Chester County Public Transportation Plan Update
Posted September 21, 2024
Chester County Planning Commission's Multimodal Transportation Planning Division has been working diligently on the county's Public Transportation Plan Update — an update to the previous 2014 plan which was highlighted by Alex Sankaran, Transportation Planner, at CCPC's September Board Meeting.
As noted by Alex, new additions to the plan include updates to each of the three main chapters — System, Environment, and Experience — including a Vision Map, System Expansion section, and System Expansion Map.
The new System Expansion recommendations serve to expand passenger rail service, return regional rail service to Coatesville, increase SEPTA rail service on the Keystone Corridor, and expand bus service in the county. Other recommendations in this section include adjusting bus routes to create a coordinated transfer system; increasing micromobility options around rail stations and transportation centers; increasing trip speed and planning for shorter routes with fewer stops; and closing service gaps by creating a system of community loop services where feasible, as well as exploring new service requests such as Chesco Connect Fleet.
Through the Environment section, the recommendations include providing bus shelters and other amenities at heavily used bus stops; expanding parking availability at rail stations; allowing for round trip transit journeys; encouraging municipal adoption of complete streets policies; and increasing utilization of existing park and ride facilities, plus adding charging stations in their parking lots.
In terms of the Experience section, recommendations focus on developing a public outreach program to market existing services; providing real-time status information and updates; having full ADA compliance at all rail stations; and instituting contactless payment as well as fare capping.
Once approved by the Chester County Commissioners', a final version of the plan will be posted on the chescoplanning.org website and submitted to the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, which helped fund the study through their TCDI program.
For more updates and information on the Chester County Public Transportation Plan Update, be sure to join us for CCPC's 2024 Transportation Forum on Tuesday, September 24, at the West Whiteland Township Building and via Zoom from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Register to attend in-person or register to attend via Zoom.
The draft plan is now available on the project webpage.