Long-Range Transportation Plan Update

Population over 65 Years

The region’s senior population (those over the age of 65) is also growing. Approximately 16 percent of the region’s population is within this age group – a rate similar to Pennsylvania overall.

Large increases in the senior citizen population will affect transportation planning and programming due to specific infrastructure design considerations and mobility needs of the elderly.

Households with Low Vehicle Access

Households without a vehicle and no access to a vehicle face unique transportation challenges. The adjacent map presents the census tracts with the highest concentration of households without access to a vehicle. The percentage of households without or with low access to a personal vehicle is 8.8 percent for the SEDA-COG MPO region, as compared to the national average of 8.6 percent. The Pennsylvania average is 10.9 percent.

In many areas, the distribution of low-vehicle access households is a direct expression of the distribution of persons in poverty. Click the button below to view the distribution of the low-income population.

However, unlike the direct impact that poverty has on the choice of transportation options, not owning a vehicle may be a personal decision, rather than an economic one - such as for Old Order Amish and Mennonite populations, which are significant in the MPO area.

Employment

The MPO region saw a 2.6 percent increase in jobs from 2015 to 2019. The counties with the largest number of jobs are Columbia and Northumberland counties.

The region’s largest industries by employment are in the fields of health care and medical services, followed closely by manufacturing, retail trade, and educational services. These four industries account for nearly 60 percent of the region’s total employment.

Broader regional employment trends have included declines in manufacturing being offset by increases in health care and social assistance—trends also noted in the  SEDA-COG Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy .

The most intensive clustering of employment locations are in the more developed municipalities and urban areas in the eastern part of the MPO, including Bloomsburg/Berwick, Danville, Sunbury/Selinsgrove, Lewisburg/Milton, Lock Haven, and Lewistown. In general, the location patterns for employment are strongly correlated to the region's major highway network, in particular US 22/322, US 522, US 11/15, US 220, PA 61, PA 54, PA 45, and I-80.

During a public survey conducted in February, 64 percent of participants indicated the COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on their work location. A third of those individuals will return to their normal work location while the remaining will continue working remotely or are unsure of their work location following the end of the pandemic. The ongoing economic and transportation impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic will have long-lasting consequences for the nation’s transportation industry and infrastructure, many of which cannot be predicted with certainty at this time.

Goods Movement

According to 2011 data from IHS Global Insight, the SEDA-COG region annually generates approximately 21 million tons of freight, at a total value of about $11 billion.

By value, the top commodities are goods imported or exported through warehouse and distribution centers, valued at $1.4 billion, followed by rail intermodal drayage to ramp at $820 million. Commodities are moved within and in/out of the region primarily by truck (98 percent), while rail transports the remaining 2 percent.

The top freight-generating company, Central Builders Supply Co, generates 12.3 million tons annually. Other freight-generating companies of note include Eastern Industries Inc (5.2 million tons), Con Agra Foods Inc (775 thousand tons), and Glenn O Hawbaker Inc (620 thousand tons).

Roadway Network

The major highway corridors in the SEDA-COG MPO region are indicated not only by high volumes, but also by their role in the transportation of goods as part of interstate or international commerce, transportation of people for commercial, tourism or personal purposes, the movement of agricultural products to major market or processing centers, and other factors. 

The region's Daily Vehicle Miles Traveled (DVMT) increased about 3 percent during the 5-year period from 2014 to 2018. This compares to a 4 percent decrease during the period 2010-2014.

Roadway Conditions

For pavements, a commonly accepted performance measure is the International Roughness Index (IRI). The IRI measures how the height of the roadway varies over a longitudinal distance, and correlates to the overall ride vibration level. Put more simply, it gives an indication of how rough the surface is.

Pavement conditions are significantly poorer for non-interstate roads in the MPO, with local roadways being in the poorest condition overall, as a network of roadways.

Roadway Safety

For the five-year period ending in 2019, the region averaged 3,594 crashes each year and 48 fatalities per year. The MPO has established a target of 45.7 roadway fatalities for the 2016-2020 reporting period.

The total number of crashes and fatalities have declined slightly, while the total number of serious injuries and non-motorized fatalities and serious injuries have been increasing in the region.

Bridge Condition

There are 1,904 state-owned bridges longer than 8 feet within the SEDA-COG MPO region. Of these structures, 73 (3.8 percent) are rated as being in Poor condition. This compares to the state average of 10.4 percent.

The more meaningful measure is the share of state bridge deck area in Poor condition. Within the MPO region, this rate is 1.9 percent, better than the state average of 6.6 percent.

On average the condition of locally owned bridges is improving, with the number rated as “Poor” now at 102, down from 120 in 2015. 

Public Transportation & Ride Sharing

All parts of the region are currently served by demand-responsive, shared ride service, where the route and destination are determined by passenger request. Shared ride provides consolidated trips between riders’ origins and destinations that are not served by fixed route bus service. 

The SEDA-COG MPO region’s only public fixed route system is the Lower Anthracite Transportation System (LATS) operated by the Borough of Mount Carmel. LATS serves the area from Shamokin to Mount Carmel.

Four SEDA-COG MPO region universities—Bucknell, Bloomsburg, Lock Haven, and Susquehanna— operate small fixed-route transit and shuttle systems for the exclusive use of their student bodies.

Active Transportation

Trail systems in the region were developed through ongoing efforts to include projects from greenway and open space planning efforts within the region, and through review by stakeholders during the planning process, and consultation with DCNR to identify data for existing facilities. 

A major theme of the LRTP is to ensure the region’s system be conveniently multimodal and service-supported. In 2019, SEDA-COG MPO in collaboration with the Susquehanna Greenway Partnership and Williamsport MPO, developed a regional bicycle-pedestrian plan for the counties along the Susquehanna River, including Clinton, Columbia, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder and Union counties. Following the completion of the Middle Susquehanna Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan, SEDA-COG formed the Middle Susquehanna Active Transportation Committee (MSATC) to further implement recommended actions. To learn more about the bicycle-pedestrian plan, click the button below.