WEST CHESTER — The Chester County Commissioners and Chester County Planning Commission (CCPC) unveiled this week the county’s new comprehensive guide on the implementation of multi-modal transportation facilities.
The Multi-Modal Handbook has been created to provide municipal officials, planners, traffic consultants, designers, land owners and developers with a consolidated reference guide on how to accommodate all modes of transportation into land use and land development design in Chester County. It is an update on the Circulation Handbook originally published by the Planning Commission in 1994.
The Multi-Modal Handbook expands upon the 1994 original in both format and content by providing print and online versions of the document. It contains clear and modern planning and design guidance towards the implementation of multi-modal facilities. The Multi-Modal Handbook website (http://www.landscapes2.org/transportation/circulation/ch1-intro.cfm) contains all the same information included in the print version, and web users will have the option to download a PDF of the full document for reference offline.
“Multi-modal planning recognizes that planners, engineers, developers and public officials must find alternative means of dealing with existing and future traffic problems,”Chester County Commissioners’ Chair Terence Farrell said. “This updated handbook is a valuable addition to the library of online and printed reference guides that our Planning Commission researches and publishes.”
Alternate transportation methods will be key as the county continues to grow and develop.
“Chester County continues to be one of the fastest growing counties in the state, and providing amenities like sidewalks, bus shelters, trails and bike racks alongside public transportation and cars are key ingredients of successful development projects that will help us with that growth,” Commissioner Kathi Cozzone added.
The guide offers a basic primer on building smart transportation options into new projects.
“Chester County’s Multi-Modal Handbook is an excellent ‘how to’ guide for accommodating all transportation modes into contemporary site design, and use of this guide by planners, engineers, developers and municipality officials helps us meet goals in a number of the county’s strategic priorities, especially transportation and growth,” said Chester County Commissioner Michelle Kichline, who serves on the boards of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, the Transportation Management Association of Chester County, and the Greater Valley Forge Transportation Management Association.
Within the coming year, the CCPC will hold a series of workshops designed to promote the use of the Multi-Modal Handbook and further advance the application of principles, design elements, and planning tools to Chester County municipalities and the design and engineering community.
The Multi-Modal Handbook was produced by the Chester County Planning Commission (CCPC) through funding provided by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC). For more information, please contact Brian Styche, CCPC Transportation Planner (bstyche@chesco.org), at 610-344-6285.
