Active Transportation and Safety Tool

The concept of an Active Transportation and Safety Tool (ATST) was developed and recommended in the  Adams County Long Range Transportation Plan, ONWARD2050 . The "Tool" was created around several elements:

• On-Road Active Transportation Analysis
• Safety Needs Analysis
• Supporting data and mapping

The ATST encompasses the presentation of this data and information in an interactive and fluid format . Organizations, Officials, Agencies, "citizen planners", and other members of the community may tailor the information and experience in the web app to best meet their needs.

Additional analysis of the segments, related to connectivity, priority, or other factors may be performed and incorporated into the Active Transportation and Safety Tool as it continues to be refined in the future.

This Tool is one of many recommendations in ONWARD2050. Additional Active Transportation recommendations related to Mobility, Access, and Reliability begin on  page 54 of the Plan .

The On-Road Active Transportation Analysis was based on the “Bicycle Level of Traffic Stress (LTS)” developed by the  Mineta Transportation Institute  in the  “Low Stress Bicycling and Network Connectivity”  report (2012), which is a data-driven approach that evaluates the comfort of people when they ride a bicycle close to traffic, as well as the connectivity of those lower stress roadways and bicycle networks.

Mineta's bicycle LTS classifies road corridors and intersections into scores representing the level of stress and comfort riding a bicycle on a roadway or path segment. These scores also correspond to the type and skill level of the rider. Lower stress bicycle networks should be comfortable for bicyclists of all ages and abilities. Low-stress bicycle networks are also associated with a connected systems of lower-speed local roads, off-road trails, and  separated, protected bicycle lanes.     

A level of traffic stress analysis is typically done in urban areas or cities with a more established bicycle infrastructure and higher percentages of riders. Smaller communities and rural settings were commonly excluded from bicycle and pedestrian design until more recently with the release of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration’s “ Small Town and Rural Multimodal Networks ” document. This publication recognized the challenges and constraints of providing active transportation options in small towns and rural areas. It identified issues common to rural settings, like longer non-local trip distance, higher crash rates, as well as income and health disparities, which are concerns in Adams County. This publication also provides guidance on creating accessible, interconnected networks and retrofitting in small communities.  

The On-Road Active Transportation Analysis was developed by incorporating  GIS data  layers and assigning scores to specific attributes. The foundation of this analysis is based on a countywide roadway layer, which was created specifically for this tool. A segmented road layer was created by combining PennDOT's  Roadway Management System  (RMS) segments of State roads and PennDOT local roads. The County's centerline data was used to verify that all roads were included. Route 15 was removed because bicycling is prohibited. Alleys are not intended to be a part of this road network and were removed, with the exception of Racehorse Alley. The Racehorse Alley Greenway is an integral part of the " Gettysburg Inner Loop - Greenway Master Plan  (2013)".

The blue roadways in the map are the segments included in the analysis, known as the ATSA Road Network. The visible green roads depict Route 15, alleys, private drives, and roads in developments that may be under construction. As the data and analysis are updated, those new developments will be incorporated as they are built.

Characteristics of the data were grouped into values, which were reclassified with an assigned score. Each road segment was given a score based on attributes of each input category. The scoring breakdown of each input is identified in the Classification Table. 

The following features and attributes were used as inputs to the analysis:

• Shoulder width: The width of shoulders on State and rural roads, in feet.
• Speed limit: Speed limit is an attribute of State roadway data. Segments that did not contain a speed limit, and not field verified, were assigned 25 mph within Boroughs or residential developments and 35 mph within Townships.
• Functional Classification: The  Federal Highway Administration classifies roadways  by how they function in the transportation system. Each class is based on the type of service it provides, considering access, mobility, and location. 
• Bicycle Infrastructure: Road segments of the County that contain bicycle infrastructure, like  sharrows , or the protected paths along Lefever Street and the North Gettysburg Trail along Old Harrisburg Road.
• Sidewalks: While sidewalks are not necessarily meant for bicycles, or allowed like in parts of Gettysburg Borough, points were given to those roadway segments with sidewalks to distinguish borough and residential development settings where smaller children or families may feel more comfortable riding on a sidewalk. 

The sum of the inputs were calculated to determine an overall score, which corresponds to the level of traffic stress of a road segment for a person using a bicycle, skateboard, or other form of non-vehicular transportation .

Higher scores indicate a lower level of traffic stress. Scores are grouped and assigned a stress level.

Several road segments cross US Route 15 without a signal or other safety measures, those segments were manually given a ‘0’ overall score.  

The classification levels of “stress” are somewhat unique to the Adams County analysis.  Due to the rural nature of Adams County and challenges associated with developing an analysis that is used countywide, our assessment may not be comparable to the rider types used by Mineta and others in more urban areas, but focus more on the traffic stress level itself.  Consideration was also given to selecting criteria that could be used on both state and local roads, which may not have consistent attributes. The assigned classifications are a result of the sum of input scores. The segments have not been evaluated individually. Each person may perceive level of traffic stress in a different way.  

COMFORTABLE Segments that are indicated as Comfortable are those locations with off-road paths or separated, protected bike lanes, like Lefever Street in Gettysburg. These locations are the safest segments and can be traveled by riders of all ages and levels of experience.  

LOW: These segments that are primarily located on Borough side streets with sidewalks, outside of the main thoroughfare, and residential development settings are considered to have a low level of traffic stress. These roads may be ridden comfortably by the general adult population.

