systems in Buttermilk Falls and Robert H. Treman State Parks; and the 500-mile long Finger Lakes Trail hiking path which passes through the southern portion of the Town.57 These paths generally serve recreational needs. Non-motorized modes of transportation play a significant role in the transportation system of the Town of Ithaca. For example, the 2000 Census calculates that more than one in five Town residents get to work by walking. Many of these residents are students, professors, and staff traveling to one of the institutions of higher education in the area. Walking and bicycling are popular in the Town despite limited supporting infrastructure, and these non-motorized modes would perhaps be even more popular if sidewalks, walkways, and bicycle infrastructure were more available. Many roadways with significant pedestrian traffic do not even have sufficient shoulder space for a single pedestrian. Furthermore, a 2002 study examined 4.75 miles of Town-owned walkways and found that 60% do not meet ADA standards. As previously mentioned, shoulders are available to bicyclists on some State and County roads. Unfortunately, roads with shoulders are generally roads with high volumes and speeds of vehicular traffic, which can lead to an uncomfortable and unsafe bicycling environment. On all other roadways, bicyclists share lanes with motorists--which 57 Town  of Ithaca, 1997  Honness Lane Walkway.  Town  of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan B‐106 is the least desirable arrangement for both bicyclists and motorists when motor vehicle speeds are higher than bicycling speeds. The Town's 2007 Transportation Plan includes more information on the Town's bicycle and pedestrian facilities. B.9.7 Air, rail and freight    Airports and air travel  Ithaca-Tompkins Regional Airport (ITH), in the Village of Lansing, is the closest airport to the Town of Ithaca that provides regional passenger air travel. ITH has been operated by a division of the Department of Public Works of Tompkins County since 1956, when it purchased the East Hill Airport from Cornell University.58 The airport covers 531 acres, includes a 33,000 square foot terminal with six gates (four walkway, two sharing a single jet bridge) and has two runways (6,601 foot paved, 2,018 foot turf). The airport is served by TCAT Route 32, connecting it to Cornell University and downtown Ithaca. As of June 2012, commercial passenger airlines serving the airport include United Airlines, US Airways Express and Delta Airlines, with 10 scheduled passenger flights with departures from the airport at least four times a week. Destination airports include Newark, Philadelphia, and Detroit. US Airways Express terminated service to New York-LaGuardia in March 2012. The passenger count at ITH was 242,293 in 2011, an increase of 53% since 2005. Routes to and from ITH are usually flown by small regional and commuter jets and turboprop planes. Many small cities and towns in the United States are facing the loss of all passenger air service, as airlines face financial problems and subsidies are reduced. Crowded airspace conditions in the Northeastern United States, and slot exchange agreements between airlines, may affect passenger service at ITH. However, the presence of Cornell University and Ithaca College provides a passenger base that insulates ITH from the most severe cuts that face other airports in small cities. Many Ithaca area residents travel to nearby airports in Syracuse, Elmira and Binghamton, all about an hour drive from the Town. Rail and freight  Passenger rail service to Ithaca ended in 1961. The nearest Amtrak station is in Syracuse. Beyond the movement of people, the regional transportation system supports the movement of freight via rail, air, and trucks. The Norfolk Southern Railroad provides rail freight transport in Tompkins County. Rail can carry much larger quantities of freight than a truck. For example, one freight car can carry 100 tons, while a truck can only carry 20 to 25; thus one train of 20 cars carries the freight of 80 to 100 trucks. Besides being capable of carrying more freight, rail uses less fuel than trucks to carry any given amount. One gallon of fuel will carry one ton of freight 59 miles via truck and 202 miles via rail.59 Despite its efficiency, rail transport is prohibitively expensive for most shipping, except for objects shipped in bulk or extremely large quantities. Rail freight in Tompkins County consists mainly of coal to the Milliken Point Power Plant in Lansing, and salt from the Cargill Corporation. 58 Ithaca Tompkins  Regional Airport, Airport Facts.  59 Rock Island District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 2004    Town  of Ithaca 2014 Comprehensive Plan B‐107 While the airport and rail freight terminals are not actually located within the Town of Ithaca, they still affect the transportation system and economic base of the Town. Railroad trains run through the Town, passing through residential areas along East Shore Drive, where they impact the quality of life for residents. Trucks carry the majority of freight in the County, often to or from destinations within the City of Ithaca. Thus, much of the truck freight traffic is merely passing through the Town; most of it is limited to state highways. Many trucks travel on non-truck routes and local roads to take shortcuts, avoid congestion, or make local deliveries. While excessive commercial truck traffic impacts livability and safety in some residential neighborhoods, in many cases the afflicted roads were established as through routes long before residential development took place. The following table lists truck volumes for roads within the Town. Truck  volume on roads | Town  of Ithaca  Road Truck  volume/day Bostwick Road 82 Bundy Road 82 Burns Road 41 Caldwell Road 92 Coddington Road 62 Culver Road 6 Danby Road (NY 96B) 242 Ellis Hollow Road * 184 Elm Street 24 Elmira Rd (NY 13), City of Ithaca 309 Hanshaw Road (near Warren  Rd) 125 Hayts Road 20 King Road 94 Pine Tree  Road 173 Pine Tree  Road (Maple Avenue to Mitchell Street)*315 Poole Road 9 Seven Mile Drive 35 Slaterville Road (NY 79) 412 Snyder Hill Road 25 Stone Quarry Road 40 Troy  Road 13 Trumansburg  Road (NY 96), north of the Town  * 385 * ‐ data from Tompkins  County Freight Transportation Study (2002, Sear‐Brown).   All other data were collected by the Town  of Ithaca Public Works  Department in 2003‐2004.