MODERATE: Roadway segments with a moderate level of traffic stress are typically those residential areas with lower speeds, but do not have sidewalks, like most of Carroll Valley, Lake Meade, or Lake Heritage.  

HIGH: Roadways with a high level of traffic stress may include segments with higher speeds or volumes, like Borough main streets that are state roads, or more rural roads, which do not have shoulders. These locations may only be comfortable to the most experienced and confident riders.  

EXTREME: These segments include roadways with the highest traffic volumes and speeds, which would be uncomfortable for most riders.  

How does bicycle infrastructure positively impacts the scores? Click on the button below to zoom into the area north of Gettysburg. The North Gettysburg Trail along Old Harrisburg Road and path along Mummasburg Road heading out of Gettysburg College provide an off-road, comfortable experience for users. The road itself would still be considered a High Level of Traffic Stress, if the user chose to travel on the roadway.

Developing criteria that could be used on all roads, whether owned by the State, Borough, or Township, in a fairly rural County was a challenge. Please keep these limitation in mind when using the data. The primary impediments include:

Topography of the County. The landscape of Adams County varies greatly from the mountains and steeper slopes of the Fruitbelt, South Mountain, and northern Adams to the rolling hills and flat farmland of the southern and eastern portions of the County.

This landscape is part of Adams County's identity. The change in topography is visible in this photo of a rider on one of Adams County's rural, picturesque roads through the Fruitbelt.

Topography of the County. The example picture on the right is along Route 234, outside of Arendtsville. This route winds through northwest Adams with significant changes in elevation, narrow cartways, high volumes of truck traffic, and almost no shoulders. This route is also a designated State Bicycle Route.  State Bicycle Route  designation does not imply that the route has bicycle infrastructure or is safe for all riders. Please use caution when riding on an unfamiliar road designated as a State Bike Route.

Distance between population centers. The most densely populated locations of the County are centered around Gettysburg and Eastern Adams Boroughs. Other Boroughs in the County range in size and concentration of residents. However, these locations are spread out around the County. In most cases it is not practical to connect these Boroughs to other areas of the county where employment, retail, or education may be located, due to the distance.

The map identifies approximate distances between Gettysburg and some of the County's Boroughs for reference.

Lack of active transportation-related infrastructure. Adams County does not have much in the way of infrastructure, like bike lanes or shared-use paths, rail trails, wide paved shoulders, or intersection treatments that make riding safer and more comfortable to most active transportation users. This is especially true in many of the County's small Boroughs, like Bonneauville, where narrow shoulders, lack of sidewalks, and higher traffic volumes make it unsafe for those walking or riding a bicycle.

The two images of riders are both along Route 116. The first (left) is in Bonneauville Borough, where the shoulders are more narrow. The second picture is also Route 116 in Mount Pleasant Township, where the shoulders are a little wider, but traffic is travelling at higher speeds.

The beginnings of a system, centered around the  Gettysburg Inner Loop  and connections to other trails, are beginning to form the "Gettysburg Area Trail System". The installation of infrastructure features, like the off-road trail segments, separated lanes, and  "sharrows" , positively impact the level of traffic stress on those segments.

A second analysis was developed to help identify locations that may benefit from additional measures, such as flashing crosswalks, trails, signage, or connections to increase safety near schools. This analysis assigns scores to roadway segments based on their proximity to schools and the number of bicycle and pedestrian accidents.   

The foundation of this analysis is a roadway segment’s proximity to schools, the proximity of school buildings to each other, and the number of bicycle or pedestrian crashes on those segments. This method could help distinguish road segments that have higher numbers of bicycle and pedestrian crashes and are closer to schools, where more people could be walking or biking.  

Schools. The location points of the County’s public and private school buildings, including post-secondary and excluding District offices, were buffered to create a multi-ring polygon around each point at quarter mile increments, up to one mile. Roadways segments that intersected these buffers were assigned a point value based on where the centroid of the segment was located.  

Proximity Bonus. If school buildings were clustered within a half mile, and the buffered rings overlapped, additional points were given. A higher number of students may be walking or biking in these locations if more than one school is in the area.   

Bicycle and Pedestrian Crashes. The locations of bicycle and pedestrian crashes that occurred in the past five years were intersected with the associated road segment(s) and the number of crashes at each location counted.  

This map displays the road segment scores from the Safety Needs Analysis. The darker segments indicate roadways that may benefit from consideration or installation of additional safety measures.

Click on the "Littlestown Area Example" button below to zoom to the area around the Littlestown Area School District school buildings. The buildings are within close proximity to one another, so the road segments closest to the schools receive a higher score.

The network used for active transportation does not exist independently, but rather is a component of the greater transportation system. It is important to assess how well the transportation system is serving its users, especially those using non-motorized modes of travel. This tool provides an overview of the existing system and serves as a basis for analysis. The tool may be used to:

• Determine routes within the current system that are suitable for active transportation and the comfort level associated with each segment of the route
• Identify locations where on or off-road active transportation facilities could provide safer routes to vital destinations in the the community, such as schools, markets, or recreational areas
• Highlight locations where safety measures may be needed to increase active transportation functionality
• Identify valuable low-stress connections between existing segments used for active transportation
• Assist with informed decision-making that considers equity within the transportation network and the potential impacts and benefits to underserved populations
• Support future funding applications, prioritization, and upgrades